Flashermac Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Bangkok Post 19 Feb 2009 Police are set to seek arrest warrants for 21 suspects allegedly involved in the seizure of the Government House last year, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Friday. The suspects include core leaders of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Police have questioned 547 witnesses related to the case, he said, adding that 247 other witnesses were interrogated in relation to the closure of Don Mueang airport. Meanwhile, Deputy Metropolitan Police chief Akarat Meepreecha said police have already questioned about 150 witnesses about the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, adding that the investigation is about 80% complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Finally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Will they be arrested and if they are, will they be tried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioman Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm sure that in the interests of fairness and transparency it will go all the way through to the acquittal on appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 they will sweep it under the carpet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm sure that in the interests of fairness and transparency it will go all the way through to the acquittal on appeal. I am sure this is true. But this is what I find interesting: BGs and taxi drivers - the object of derision of the Bangkok elite - get it. They know that their country and their own economic fate will suffer because of this farce. This won't change the outcome with the PAD, but this is why I think there is hope. Your regular joe Thai gets it and doesn't like it. That's the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 When Mr T first became PM, a taxi driver told me how terrible he was going to be. "This man is bad. He is another Pibun Songkram. He has already said he wants to be prime minister for ten years." Taxi drivers know quite a bit about what goes on. This is nothing new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Finally! Only words ...so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Anti-airport seizure draft is some joke Is the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration really serious about preventing the airports from being seized again, as the prime minister himself strongly pledged to the world recently? Probably not - if one looks at how the authorities are pursuing charges against leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for their siege of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports during Nov 25-Dec 4 last year. Investigations into the case have been painfully slow, as police remain confused, intentionally or not, as to what charges they would press against the PAD leaders, despite the abundant evidence. The draft bill on anti-airport seizure which was recently approved by the Cabinet appears to be more proof of the lack of any serious intention to keep airports off-limits to political rallies. The draft contains a ridiculously light penalty for any attempt to seize Suvarnabhumi Airport, the heart and soul of Thailand's air transport hub around which much of the Thai economy is built. It is highly offending that the proposed punishment for a crime that causes the national economy a massive heart attack and ruins the country's international image carries a measly fine of between 500 and 10,000 baht! Why on earth is serious criminal punishment conspicuously absent from the draft? The fine print in the five-step measures laid down recently by a Transport Ministry-appointed committee set up to restore Thailand's air transportation, is equally laughable and a reflection of the intent. First, it calls for the dispatch of officials to negotiate with protesters before they reach the airport. Second, if the demonstration shows signs of being prolonged, the Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) should set aside an area within Suvarnabhumi Airport but outside the passenger terminal, for them to congregate. Third, find spare channels for passengers to enter and exit the airport. Fourth, step up security checks along passages to the airside, including aprons and air traffic control tower. Fifth, the AoT needs to conduct anti-airport seizure drills every year. In the event that demonstrators are in great numbers, the AoT should coordinate with the police and military for support in crowd control. Both the draft law and the measures are clearly superficial and aimed only at pacifying anxious members of the public and the international community that there would not be a recurrence of airport seizures. It also raises the suspicion that the Abhisit government came up with such a draft bill only to dissuade the red-shirted opposition protesters from following in the footsteps of the yellow-shirted dissidents by taking over Bangkok's airports and creating another disaster for the whole country. Unfortunately, the contents of the draft law and the five-step action plan are undoubtedly ineffective, if not openly inviting demonstrators to hold the country hostage to fulfil their political ambitions. One question springs to mind: Is the anti-airport seizure draft bill and action plan needed in the first place? There exists a penal code (sections 135/1 and 132/2 amended in 2003) which classifies the seizure of airports as an act of terrorism, a crime subject to a fine of between 60,000 and 1 million baht, as well as the death penalty. The penalty is harsh enough to deter any more crime - but only if the authorities enforce the rule of law. In fact, the five-step action plan was "practised" by the AoT during the last airport blockage, and it proved completely futile. When the AoT sent out an SOS to army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda and the National Police Commission to dispatch reinforcements as the situation at Suvarnabhumi was getting out of hand, it simply fell on deaf ears. The previous government, the PAD and the armed forces were too busy playing their own game and were insincere about unlocking the political stalemate that was devastating the country. The Abhisit government needs to do a better job to convince us that it is dead serious about preventing history from repeating itself, and must indiscriminately allow existing laws to take their course. Thailand has paid dearly for the PAD's senseless and embarrassing action: 210 billion baht in losses and causing the country's GDP to contract for the first time in nearly a decade in the fourth quarter to minus 4.3% year-on-year. The blockade left some 350,000 visitors stranded and prevented 3.4 million tourists from visiting Thailand, severely denting the kingdom's tourist-friendly image. Boonsong Kositchotethana is Deputy Assignment Editor (Business), Bangkok Post. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/12246/anti-airport-seizure-draft-is-some-joke interesting, even the Bangkok Post seems to write more objective these days. :content: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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