Terrorism charge, Kasit case trumped up: Suriyasai

The Nation/8 July 2009
Stop ‘indicting’ minister before legal proceedings completed, says ex-senator.
Police might have gone overboard in brandin Foreign MinisterKasit Piromya an international terrorist suspect for his involvement in the seizure of Suvarnabhumi Airport last December, former senator Sak Korsaengruang said yesterday.

“In the past, the courts have struck down charges filed by police that were deemed too harsh,” Sak explained.

Since police have just issued a summons to question Kasit and had not yet formally indicted him, concerned parties should not draw a hasty conclusion before the legal proceedings are completed, he said.

Sak said he was interested to see if the police would actually file a terrorism charge against Kasit, if the public prosecutors would endorse this report and if the judicial review would rule the airport seizure as an act of terrorism.

Sak ruled out speculation that the attempt to charge Kasit might influence police proceedings against other leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

“Each case will be based on evidence and pertinent facts. It is unjustified to draw a sweeping conclusion from the Kasit case,” he said.

With regard to calls for Kasit to quit his ministerial post, he said there were no legal provisions for a minister to resign while trying to clear his name.

New Politics Party’s secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said he saw no justification in removing Kasit before the outcome of the legal proceedings.

“If the prime minister decides to remove Kasit, then he should have an explanation, since Kasit has not violated any of the nine ethical rules deemed as misconduct,” he said.

PAD leaders will be meeting their lawyers tomorrow before reporting to police on July 16 and facing charges similar to those of Kasit, he said.

“The charge of international terrorism is considered trumped up and PAD leaders will fight to the full extent of the law in order to clear their names,” he said.

Suriyasai said he was optimistic that none of the suspects involved in the airport seizure would be prosecuted for international terrorism, adding that some investigators had voiced objection to branding rally organisers and protesters as terrorists.

He said the Pheu Thai Party had no cause to demand the resignation of Kasit. Should Kasit be obligated to quit, as claimed by the main opposition party, then a large number of opposition lawmakers also should resign because they have been charged for their involvement in the red-shirt protests, Suriyasai added.

Former foreign minister Noppadon Patama said Kasit should look into his conscience to determine if he still had the credibility to remain in office.

Democrat MP Thepthai Senapong said the Democrat Party would rally behind Kasit’s decision to carry on as Foreign Minist

Abhisit spokesman warns of reds mobilising via radio

The Nation /8 July 2009

Thepthai Senapong, spokesman for PM Abhisit Vejjajiva as Democrat Party leader, yesterday warned about the red shirts being mobilised via broadcasts on community radio prior to the prime minister’s visit to Buri Ram.

He said agencies involved should keep track of community radio broadcasts in Chiang Mai and Udon Thani as well as on taxi radio in Bangkok to learn about the group’s movements. He used the red-shirt protest against Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai while he was visiting Chiang Mai on Monday as an example.

Thepthai said he believed the red shirts were getting ready to protest during Abhisit’s visit to Buri Ram on Saturday, and said he would speak to the parliamentary committee in charge of state security to fix the problem if the group continues organising rallies.

Chief adviser of the party, former PM Chuan Leekpai, said he was not worried about Abhisit’s safety, and that as a PM, he should be ready to take risks and visit dangerous areas, especially the restive South.

He explained that nationwide security was the government’s responsibility, and it could not discriminate against other parties’ strongholds.

The Northeast is fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s stronghold, and Buri Ram residents are said to have leanings toward defacto Bhum Jai Thai leader, Newin Chidchob.

Buri Ram police commander Maj-General Sombat Kongpiboon said more than 3,000 police and military officers from the province as well as from Nakhon Ratchasima and Surin would be deployed to take charge of Abhisit’s security.

In Buri Ram, provincial offices and local administration organisations have put up billboards and posters to greet the PM. The signs, also supporting the government’s policies, will be placed along the route to Abhisit’s eight destinations in the districts of Muang Buri Ram, Lam Plai Mat, Khu Muang and Khaen Dong.

Abhisit is also expected to preside over the opening ceremony of Buri Ram’s mobile library based in five train compartments.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Minister said the red-shirt protest near the Chiang Mai hospital he was visiting was a dirty political tactic. He said he was doing his job there, dealing with the type-A (H1N1) influenza, and that he would continue visiting affected areas despite the rallies.

