Thai Police Suspect They Have Found Bodies Of 169 Missing Red-Shirts

[webfact]

Police suspect they have found bodies of missing reds

By The Nation

Police will examine the 169 bodies found buried at two temples in Rayong province to determine if they could be the red-shirt protesters said to have gone missing during last year's riots.

Pol Lt-General Santhan Chayanont, commander of the police bureau's Law and Case Office, led a team yesterday to inspect Wat Klong Takwa and Wat Huai Yang of the eastern seaboard's Klaeng district. The police discovered 72 bodies at the first temple and another 97 at the second.

Santhan said he was acting on an order from deputy national police chief General Priewpan Damapong, who is close to the new government.

According to the temples' abbots, the bodies had been brought in by two men from a local charity organisation who told them that the corpses had not been claimed and there were no legal cases related to their deaths. Santhan said the bodies would be exhumed for DNA tests to determine the identities, adding that those involved with their burial would also be questioned.

-- The Nation 2011-08-19

[Buchholz]

According to the temples' abbots, the bodies had been brought in by two men from a local charity organisation who told them that the corpses had not been claimed and there were no legal cases related to their deaths.

Amazing Thailand where hundreds of bodies can be buried without so much as a "hi diddly-do".

On the heels of the thousands of aborted fetuses found earlier at other temples, the monkhood is taking another hit.

.

[AngelofDeath]

Umm, yeah right. Suddenly the bodies which has been dead for more than 1 year has been resurrected somehow.

Santhan said the bodies would be exhumed for DNA tests to determine the identities, adding that those involved with their burial would also be questioned.

How is the DNA going to work in this case? I bet those involved in the burial would have forgotten what happened. In the end, I don't see much progress in this case besides the fact that the 169 bodies might be one of the propaganda tools.

[bunnaag]

The police knew it but only acted when the government changed.

[virtualtraveller]

Fishy, the police are generally sympathetic to the reds, if they were in possession of this information previous it would have been leaked to discredit the Abhisit govt and army. Sounds like another Jatuporn accusation to me....

[visions]

The police knew it but only acted when the government changed.

Just another "cover up" to add to the growing list of the Dems collection of corruption. The country is well rid of them.

[ianf]

The police knew it but only acted when the government changed.

Just another "cover up" to add to the growing list of the Dems collection of corruption. The country is well rid of them.

Clearly not much vision. Perhaps blinkered would be a better sign-in name?Abhisit is renowned as the most anti-corruption PM Thailand has seen for a long time.

[Buchholz]

The police knew it but only acted when the government changed.

Just another "cover up" to add to the growing list of the Dems collection of corruption. The country is well rid of them.

Yes, the professionally corrupt now in office will show those rank amateur Dems how to do it right.

It'll be interesting to find out just who these corpses were. As said, Amazing Thailand, there is no shortage of possibilities other than them being Red Shirts.

.

[whybother]

Two men brought in 169 bodies ... and no one asked any questions?

[webfact]

Map showing location of the 169 bodies found in mass graves in Rayong Province in Thailand: http://bit.ly/nblta9

/via@RichardBarrow

Added by Admin

Full link to map: http://www.thailandphotomap.com/thailand-news/169-bodies-found-in-mass-graves-in-rayong/

[geriatrickid]

Fishy, the police are generally sympathetic to the reds, if they were in possession of this information previous it would have been leaked to discredit the Abhisit govt and army. Sounds like another Jatuporn accusation to me....

Then perhaps you should consider the use of a hearing aid, as Mr. Jatuporn was not the one that raised the issue.

[slapout]

When the headline says "Police suspect" as this does seem to portray the normal thinking of the BIB. They seem to shoot from the hip on many of their discoveries/investigations and real evidence seems to be included if it is convenient to the amount of work which may be required. I hope further information on the deceased can be a little more orientated to facts so the public is not left to speculate as the authorities seem to be doing.

[Credo]

It seems the Abhisit government and the military have a little more accounting to do.

Of course the people involved are not going to say anything at the time. When your hauling around 169 bodies that's a pretty lound message that you could make it 170 if you talk too much.

But before jumping off the conclusion cliff with no information, I wonder if it could be illegal aliens, or Rohyingas etc..

