Censure Debate In Thai Parliament An Exercise In Mud-Slinging

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ANALYSIS

Censure debate an exercise in mud-slinging

By The Nation

The censure debate in Parliament sounded like a high-school debate - if not a schoolyard fight - at times. Both the government and the Opposition tried to claim credit and score points for the coming election campaign, instead of conducting a normal censure motion as part of the checks and balances of the parliamentary system.

The vote today will not bring any changes to the power structure as the coalition government has majority support in the Lower House.

Politicians of both sides, even Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, engaged in childish quarrelling during the debate. Many used rude words against each other.

The main focus of the four-day debate was the military crackdown on the red-shirt protest in April and May last year. The government and the opposition used almost the same documents, pictures and video clips to explain their respective stories and support their differing political discourses. The government painted the opposition as terrorists while the opposition portrayed the government as brutal murderers.

Unfortunately, Thailand's independent fact-finding bodies have not yet produced any results from their investigation that could tell the public what really happened or who should take responsibility for the deaths of 91 people and the damage to property in the capital and the provinces. This has given politicians of both sides the chance to impart a spin to their story for political gain.

The opposition spent hours showing that the government under Prime Minister Abhisit and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security matters, used a military crackdown to destroy the pro-democracy movement of the red-shirted group.

The government, on the other hand, tried to prove that the political chaos and bloodshed were created and planned by a group backing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to topple Abhisit's government and pave the way for Thaksin's return.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan, a red-shirt leader, spent three and a half hours from 11pm on Thursday night showing evidence from files of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to prove that at least 13 people, including a soldier, were killed by military bullets.

The DSI stopped the investigation of the remaining cases after finding military involvement, he said.

Jatuporn read out from the DSI's files in detail, as if to tell relatives of the dead that his party really cared about their fate and was seeking justice for them. The red shirts mostly came from Northern and Northeastern provinces that are strongholds of the Pheu Thai Party. "If I win the coming election to form the new government, I promise to bring Abhisit, Suthep and other responsible persons to justice," he said.

Suthep did not respond directly to the information in the DSI files but tried to prove that the red shirts planned the disorder to oust the government. "You are the murderer, Jatuporn, not me. The red shirts armed men in black to fight the government. The red shirts fired M-79 grenades in many places and set fires in the capital," he said.

Suthep said many of the dead people were not unarmed innocents but were involved in armed fighting. Even two of the six rescuers who were shot dead in Wat Pathum Wanaram on May 19 last year might have been armed at some point as autopsies found gun smoke on their hands, he said.

The deputy prime minister tried to tell voters in Bangkok, where the ruling Democrat Party hopes to win decisively in the coming election, that the red shirts had set the capital on fire.

He claimed the red shirts and the Pheu Thai Party had applied the theories of communist insurgents to organise the red movement and try to bring about regime change.

Abhisit hinted that he would dissolve Parliament soon after the censure debate and told his electoral fellows to prepare well for it.

-- The Nation 2011-03-19

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Gloves come off in censure debate

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Pheu Thai MP and red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan accused each other of lying over their accounts of the Army crackdown and deaths in last year's red-shirt protests during the censure debate yesterday.

Suthep, while denying the government had done anything wrong, claimed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was the mastermind behind all the deaths and havoc last year.

"All this occurred because of just one man: Thaksin Shinawatra," Suthep told the House of Representatives on the last day of the censure debate, adding that the handling of the protests, which resulted in 91 deaths of both sides, "was carried out in accordance with international standards".

"Only rubber bullets were used, which was the last measure," said Suthep, adding that the use of live bullets by soldiers to defend themselves or fight with armed elements of the red shirts was another matter.

Suthep said street violence and arson were part of a scheme to bring down the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, help Thaksin return home without having to face legal charges, and recover the fugitive former PM's money confiscated by the court.

Suthep also accused the red shirts, Pheu Thai and Thaksin of forming something akin to the now-defunct Communist Party of Thailand, with armed elements, mass organisation and the establishment of political schools to radicalise people.

"The network of Thaksin operates like the Communist Party of Thailand," Suthep said, adding that some red-shirt leaders who were former communist insurgents should stop acting like die-hard communists in this post-communist epoch.

