Abhisit, Suthep To Meet Police This Week

[Lite Beer]

Abhisit, Suthep to meet police this week

The Nation on Sunday

Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and former deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday said they were ready to meet police investigators for questioning about the deaths of red-shirt protesters last year.

Opposition leader Abhisit said he would give his statement to the police on December 9 in connection with the cases of 13 bodies found during the unrest in April-May 2010.

Senior Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday that he would testify before police investigators in the same cases on December 8 to show he was ready to cooperate.

Abhisit, who is also the Democrat Party leader, said he had asked police to postpone the meeting to the middle of this month but the police insisted that he meet them by December 9. He said he wanted to delay the statement because he needed time to prepare documents as there is a three-day holiday period early this month.

The former PM said he would ask or hold unofficial talks with people or state agencies involved in the case.

He said if police question him about the orders involved during the event, he would have no problem because all state agencies keep a record of all orders.

He said if he had new information, he would be willing to provide the information to the police so that they can use it to handle the case in a fair manner.

During the red-shirt anti-government protests last year, which later turned into riots, Abhisit and Suthep created the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation. After the riots were quelled, both the red shirts and the leaders' political enemies blamed them for the deaths of protesters.

Suthep said yesterday that he actually wanted to give the statement on December 15. But as the police want to wrap up the case very soon, he would gather as much information as possible in the limited time he has.

He said he would give the statement about what happened on April 10 and any other issues police want to know about.

Suthep said politicians in the government camp had been telling the press that he and Abhisit have been summoned to give the statement as suspects not witnesses, which has brought him and Abhisit public sympathy. He said he was not worried as everything he did during his leadership of the CRES was based on the law.

He said his lawyer would be present during the meeting with the police because he wants to be careful.

"I can anticipate what is going to happen but I am not frightened. I did the right thing for the country with good intention and within the framework of law,'' he said.

-- The Nation 2011-12-04

[taff33]

Here come the lies