Regardless, it's a lot of bodies.

[geriatrickid]

Umm, yeah right. Suddenly the bodies which has been dead for more than 1 year has been resurrected somehow.

Santhan said the bodies would be exhumed for DNA tests to determine the identities, adding that those involved with their burial would also be questioned.

How is the DNA going to work in this case? I bet those involved in the burial would have forgotten what happened. In the end, I don't see much progress in this case besides the fact that the 169 bodies might be one of the propaganda tools.

No. they were not resurrected. Rather, the police were acting on allegations that had been circulating for some time. If there are a sufficient number of bone fragments available, DNA samples can be taken. This is how the Bosnian genocide was investigated. Specialized technicians and anthropologists exume the bodies. If Thailand does not have the expertise, then the Dutch, Canadian, Israeli and Swedish governments have many people that do.. As I recall, the Bosnian war crimes investigators asked for and received volunteers from the aforementioned nations' medical examiner offices.

If there are bodies, it should be investigated. Let the police investigate first please.

[Crushdepth]

Probably another case of immigrant Burmese workers who didn't get to collect their paycheck. Sad.

[webfact]

Map showing location of the 169 bodies found in mass graves in Rayong Province in Thailand: http://bit.ly/nblta9

/via@RichardBarrow

dead link:

Server not found

Firefox can't find the server at www.thailandphotomap.com.

check your internet connection. The link works like a charm.

Added by Admin

Full link to map: http://www.thailandphotomap.com/thailand-news/169-bodies-found-in-mass-graves-in-rayong/

[otherstuff1957]

acting on an order from deputy national police chief General Priewpan Damapong,

Who is, of course, Pogamon's brother and the ex-brother-in-law of Thaksin. I wonder how he knew the bodies would be there?

Are these bodies supposed to be from the 2010 riots or the 2009 riots?

[geriatrickid]

Two men brought in 169 bodies ... and no one asked any questions?

According to the temples' abbots, the bodies had been brought in by two men from a local charity organisation who told them that the corpses had not been claimed and there were no legal cases related to their deaths

Believe it or not, this is how unclaimed bodys are dealt with. Every so often, the hospital mortuaries clean out their unclaimed bodies. It is not uncommon to have a large transfer. The Phor Tek Tunk in Bangkok set a record when it undertook a mass cremation of 21,000 unclaimed bodies to ease the crowding at its Bangkok cemetary. I think they were burning something like 300 bodies a day. In many cases, bodies are buried in a mass grave as a temporary measure until space or the numbers warrant a big batch shipment. Approx. 500 unclaimed bodies from the tsunami were mass buried 2 years after the event.

It is quite believable that the disposal of 169 bodies would not have raised eyebrows. The fees paid for the facilities most probably helped as well. What can a Temple do when what appear to be legitimate people say, hello we need to deal with our bi annual or quarterly unclaimed bodies. I wouldn't be surprised if the delivery boys didn't claim to be "official" .

[geriatrickid]

acting on an order from deputy national police chief General Priewpan Damapong,

Who is, of course, Pogamon's brother and the ex-brother-in-law of Thaksin. I wonder how he knew the bodies would be there?

Are these bodies supposed to be from the 2010 riots or the 2009 riots?

The family relationship of the police chief does not change the facts regarding the bodies if they were murder victims.

At the temple where 72 bodies were found, other news sources have quoted the the abbot as saying the bodies started arriving at his temple in August 2010. However, other news sources have quoted the police as saying the bodies arrived at the the temple in April 2010.

[maidu]

The whole report sounds fishy to me. I can believe the part that monks may not have known what was going on at their temple (they didn't acknowledge the multiple fetus stored for many months, and many wats have feral dogs which monks are adept at not noticing). However, I cannot believe so many dead bodies could be moved around without raising alarms, ....even in the land of 'mai pen rai.'

Some mentioned Rohinga or Burmese - which sounds slightly plausible. Or other SE Asians hired by the Thaksin machine which fueled the Bkk riots or 2009 and 2010, and, if killed, were expendable in their view.

