Thailand To Consider Amnesty For Red-Shirts Leaders

[SomTumTiger]

the PAD, UDD, etc, all have one thing in common - the "for us to win, you must DIE" rhetoric. That type of hostile invective, is the big reason for the poor nature of political discourse in this country.

[ChiangMaiFun]

Purcell claims he have been injured by bullets on 10. April. Has that been disproved?

Why not take what he has said into consideration and discuss about that instead of starting a character assassination. That is low.

It's not low if it's deserved.

His various other claims have been discredited.

He's penniless, without a passport, has a quite dubious background, and his own Embassy has essentially disowned him.

He's a deportation just waiting to happen as when he was barbecued in this thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Deportation-...on-t361400.html

Just gossip about his background. That what i mean with "character assassination".

Some of the comments here at TVF about this 'Farang on the Red stage' can only come from persons who are not very intelligent themselves. They maybe looked into a mirror while typing.

I can only repeat my point:

Maybe the people who say he is a fool are right and foreigners should better stay out of politics in Thailand. But this statement should be also valid for a lot of farangs here at TVF. Some comments here a full of hatred, rancor and totally out of place.

So for you, as foreigner yourself, a guest in Thailand, it is also not your business to judge about him. Why rant and rave about him? Take it easy, live and let live.

There are other things much more important. Like an investigation about the bloodbath of april, the ongoing restriction of civil liberties ...

LOL

hmmm "don't attack the foreigner that was at the Red shirt rally illegally (foreigners are banned from participating with the penalty being deportation) even though his own embassy personell have spoken out saying that the man's claims are bogus and the entire rally is illegal too?

Red to the core .........

Its very (VERY) unfortunate that you can't post without the last 'dig' - because I actually agree he was (is) a fool and should not be on that stage (whatever colour) but this has nothing to do with being red or any colour just with ill judgement and an inflated opinon of himself - dicussing on here is one thing - participating completely another - so we finally agree on something but just you can't resist that 'dig' at reds

[TAWP]

Just gossip about his background. That what i mean with "character assassination".

You like him so you call it gossip. I didn't think anything about him (hadn't seen his confused speech when I first read about him) and found the factual listing of his dubious background informative.

If he goes on stage he will and should be target to scrutiny.

To complain about that shows what kind of 'open' society you want. (Not at all, it seems, if the person in question support your agenda.)

Did i say i like him? I don't hate him.

"the factual listing of his dubious background" where did you found this?

At some blog entries + comments in the internet? All with the same source a Bangkok post article that quotes "a source at the Australian embassy" written by an anonymous Bpost reporter.

Or did you found your 'factual listing' in this two thread at TVF:

Australian Red Shirt Speaker and Deportation Invitation?

every entry contains useful information, comments written by TVF smartest most intelligent contributers. Is that the tag-team and companionship you like to hang out with (as long it support your agenda)?

Usually there is the option to comment articles at the Bangkok Post, but not for this one. Guess the discussion went to academical so it was all deleted and closed.

This farang at the Red shirt stage is totally overrated. There are other things much more important.

If the word 'factual' is too harsh for you, how about 'informative'?

But I think that if you try you might be able to gather different facts from all the threads and news-posts. And here I include his own account of events and status as factual listing. I just don't believe them, but it is his factual listing of his status etc. And I think we can all draw conclusions from them too.

[indemnity]

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has hired an international law firm to help the anti-government protest movement holding mass rallies in Bangkok, the company said Tuesday.

Amsterdam & Peroff, which has office in Toronto, London and Washington, said it had been appointed by Thaksin "to assist in the current contentious struggle for the restoration of democracy and rule of law" in Thailand.

"We are pleased to be retained by Prime Minister Shinawatra to work on this urgent matter, and we acknowledge the challenging complexity and sensitivity of the political crisis unraveling Thai society," said Robert Amsterdam, a founding partner of the law firm, said in a statement.

What clout does this firm have, what right do they have to interfere in a sovereigns states affairs. ?

They must be singing ''My God how the money rolls in.

I wouldn't worry about this. They have no idea of the logic of Thai courts. Many legal strategies that work in adversarial Western courts are meaningless here. Surprised at Thaksin, he should know better than trying to hire farangs to deal with Thai law.

These are PR / Lobbyist firms. His fourth IIRC.

I see this law firm cum PR publicist office has come out with its first statement:

Fearing Crackdown, Protestors in Thailand Prepare to Document Possible Human Rights Abuses

LONDON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The leaders of the National United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), popularly known as the "Red Shirts," have installed a series of video cameras and other monitoring measures to discourage potential human rights abuses by the military and police of Thailand, said former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's lawyer Robert Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, whose law firm announced on May 3 that it had been hired by Thaksin to advocate in defense of the rights of the UDD pro-democracy movement, cited credible fears that the military was preparing an imminent raid of the encampment that could result in violence.

On May 12 the media reported that the authorities planned to cut off water, electricity, and block food supplies to the protest camp, while preparing for a possible deployment of force.

Amsterdam stated that the government of Thailand is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of the United Nations, and as such has recognized the universal principles regarding the sanctity of human life, basic rights, and the strict parameters regarding the state's treatment of its citizens. The ICCPR includes conditions for a State of Emergency under Article 4, requiring that "No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs I and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made under this provision."

There is no internal armed conflict going on in Thailand; and international law requires a high threshold for this, said Amsterdam. If nonetheless military force is engaged in support of the police, they are bound by fundamental human rights such as the protection on human life as well as compliance with the principle of proportionality during military operations, he continued. Amsterdam stated that these limits have been established by several judgments of the ECHR in recent years, addressing human rights compliance of military conduct to suppress political demonstrations.

"We join with all those who seek a peaceful resolution to the situation in Thailand, and stress the urgent need to avoid a repeat of the violence of April 10 which left 25 dead," said Amsterdam. "We wish to confirm that the Thai military is subject to the principles of customary international law, and acts in a manner which is both proportional and respectful of the sanctity of human life. A State of Emergency does not suspend these critical principles."

SOURCE Amsterdam & Peroff

===============

Published where else but in the cum PR publicist office news source of the world:

PR NEWS

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fe...s-93578364.html