In a separate development, Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said he would not allow supporters of fugitive former prime minister Shinawatra Thaksin to commemorate his 60th birthday at Sanam Luang on July 26 as planned. Sukhumbhand explained that Sanam Luang is meant for royal ceremonies or public events, not personal ones.

Also, he added, city officials needed time to prepare for the commemoration of Her Majesty’s birthday on August 12.

Pheu Thai Samut Prakarn MP Pracha Prasopdee said it was wrong of the Democrats to say the red shirts were treating Thaksin as royalty because it would mean that they – the Democrats – were politicising the monarchy

UDD shrugs off Thaksin party ban use of Sanam Luang unsuitable, says BMA

BangkokPost/8 July 2009

By: ANUCHA CHAROENPO AND MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra are threatening to defy City Hall’s warning against using Sanam Luang to celebrate his birthday.

Shinawat Haboonpad, a United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader, yesterday shrugged off Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra’s decision not to allow the celebration to mark Thaksin’s 60th birthday.

“The red shirt protesters will gather on July 26 to celebrate the former prime minister’s birthday as planned,” said Mr Shinawat, who initiated the idea.

“This is part of our civil disobedience.

“Why can’t we use the ground to carry out activities for the former prime minister, who did a lot of favours for grassroots people?”

The leader of the Taxi Drivers’ Rights Protection Association is seeking permission from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to hold the birthday party for Thaksin at Sanam Luang.

The former premier is in Fiji for an international meeting, his legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said. Thaksin stopped off in Malaysia at the weekend on his way from Dubai.

But the governor opposed the plan, citing BMA regulations which state the ground is for royal ceremonies and activities held for organisations, not those serving the purposes of individuals.

The BMA is preparing Sanam Luang for the royal ceremony commemorating Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday on Aug 12, he said.

“It’s impossible for them [the red shirts] to hold the birthday party at Sanam Luang,” the governor said.

MR Sukhumbhand urged the red shirt leaders to think about the purpose of Sanam Luang and the ceremonial pavilion.

“Is it an appropriate place for the event [the birthday party]?” he asked, adding he wondered why they did not hold the event at a convention hall.

MR Sukhumbhand warned that if the UDD went ahead and held the celebration without the BMA’s permission, City Hall would be ready to take legal action against them.

Mr Shinawat said the governor should not claim Sanam Luang was reserved for important ceremonies as City Hall had never taken good care of the ground.

“Sanam Luang has become a slum packed with homeless people, street vendors and prostitutes,” he said.

Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan, another UDD key member, questioned the governor’s decision not to allow the red shirts to have their party there.

The site was a public area to be used for all activities, he said.

“If this place is not open for public use, why does City Hall allow people to fly kites, among other recreational activities, there?” Mr Jatuporn asked.

The opposition MP said he was certain the pro-Thaksin group was being treated unfairly and unjustly by the Democrat Party-led government. MR Sukhumbhand is a Democrat.

In a related incident, Thanee Limthong, deputy director for medical administration at Nakhon Ping Hospital, yesterday lodged a complaint with Mae Rim police in Chiang Mai against red shirt supporters who, on Monday, blocked the way of a van they believed contained Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai.

Dr Thanee said the violent behaviour had frightened the hospital’s patients and their relatives.

Pol Col Somphot Sonkanok, Mae Rim district police chief, said police would handle the case openly.

In Songkhla’s Hat Yai district, supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy yesterday turned up in front of the Lee Gardens Hotel to jeer the former acting leader of the defunct Thai Rak Thai party, Chaturon Chaisaeng.

Mr Chaturon was invited by the Songkhla Lawyers for Democracy and the southern UDD network to address about 100 people at the hotel on the topic “Truth, Crisis, Democracy.”

About 100 southern PAD supporters gathered in front of the hotel holding placards and jeering people arriving at the hotel.

Sarawut Siwayawirot, a PAD leader in Songkhla, said his group came to protest against the UDD’s plan to ask for a royal pardon for Thaksin.

Mr Chaturon yesterday called for more respect for people’s rights to express their opinions. He warned that a lack of respect for opposing views would lead to more conflicts in the country.

Viet Nam flood toll rises to 28

AFP/ 7 July 2009

Hanoi – The death toll from flooding and landslides in mountainous northern Vietnam has risen to at least 28, authorities said on Tuesday.