This could all be filed under 'False Stories' until we hear more. Too often in Thailand, there are inflamatory stories - which turn out to be either badly reported or just plain false. - like the recent report of a Thai gang of near dozen members who brutally murdered a Swede - which turned out to be false on several counts. Even numbers can't always be relied upon when spoken. in Thai, the number 11 sounds almost identical to the number 18. And have you ever looked closely at numbers written by a Thai? a number one looks like a seven, and a number four could look like a nine or a zero or a six, or......who knows? Who teaches the kids how to write numbers? Add to that, the word for 'far' (glai) sounds almost identical to the word for 'near' (glai). Imagine if there were Thai soldiers in a forward trench, attempting to call back artillery aiming adjustments on a nearby target. The soldier says 'glai', and the gunner thinks 'close' rather than 'far' and 'KA_BOOM!" ......game over.

[geriatrickid]

I urge those that may jump to conclusions that these are redshirt s to allow the police to investigate as it is quite normal do to a body dump.

That being said, if these people do turn out to be redshirts, the response of some people in TVF will be interesting.

[Thai at Heart]

Well, if it is proven that these are people killed during riots, and smuggled away under the Democrats watch, the implications for some very important people are very serious indeed. I wouldn't really matter if people deny that they knew this had happened, they will be guilty be association. From the army leadership down to Suthep, and probably further, they will be in extremely hot water.

It isn't as though the police can't act on a find like this. The outcry (if true) will be deafening.

I wonder if the UK is willing to take a few political refugees because they claim they can't get a fair trial in Thailand?

Edited August 19, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[geriatrickid]

The whole report sounds fishy to me. I can believe the part that monks may not have known what was going on at their temple (they didn't acknowledge the multiple fetus stored for many months, and many wats have feral dogs which monks are adept at not noticing). However, I cannot believe so many dead bodies could be moved around without raising alarms, ....even in the land of 'mai pen rai.'

Some mentioned Rohinga or Burmese - which sounds slightly plausible. Or other SE Asians hired by the Thaksin machine which fueled the Bkk riots or 2009 and 2010, and, if killed, were expendable in their view.

This could all be filed under 'False Stories' until we hear more. Too often in Thailand, there are inflamatory stories - which turn out to be either badly reported or just plain false. - like the recent report of a Thai gang of near dozen members who brutally murdered a Swede - which turned out to be false on several counts. Even numbers can't always be relied upon when spoken. in Thai, the number 11 sounds almost identical to the number 18. And have you ever looked closely at numbers written by a Thai? a number one looks like a seven, and a number four could look like a nine or a zero or a six, or......who knows? Who teaches the kids how to write numbers? Add to that, the word for 'far' (glai) sounds almost identical to the word for 'near' (glai). Imagine if there were Thai soldiers in a forward trench, attempting to call back artillery aiming adjustments on a nearby target. The soldier says 'glai', and the gunner thinks 'close' rather than 'far' and 'KA_BOOM!" ......game over.

What's fishy? Bangkok Pundit quoted the Nation when he wrote; Pol Lt-General Santhan Chayanont, commander of the police bureau's Law and Case Office, led a team yesterday to inspect Wat Klong Takwa and Wat Huai Yang of the eastern seaboard's Klaeng district. The police discovered 72 bodies at the first temple and another 97 at the second.

There are bodies. the numbers are tyoical of the quartely disposal from major hospitals. Lots of poor people do not claim the bodies as they cannot pay for the funeral or these are people without families. Now its just a question of identifying them and it will take weeks if not months.

Edited August 19, 2011 by geriatrickid

[whybother]

What's fishy? Bangkok Pundit quoted the Nation when he wrote; Pol Lt-General Santhan Chayanont, commander of the police bureau's Law and Case Office, led a team yesterday to inspect Wat Klong Takwa and Wat Huai Yang of the eastern seaboard's Klaeng district. The police discovered 72 bodies at the first temple and another 97 at the second.

There are bodies. Now its just a question of identifying them and it will take weeks if not months.

Bullet wounds will be a dead (no pun intended) giveaway.

[Colin Yai]

Umm, yeah right. Suddenly the bodies which has been dead for more than 1 year has been resurrected somehow.

Santhan said the bodies would be exhumed for DNA tests to determine the identities, adding that those involved with their burial would also be questioned.

