Hunt For The 'men In Black'

[Flashermac]

 

 

April, 10, 2010: Colonel Romklao Thuvatham, deputy chief-of-staff of the 2nd Infantry Division, King's Guard, is hit by grenades lobbed in his direction by "men in black". He was at a command post near Khok Wua Intersection as part of the military operation to disperse red-shirt protesters. He succumbed to his injuries.

 

July, 16, 2010: Tarit Pengdith, Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief, announces the arrest of suspects involved in attacks during the red-shirt protests. These attacks included the one on Romklao and other soldiers.

 

January 20, 2011: DSI concludes its investigation into 89 deaths, dividing them into three categories:

 

- 12 deaths in incidents allegedly stemming from acts of red-shirt United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), including the killing of Romklao and people killed when CentralWorld was set ablaze;

 

- 13 deaths in eight incidents allegedly stemming from acts of government officials, which are under normal police investigation, including the death of a Japanese photojournalist and the three people killed in Wat Pathum Wanaram;

 

- 64 deaths in 18 incidents where the identities of suspects are unknown, including the assassination of Maj-General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, nurse Kamolked Akkahad and an Italian photojournalist.

 

February 28, 2011: Eight suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Romklao are released on bail.

 

January 13, 2012: Romklao's widow Nicha Thuvatham is given a facsimile from then-justice minister Pracha Promnok about a DSI investigation into Romklao's murder. It does not implicate anybody.

 

June 25: The Saraburi military court issues arrest warrants for four people suspected of planning and supporting attacks carried out by "men in black". The four are Manas Paorik, Jakkarin Ruengsakwichit, Pheeraphong Sinthusonthichart and Somsak Kosinanont.

 

September 10: Arrest warrants are approved for seven "men in black" over Romklao's killing, following a joint investigation by the police and Army.

 

September 11: Deputy police chief Pol-General Somyot Poompanmuang announces the arrest of five people, including one woman. Two others are allegedly on the run.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Hunt-for-the-men-in-black-30243113.html

[cavanami]

Sure seems like the Army has lit a fire under the Police!

[Flashermac]

New DSI investigation team to take over 'men in black' case

 

 

 

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will take over the case involving five people accused of being the "men in black" who attacked troops in a notorious clash during the red-shirt protests in 2010, DSI chief Pol General Chatchawal Suksomjit said yesterday.

 

The five suspects - one of whom is a woman - are in police custody and face initial charges of possessing war weapons and explosives. The DSI has the job of compiling more evidence against the suspects, who are also accused of killing a senior army officer, then-Colonel Romklao Thuvatham.

 

Chatchawal has promised to handle the case transparently and only complete it once he has all the evidence.

 

A DSI source said the department already has records of the five people and relevant information implicating them, but no progress had been made so far. Things came to a standstill after former deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung, who oversaw the DSI board during the previous government, issued a statement denying the "men in black" even existed.

 

Also, the previous team of DSI agents investigating the "men in black" controversially shifted their focus to former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and his then-deputy Suthep Thaugsuban. This team has been completely replaced.

 

Meanwhile, four male members of the "men in black" yesterday re-enacted their alleged crimes at Khok Wua intersection in Bangkok - the site of a bloody clash on April 10, 2010, between red-shirts and soldiers in which people from both sides were shot and killed by war weapons. At least two dozen were killed and hundreds injured.

 

According to the police-supervised re-enactment, the four detained men and the woman, plus three other men, travelled to Khok Wua in a van, disembarked at Wat Mahannap and walked down Tanao Road toward the intersection.

 

Of the four suspects in detention, Chamnan Phakheechai and Kittisak Sumsri carried an M-16 assault rifle, while Preecha Yooyen carried an AK-47. Thammarat Sumsri, who is apparently dead now, carried an M-79 grenade launcher. The suspects recounted that they then stopped by a Government Savings Bank branch near the intersection and were let through a police checkpoint using the password "White Pigeon".

 

Though police officers had tried to apprehend Thammarat, who was carrying an M-79 grenade launcher, they were overpowered by a large number of red-shirt protesters and the man managed to escape.

 

Punika Choosri, the only female suspect in custody, said she was waiting in the van armed with a firebomb to use against hostile targets in case of emergency.

 

The suspects also showed how they allegedly fired at troops from different locations and later returned to the van, which headed for Din Sor Road. When the van was driving past an Army vehicle, Kittisak said he lowered his window and yelled profanities at the soldiers because he wanted them to remember his face.

