Terrorism Charges Against Red Shirts Were 'Inflated', Police, Public Prosecutors Claim

[mca]

Taking over the airport and stranding thousands of visitors was WAY over the top. Where was the army when the rabble took control of a major international airport?

The yellows occupied a very small portion of the airport, peacefully, anyone could walk around them without let or hindrance.

It was the airport authority that closed the place.

Why?

Well if they didn't then I guess someone else would have.

"We have tried to pressure the gov�ernment for more than 50 hours but nothing has happened, so we need to step up our campaign by closing the airport to tell the world problems Thailand is facing," said PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul at Government House Tuesday night.

In the interests of fairness and balance ( and in no way condoning the actions of the red shirts in their actions) let's admit that the yellow shirt protests weren't just a bunch of happy clapping grannies on a nice day out.

PAD guards capture plainclothes policewoman, parade her before protesters

[samurai]

But please, even if he got that wrong, don't call that dude a yellow fellow.

That would be totally incorrect, he is just interested in true democracy and opposed corruption and the criminal and alleged terrorists whos name starts with T.

[Thaddeus]

In the interests of fairness and balance ( and in no way condoning the actions of the red shirts in their actions) let's admit that the yellow shirt protests weren't just a bunch of happy clapping grannies on a nice day out.

PAD guards capture plainclothes policewoman, parade her before protesters

But the vast majority of them were just a bunch of happy clappers, I don't recall seeing them making stacks of old tyres in the departure lounge and then setting fire to them.

In the interests of fairness and balance, in any country where the security forces have a set of testicles, that handful of radical yellows would have been removed quite swiftly, but that didn't happen, why?

[samurai]

In the interests of fairness and balance, in any country where the security forces have a set of testicles, that handful of radical yellows would have been removed quite swiftly, but that didn't happen, why?

Is that a quiz? Can i win something?

Answer:

Because they didn't demand new elections to chase an unwanted and unelected PM out of office, a PM with no support by the people but only by the military.

That was not the case and hence we saw no action against them, nor 91 death in the streets.

I got it right, right? What is the prize?

[KKvampire]

The article never said there was "no evidence" It says in some cases the in initial evidence wasn't strong enough.

Getting witnesses was never easy, faces covered etc and without CCTV, but many of us saw things with our own eyes and saw/heard the incitement to criminality from the mouths of the UDD Red leadership and the arms they possessed

Edited August 16, 2011 by KKvampire

[mca]

In the interests of fairness and balance ( and in no way condoning the actions of the red shirts in their actions) let's admit that the yellow shirt protests weren't just a bunch of happy clapping grannies on a nice day out.

PAD guards capture plainclothes policewoman, parade her before protesters

But the vast majority of them were just a bunch of happy clappers, I don't recall seeing them making stacks of old tyres in the departure lounge and then setting fire to them.

In the interests of fairness and balance, in any country where the security forces have a set of testicles, that handful of radical yellows would have been removed quite swiftly, but that didn't happen, why?

In the interests of fairness and balance the same could be applied to the reds before it all went pear shaped. BTW any comment on what Sondhi said about closing the airport?

[samurai]

The article never said there was "no evidence" It says in some cases the in initial evidence wasn't strong enough.

Getting witnesses was never easy, faces covered etc and without CCTV, but many of us saw things with our own eyes and saw/heard the incitement to criminality from the mouths of the UDD Red leadership and the arms they possessed

You should leave your armchair and go to the police then if you are a witness.

Please keep us posted and write a report when you are done. Thank you.

[rametindallas]

"He said police investigators and public prosecutors admitted to being pressured by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government's policy-makers to inflate the charges and they had ended up filing "indiscriminate" charges against red-shirt demonstrators."

So, the police and public prosecutors are self-admittedly corrupt and now will be corrupt to satisty their new masters. I feel very sad for the red-shirt members who were used as pawns as though their lives and the lives of those who love them meant nothing. I know several policemen and a couple of police officials and they all 'go along to get along' and take what they can get. How can any justice be achieved when the police cannot stand up to pu yai or the corruption within their ranks. How many stories are published about police participation in scams, looking the other way when a crime is commited, or paying for promotions, etc.. Everyone in Thailand seems to have to choose a side and if you are on the winning side you can do no wrong and if you are on the losing side you can do no right. Very sad, very discouraging. I feel sad for Thai people who cannot expect justice.

[Thaddeus]

In the interests of fairness and balance, in any country where the security forces have a set of testicles, that handful of radical yellows would have been removed quite swiftly, but that didn't happen, why?

Is that a quiz? Can i win something?

Answer:

Because they didn't demand new elections to chase an unwanted and unelected PM out of office, a PM with no support by the people but only by the military.

Aha, you win a lemon.

(have you ever considered that my original question may have been a leading one)

[rametindallas]

I'm not sure that terrorism charges aren't warranted in some cases. The use of M79 grenades, RPGs and automatic weapons was obviously intended to provoke an armed government response, and ultimately resulted in 90 bodies. If that's not terrorism, what is?

I would call that insurrection, not terrorism. They weren't actually trying to instil fear in the population that they would use asynchronous warfare on random innocent targets to get what they wanted.

What they were doing is very definitely trying to provoke a military response by the government. I would consider it a declaration of war, and would therefore try them in a military tribunal rather than a civilian court.

some of the random, small bombings at bus stops and banks might be construed by some of the victims as terrorism as they were certainly terrorised.

[Crushdepth]

I'm not sure that terrorism charges aren't warranted in some cases. The use of M79 grenades, RPGs and automatic weapons was obviously intended to provoke an armed government response, and ultimately resulted in 90 bodies. If that's not terrorism, what is?

I would call that insurrection, not terrorism. They weren't actually trying to instil fear in the population that they would use asynchronous warfare on random innocent targets to get what they wanted.

What they were doing is very definitely trying to provoke a military response by the government. I would consider it a declaration of war, and would therefore try them in a military tribunal rather than a civilian court.

I don't agree, because in many instances (such as the skytrain) they used grenades against civilian targets. That's not military action, it's murder.

[hammered]

I remember reading something at the time from a Democrat supporter who argued that using criminal charges rather than emotive and overtly political ones such as terrorism would have been better. It seems certain people though wanted the more emotive and political charge of terrorism, which to be honest was always going to be both more controversial and harder to prove albeit maybe more useful in creating a meme of badness. A meme that has failed in general.