How is the DNA going to work in this case? I bet those involved in the burial would have forgotten what happened. In the end, I don't see much progress in this case besides the fact that the 169 bodies might be one of the propaganda tools.

No. they were not resurrected. Rather, the police were acting on allegations that had been circulating for some time. If there are a sufficient number of bone fragments available, DNA samples can be taken. This is how the Bosnian genocide was investigated. Specialized technicians and anthropologists exume the bodies. If Thailand does not have the expertise, then the Dutch, Canadian, Israeli and Swedish governments have many people that do.. As I recall, the Bosnian war crimes investigators asked for and received volunteers from the aforementioned nations' medical examiner offices.

If there are bodies, it should be investigated. Let the police investigate first please.

The Thai's would not dream of seeking "outside" assistance as this would Mean massive "loss of face" and an admittance that they not "up to the job" nah just the usual buckets of whitewash and the guilty ones (if there are any) being completely exonerated .

[DP25]

If the government were trying to hide bodies of an extra 169 red shirts who died in the riots they're not going to dump them off in huge numbers at two random monastery. They would have been destroyed with no trace long ago.

[random]

I urge those that may jump to conclusions that these are redshirt s to allow the police to investigate as it is quite normal do to a body dump.

That being said, if these people do turn out to be redshirts, the response of some people in TVF will be interesting.

I think we can already guess the responses from the usual mob, we will have such literary gems as:

'the reds killed them for propaganda purposes'

'its their own fault, if they were not there etc etc etc'

'the army only shot at armed people so they must have all been armed and dangerous'

'they are an overspill from Thaksins war on drugs'

'they were paid to be there so its their own choice'

'it wont have anything to do with the dems, abhisit is the least corrupt politician'

etc etc etc, I am sure people can think of more, not the usual baying mob need any help with their lies and propaganda

[bkkjames]

Wonder how fresh the bullet wounds (if any) will be?

Two men / 169 corpses = 80 plus trips from truck to grave. Probably not accomplished in 30 mins; yet nobody noticed?

So will it be 10 million each for the families of these poor souls too?

[Thai at Heart]

Umm, yeah right. Suddenly the bodies which has been dead for more than 1 year has been resurrected somehow.

Santhan said the bodies would be exhumed for DNA tests to determine the identities, adding that those involved with their burial would also be questioned.

How is the DNA going to work in this case? I bet those involved in the burial would have forgotten what happened. In the end, I don't see much progress in this case besides the fact that the 169 bodies might be one of the propaganda tools.

No. they were not resurrected. Rather, the police were acting on allegations that had been circulating for some time. If there are a sufficient number of bone fragments available, DNA samples can be taken. This is how the Bosnian genocide was investigated. Specialized technicians and anthropologists exume the bodies. If Thailand does not have the expertise, then the Dutch, Canadian, Israeli and Swedish governments have many people that do.. As I recall, the Bosnian war crimes investigators asked for and received volunteers from the aforementioned nations' medical examiner offices.

If there are bodies, it should be investigated. Let the police investigate first please.

The Thai's would not dream of seeking "outside" assistance as this would Mean massive "loss of face" and an admittance that they not "up to the job" nah just the usual buckets of whitewash and the guilty ones (if there are any) being completely exonerated .

In this situation, I don't think there is going to be any exonerating going on. If it turns out these people were killed during the military crackdown last year, there is going to be an enormous political showdown between the army and the current government. I would think it far more likely that irrespective of whether there is decent investigation or not, the finger is going to be pointed at the army anyway.

Who will they use for an investigation? Porntip? Ah yes, still trying to work out why the bomb scanners have a tendency to also find bottles of hair dye and nail varnish remover along with water under her house. She is professionally ruined.

The mud that will fly with this story (true or not), will stick to the army and a lot of very important people, and stick for a very very long time.

[random]

If the government were trying to hide bodies of an extra 169 red shirts who died in the riots they're not going to dump them off in huge numbers at two random monastery. They would have been destroyed with no trace long ago.

you are assuming some level of foresight and intelligence there.

It is possible the dems did not expect to lose, it is possible they expected if they do lose then the good old army will have kicked out the ptp and reinstated them before these atrocities come to light, or then again based on the dems performance it was probably just good old incompetence.