 

Pol General Somyot Poompan-moung, who will be the next national police chief, said that judging from the five suspects' accounts and re-enactments, there should be many more people involved.

 

Former deputy Democrat Party leader Thaworn Senniam said he was approached by four unnamed men in 2012 offering to volunteer information about their role in the 2010 protests in exchange for Bt10 million, but he turned them down.

 

However, he said, he had to stay silent in order to keep his word about this.

 

http://www.nationmul...a-30243207.html

[Flashermac]

'Men in black sought millions to reveal name of mastermind'

 

 

 

Some of the "men in black" who launched attacks during the political unrest in 2010 offered to reveal the mastermind in exchange for millions of baht, Democrat Party politician Thaworn Senneam said yesterday.

 

Thaworn claimed to have been approached by four of the armed militants who took part in the violent - sometimes deadly - attacks during the 10 weeks of street protests by red shirts protesters against the Democrat-led government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva four years ago.

 

Thaworn served as deputy interior minister during the government's tenure.

 

Thaworn said four of the "men in black" demanded Bt5 million each from him in exchange for "telling the truth" and identifying the people who hired them.

 

The Democrat politician said he rejected the offer, as the requested sum was too high.

 

He said they had told him that those who hired them promised a car and Bt1 million cash for each of them after they completed their operation. However, they each ended up being paid only Bt100,000 after finishing work.

 

According to Thaworn, dozens of "men in black" were trained in the use of weapons in Cambodia before launching the attacks.

 

Thaworn said the men who approached him were a different group than the five suspects who were arrested earlier this week in connection with the deadly attack near the Democracy Monument on April 10, 2010, that led to the deaths of at least five soldiers, including then-Colonel Romklao Thuvatham.

 

More than 90 people were killed and some 2,000 others injured in the unrest that led to riots and arson attacks on many city buildings.

 

'They did exist, despite denials'

 

He said the recent arrests and the people who approached him were proof that the "men in black" did exist, in addition to findings by official investigative committees, although some groups of people denied their existence, including the red shirts' United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship.

 

Thaworn was also a leader of the People's Democratic Reform Committee, which organised over six months of street protests against the previous government led by Yingluck Shinawatra.

 

In a related development, police yesterday took the five suspected assailants during the 2010 unrest - four of them men and one woman - to seek permission from the Criminal Court to detain them for 12 days while police investigate the case.

 

Police Colonel Prasopchok Prommoon, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division, where the suspects are being detained, said that investigators needed more time to question the suspects in order to determine their accomplices.

 

"We are gathering evidence for the arrest of the other people involved in this crime," he said.

 

 

http://www.nationmul...s-30243231.html

[Flashermac]

So which political boss has that kind of money?

 

It really does look like some multi-millionaire political bosses pull many of the strings behind all factions in LOS, and the ordinary pawns don't know it.

[Specialist]

Flash, in the well-known words of someone-or-other, "Well, DUHHH!"

[Flashermac]

I think it was Cav who said that.

[YimSiam]

So which political boss has that kind of money?

 

It really does look like some multi-millionaire political bosses pull many of the strings behind all factions in LOS, and the ordinary pawns don't know it.

 

Certainly true... this one probably #10 on the Richest Thais list, T. The others put their money on yellow-green, and that bet is coming up a winner for many decades.

 

http://www.forbes.com/thailand-billionaires/

[Flashermac]

Takky in his early days of power admitted that he thought he had bought enough "political power" with his populism that he and his family could dominate Thailand for the next 30 years. And notice that although #1 on this list did not oppose the T-man, he did not support him either. Just a coincidence that his huge CentralWorld was the main target for the red shirt arsonists? Was there was a message in that.

 

The others in Forbes's Top Ten are also comparatively old money, no need to do any fancy fiddles. They are the Thai equivalent of Japan's Zaibatsu. Only the Numbah Ten guy here needs to do anything "extra-legal" to get what he wants.

[YimSiam]

But isn't what's going on right now the ultimate fiddle? When the law is martial, sure, you don't need to do anything 'extra-legal' because the whole concept of meaningful law is gone. Everyone on that list benefits to greater or lesser degrees on a political patronage system that is right now being enforced through use of the military, because it was being threatened by repeated democratic exercises. Just becomes some one is "populist" hardly means they're doing something wrong, and if you can last as a populist for over a decade of elections, it can't be all bad... Anyway... we all have a right to express our opinion, I suppose - unless we're Thai, I mean.