Most of the deaths were in Bac Kan and Lai Chau provinces, said the National Flood and Storm Control Committee, updating its previous figure of at least 22 deaths since heavy rains began on Friday.

Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Trieu Kiem Vang, a farmer in Bac Kan’s Khen Len hamlet, as saying his two sons, their wives and two granddaughters were buried in a landslide.

There were also deaths in Cao Bang, Son La, Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces, the flood committee said, listing three people as missing.

The storms destroyed nine bridges, flooded hundreds of houses and about 600 hectares of cropland, authorities said.

Security forces are assisting in the aid and rescue effort, state television reported.

Vietnam’s flood and storm season generally starts in July and lasts until November.

Last year at least 550 people died in disasters triggered by bad weather, the national statistics office said earlier.

Thaksin spotted in Malaysia

BERNAMA/ 7 July 2009

Bangkok – Former Thai prime minister turned fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra was spotted in Malaysia recently, but left the country before he could be arrested by the authorities, Thai Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Sennian claimed on Monday.

Mr Thaworn told reporters in Pattani that Thai Embassy officials had informed the Malaysian authorities that Thaksin was staying at the Shangri-La Hotel.

‘Somehow, Thaksin managed to get wind of the impending arrest and escaped,’ he said, without giving details.

According to Thaworn, Thaksin had since left for Fiji.

The policeman turned telecommunications billionaire ruled the country from 2001 to 2005 before he was ousted in a military coup on Sept 19, 2006, while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

He came back briefly last year, after his allies won the December 2007 general election, but remained in exile to escape the two-year jail term imposed on him for abuse of power.

Two prime ministers aligned to him were forced out of office and their party lost power to a coalition led by Democrat Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Thaksin has been shuttling between his exile homes in London, Dubai, Hong Kong and recently, Germany, using various passports of other countries after his passport was cancelled by the Thai Government.

Despite his absence, he remains popular with the north and northeast population, which was clear during two by-elections when his allies in the Phue Thai Party won.

RCAF tells Thai soldiers to leave pagoda near Preah Vihear temple

PhnomPenhPost/3 July 2009-By Thet Sambath

High-Ranking Cambodian commanders told their Thai counterparts to withdraw their troops from a pagoda near Preah Vihear temple at a meeting Wednesday night between Thai and Cambodian military officials, according to a Cambodian general who attended the meeting.

RCAF ready to face enemies

Thai military commanders say they need time to ask their superiors if they can abandon the pagoda, according to Cambodian general. “We asked Thai military commanders to withdraw their soldiers at the pagoda and near the pagoda. Cambodia will not allow them there anymore,” said the general, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 ”The Thai commanders said they needed to ask their superiors about the request and asked for three more days,” he said. Phorng Eung, a Cambodian officer stationed at Preah Vihear who was not in attendance, told the Post that his superiors had told him the same thing. “This is a strong message to the Thai side,” he said.

A Post reporter witnessed hundreds of Thai soldiers occuppying the pagoda near Preah Vihear temple on July 15 last year. But after negotiations among officers, the Thai commanders agreed to withdraw most of their troops and only keep 10 unarmed Thai soldiers at the pagoda and 30 armed soldiers about 30 to 40 metres away. The general predicted that tension on the border would rise after July 4 or 5 if the Thai soldiers did not withdraw from the pagoda and vowed to use force if necessary.

“But this is Cambodia’s last choice to take action in this way,” he said. Som Kem, a Cambodian officer at the border, said he had heard that the Thai military had asked to stay in the pagoda until July 5.

“[Cambodian] commanders asked the Thai military not to come to the pagoda starting Thursday, but they still came and stayed there. They asked to stay in it until Sunday,” he said.

 The deputy commander of Military Region 4, Pov Heng, confirmed that a meeting between Thai and Cambodian commanders occurred on Wednesday night at the O’Smach Resort Casino. Som Kem said the situation on the border was normal but that all the soldiers were on alert.

Officials at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Yellow-shirts want Sondhi to lead party…set up by YELLOW

BangkokPost/3 July 2009

Lin Ming Da aliased Sondhi,a Hong Kong connected agitator in Yellow Thai monkey suit

An opinion poll by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) concluded 81 per cent of its supporters want their own party set up to press ahead with new politics ideology, and 53.61 per cent of them preferred Sondhi Limthongkul as party leader.

