Thai Govt Panel Says It Will Hold Public Hearings: Truth For Reconciliation Commission Report

[webfact]

Govt panel says it will hold public hearings

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A special government committee has acknowledged the final report of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand and is using its recommendations to hold public hearings, the spokesman of the panel said yesterday.

Weerawong Jitmittraparp, the spokesman of the government panel following up on the proposals of the TRCT, said his panel was using parts of the TRCT's proposals to hold public discussions.

He said the government was also speeding up the remedy process for all sides affected by the 2010 political violence.

Weerawong spoke to reporters after his panel held a meeting to discuss the TRCT report.

The spokesman said the panel saw that government agencies must study the possibilities of proposals from the TRCT, and send opinions to the government.

Weerawong said his panel did not consider the details of causes of the violence and abuses during the 2010 political violence because it saw that the judicial procedure and courts would have the final say on the facts of such incidents.

But the panel wanted to call on members of society to consider the report with reason and refrain from being emotional.

Weerawong said his panel would only acknowledge the TRCT report without endorsing it or agreeing with it because it has yet to study reports from other agencies, including the House, the King Prajadipok's Institute and some private organisations. He said it would be up to the courts to decide who was right or wrong in the political violence.

The spokesman said the panel would not review facts in the TRCT report as demanded by Pheu Thai MPs Kattiya Sawasdiphol and Weng Tojirakarn. He said facts would be left for the court to consider.

Earlier, the panel was headed by deputy prime minister Yongyuth Wichaidit, who retired yesterday.

Weerapong said Yongyuth's resignation would affect the work of the panel only temporarily, as a new chairman would be appointed soon.

In another development, Pol Col Prawes Moonpramook, deputy director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, said DSI investigators were summoning commanders of Army divisions and battalions that deployed troops to crackdown on red-shirt protesters to testify.

Prawes said DSI investigators wanted to know how many troops were deployed to exact locations. He said the commanders had so far postponed from testifying.

Also yesterday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra assured outgoing Japanese Ambassador Seiji Kojima that the Thai government attached importance to finding the truth about the death of Japanese cameraman Hiroyuki Muramoto. Yingluck gave the assurance when the ambassador visited her to say farewell before he leaves Thailand.

-- The Nation 2012-10-02

[hellodolly]

Sounds to me like they are looking for ways to ignore the TRCT must get information from other sources don't care who or why it was started. Let the courts decide that. Find out where the army placed their soldiers who were assigned the task of removing illegal squatters. Not a word about why the police allowed it to happen.

Not a word about who paid for it, Not a word about who decided to break the agreement with the governnment to end it peacefully.

In short kiss the TRCT report goodby.

[asiawatcher]

Let's prolong the public service jobs and milk as much as we can from the coffers. We all know this is just

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Bet they will have the "public hearings" in Red shirt areas.

[Skywalker69]

Sounds to me like they are looking for ways to ignore the TRCT must get information from other sources don't care who or why it was started. Let the courts decide that. Find out where the army placed their soldiers who were assigned the task of removing illegal squatters. Not a word about why the police allowed it to happen.

Not a word about who paid for it, Not a word about who decided to break the agreement with the governnment to end it peacefully.

In short kiss the TRCT report goodby.

The report should be renamed to. Thaksin Reconciliation Commission Task

[hyperdimension]

Bet they will have the "public hearings" in Red shirt areas.

... or in Ratchaprasong.

[rubl]

Weerawong said his panel did not consider the details of causes of the violence and abuses during the 2010 political violence because it saw that the judicial procedure and courts would have the final say on the facts of such incidents.

...

Weerawong said his panel would only acknowledge the TRCT report without endorsing it or agreeing with it because it has yet to study reports from other agencies, including the House, the King Prajadipok's Institute and some private organisations. He said it would be up to the courts to decide who was right or wrong in the political violence.

'incidents'? 'reports of other agencies'? 'up to the courts'?

Interesting. Only a few months ago one of our dear departed members blamed k. Abhisit for not having given broader authority to the TRCT. With the protests from Dept. PM Pol. Captain Chalerm, Pheu Thai party list MP and UDD leader Dr. weng, Robert A. c.s. one may wonder what would have happened if the TRCT indeed had been given broad powers to 'force' people to appear before them and give answers.

BTW will all these reports be forwarded to the ICC for a better insight in the

"APPLICATION TO INVESTIGATE THE SITUATION OF

THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND

WITH REGARD TO THE COMMISSION OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY"

[OzMick]

The TRCT report does not fit with the revised history of Thailand the current government government would have us remember. Grenade attacks, MIB, arson, blood pouring, hospital invasion, hate speeches, "democracy schools", military weapons, attendance payments, et al are figments of the imagination and must be purged by an endless succession of red shirt witnesses proclaiming that they did nothing wrong.

[philw]

Sounds to me like they are looking for ways to ignore the TRCT must get information from other sources don't care who or why it was started. Let the courts decide that. Find out where the army placed their soldiers who were assigned the task of removing illegal squatters. Not a word about why the police allowed it to happen.

Not a word about who paid for it, Not a word about who decided to break the agreement with the governnment to end it peacefully.

In short kiss the TRCT report goodby.

Nice, I thought they were mad, loony terrorists well deserving of shots to the head.

Now they are illegal squatters, but presumably equally deserving of being shot in the head.

[rubl]

Sounds to me like they are looking for ways to ignore the TRCT must get information from other sources don't care who or why it was started. Let the courts decide that. Find out where the army placed their soldiers who were assigned the task of removing illegal squatters. Not a word about why the police allowed it to happen.

Not a word about who paid for it, Not a word about who decided to break the agreement with the governnment to end it peacefully.

In short kiss the TRCT report goodby.

Nice, I thought they were mad, loony terrorists well deserving of shots to the head.

Now they are illegal squatters, but presumably equally deserving of being shot in the head.

Poor soldiers, theirs was an impossible task. How to peacefully evict squatters who do not want to go and even have some well-armed (or should that be well-grenaded?) moral support.

Now that we're even can we go back to the topic of 'public hearings'? Mind you what the hearings will be about and how several reports will be used to formulate the tasks set for the hearings, topics, questions allowed, answers expected, etc., etc., we have to wait for. Remembering Dept. PM Pol. Captain Chalerm's remark on the TRCT not having the legal mandate to come to the conclusions they reported, one may really wonder how 'open', 'free', etc. things will be

[hellodolly]

Sounds to me like they are looking for ways to ignore the TRCT must get information from other sources don't care who or why it was started. Let the courts decide that. Find out where the army placed their soldiers who were assigned the task of removing illegal squatters. Not a word about why the police allowed it to happen.

Not a word about who paid for it, Not a word about who decided to break the agreement with the governnment to end it peacefully.

In short kiss the TRCT report goodby.

Nice, I thought they were mad, loony terrorists well deserving of shots to the head.

Now they are illegal squatters, but presumably equally deserving of being shot in the head.

I will have to take your word on it.

[Noistar]

....speed up the remedy process for all sides affected by the 2010 political violence

...

[/Quote]

is this the 'Reconciliation Bill'?

If so, we may be looking at a re-run. Much better to live in the past, rather than learn from it.

How much longer will this drag on. As the article quotes, everything is down to the courts and a miscelany of ad-hoc bodies.

So all the ruling party need to do is butt out, wait for the answers, and concentrate on Thailand.

Where's that flying pig emoticon?