The remark led to fierce protests by a number of Pheu Thai MPs, and when Jatuporn got the chance to respond, he accused Suthep of telling a blatant lie.

He said Thaksin was never a priority and the red shirts merely wanted to regain democracy that was stolen by the Democrats when they used the Army to cajole a defection of some allies of the Pheu Thai Party into helping form the Abhisit administration.

"You came to power illegitimately, you robbed us along the way," he said.

Jatuporn also denied the red shirts could be compared to the communist movement of the past.

Jatuporn said Suthep had always demonised Thaksin, such as by alleging the fugitive billionaire wanted to return to Thailand to become the country's president. He also accused the government of making a far-fetched map last year that purported to show a plot to overthrow the monarchy but that did not reflect political reality.

Suthep insisted, however, that the anti-monarchist map, revealed to the public early last year, was indeed reliable and that the investigation over the conspiracy was ongoing.

The deputy prime minister also denied that Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha had pressured the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) into revising a report on the deaths of civilians in April and May last year, including that of Japanese Reuters photographer Hiroyuki Muramoto, who was killed on April 10.

He added that the DSI's results that security officers were likely responsible for 13 deaths were still not conclusive, as there were no "human witnesses" to pin things down.

Suthep also claimed that perhaps Maj-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, aka Seh Daeng, was killed by a sniper under the orders of Jatuporn.

"Is it Jatuporn who is responsible for the killing?" he said, claiming he had heard reports that Khattiya had admitted to being in conflict with red-shirt leaders not long before he was shot.

Jatuporn denied the accusation, saying that although he and Khattiya differed over some matters, he would never resort to violence, as he would never even kill a "cat, chicken or fish".

Jatuporn then accused Suthep of being a "blatant liar", something Suthep also accused Jatuporn of being, and a "serial killer", adding that one day Suthep and Abhisit would be tried for ordering the killing of 91 people.

"I have a [red-shirt] gathering tomorrow, and if people believe Suthep they will not show up. If they believe Suthep, they will vote for Suthep and the Democrat Party," he said.

In a related development, the Pheu Thai Party has resorted to using Twitter to disseminate a number of video clips forbidden from being presented to the House's censure debate. They can be seen at www.ptp.or.th and www.twitter.com/pheuthaiparty.

-- The Nation 2011-03-19

[asiawatcher]

"... Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, engaged in childish quarrelling during the debate."

That is the only way to handle the stupidity of the PTP. Treat them for what they are!

"... Many used rude words against each other."

No... rude words? ... really? Who reports this stuff!!!

[hgma]

As i see it....

thai media on censure debate......any other news today?

It is not even headline news anymore....

point is....politics is dead.

for now

hgma

[Pib]

This censure debate is nothing more than political grand standing, especially with the election nearing. But I'm still pretty sure 99% of the people continued to watch their Soap Shows instead of the censure mud slinging contest....It's much more important to see what Aum, Pancake, and Weir (a.k.a., Soap stars) are doing today.

[webfact]

Related topic:

AFP: Thai PM Abhisit wins no-confidence vote: speaker

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[AleG]

"Is it Jatuporn who is responsible for the killing?" he said, claiming he had heard reports that Khattiya had admitted to being in conflict with red-shirt leaders not long before he was shot.

Jatuporn denied the accusation, saying that although he and Khattiya differed over some matters, he would never resort to violence, as he would never even kill a "cat, chicken or fish".

-- The Nation 2011-03-19

Judging by Jatuporn's rotund frame I'd say then that he let's other people kill chicken and fish for him to feed on; just as he does with humans.

[hgma]

I asked my neighbor (has a soup restau)

They didnt have a cleu what i was talking about

politic? Whats that?censure UH UH tsunami you mean? just amazing......NO CLUE ATT ALL.

HGMA

This censure debate is nothing more than political grand standing, especially with the election nearing. But I'm still pretty sure 99% of the people continued to watch their Soap Shows instead of the censure mud slinging contest....It's much more important to see what Aum, Pancake, and Weir (a.k.a., Soap stars) are doing today.