The poll results were announced  at Baan Phra Arthit, Mr Sondhi’s head office, on Friday afternoon by a key leader of PAD, Phiphop Thongchai and PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongphan.

The PAD poll, conducted on May 24-25, involved 22,013 yellow-shirts,  58.48  females and 41.52 males.

Of the total respondents, 44.38 per cent were in the Central and West, 15.89 per cent in the Northeast, 15.41 per cent in the South, 13.90 per cent in the East and 10.42 in the North.

The majority of the respondents also wanted PAD leaders to take part in the new political party and to take  political positions.

The poll results:

Name                                                  party executive              adviser           leader

1) Sondhi Limthongkul                                15.13%                   31.26%        53.61%
2) Chamlong Srimuang                               26.88%                    55.75%       17.37%
3) Somkiat Pongpaibul                                54.07%                   30.06%        15.17%
4) Somsak Kosaisuk                                    51.95%                   42.08%         5.97%
5) Phiphop Thongchai                                 52.58%                   42.71%         4.7%

Asked who they wanted as party leader from outside the PAD leadership they voted for Arthit Urairattana (8.54%), Jermsak Pinthong (5.59%), Suriyasai Katasila (4.21%), Sqd Ldr Prasong Soonsiri (3.27%), Gen Pathompong Kesornsuk (1.99%), Anand Panyarachun (1.66%), Kasit Piromya (1.65%), Prapan Koonmee(1.40%), Abhisit Vejjajiva (0.84%), Pramote Nakornthap (0.69%), Pol Gen Seriphisut Temeeyaves (0.54%) and Pol Gen Prathin Santipraphop (0.44%).

148 Buddhist monks deployed to temples in deep South

Security Forces in Buddhist robes sent in to monitor Independence Movement

The Nation/3 July 2009
Narathiwat – A total of 148 Buddhist monks were flown here in an Air Force plane so that they could stay at temples during the Buddhist Lent, which starts on Wednesday.

The monks came from northern and northeastern provinces.
They will stay at some 100 temples in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

It is a tradition that all Buddhist temples must have at least one monk staying during the 3-month-long Buddhist Lent but most temples in the three southern border provinces are deserted because of the violence.

Abhisit condemns red shirts for politicising monarchy

The Nation/3 July 2009

Sleazy Abhisit, as usual, accused democracy lovers as monarchy offenders

Politics should keep out of the monarchy and the signature campaign seeking a royal pardon for ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra is deemed inappropriate to politicise the revered institution, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday.

“The petition for a royal pardon should be initiated by Thaksin or his family because it is a show of remorse and not a political issue of numbers to affect a royal discretion,” he said in reference to the campaign to solicit one million signatures.
He said he would instruct authorities to explain the pardon procedures to the public in order dispel the misunderstanding that the red shirts could sponsor the petition on Thaksin’s behalf.

Meanwhile, Kaewsan Atibodhi, a former member of the Assets Examination Committee, and his brother, Kwansuang Atiodhi, held a press conference to call on the red-shirts to stop the signature gathering.

The two brothers said the signature gathering would bother the monarchy.

They said the pardon could not be granted because it would be unconstitutional.

“This is a political marketing strategy to gather signatures to pressure the institution,” Kaewsan said.

Thai’s lese majeste: FCCT accused of royal insult

REUTERS/2 July 2009
Bangkok – A ‘Lese majeste’ complaint has been filed against the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT), accusing the board of insulting the monarchy by selling a DVD of a contentious speech by a former government minister.

Lese-majeste is a serious offence in Thailand, where many people regard 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej as semi-divine. It is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Police said a formal complaint was lodged on Tuesday night by freelance translator Laksana Kornsil, who claimed the FCCT had sought to undermine the monarchy when it sold the DVD last year.

‘We understand that the police have an obligation to conduct an inquiry. The FCCT will cooperate with such an inquiry,’ FCCT President Marwaan Macan-Markar said in a statement. The club has operated in Thailand for more than 50 years.

The FCCT’s 13-member board includes journalists from the BBC, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal.

The DVD was a compilation of speeches made at the club by prominent political figures, which included an August 2007 address by former government minister Jakrapob Penkair, an ally of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.