Suthep reports to NACC for 2010 crackdown charges

[webfact]

Suthep Reports to NACC For 2010 Crackdown Charges
By Khaosod English


Suthep Thaugsuban formally reported to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to contest charges related his role in the deadly crackdown on Redshirt protesters in 2010, 26 March 2015.

BANGKOK — Former deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban formally reported to Thailand's national anti-graft agency to contest charges related his role in the deadly crackdown on Redshirt protesters in 2010.

Suthep, who has been living as a monk in southern Thailand since the May 2014 coup, submitted more than 150 documents to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as a part of his defense.


Suthep Thaugsuban reporting to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) with testimony on 26 March 2015.

The documents were bound together with a magazine-like cover featuring his portrait, titled "Testimony, Phra Suthep Paphakaro."

The subtitle read, "Concerning the case of terrorism during the UDD rallies in 2010," in reference to the Redshirts' official umbrella organization, the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship.

Suthep and his former supervisor, Abhisit Vejjajiva, have been charged with abuse of power by the NACC for authorizing the military operation in 2010, which left over 90 people dead, mostly civilians. If proven guilty, the two Democrat Party politicians could be retrospectively impeached and banned from politics for five years.

Speaking to reporters after a two hour meeting with the NACC, Suthep said he told officials that Thailand was nearing a state of war prior to the 2010 crackdown, with "perpetrators using war weapons to kill people, police, and soldiers in the middle of the city."

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1427374095&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2015-03-27

[Thai at Heart]

Oh strewth, robes and all....

[jaidam]

Using this logic, any doctor that tried to help a patient(who later succumbed to injuries) should be punished. Silly really, because it was the underlying condition that was the killer. I don't believe Abhisit and Suthep woke one morning and decided to have the army fire willy-nilly into pedestrians going about their daily activities. Wasn't there and evil wanna-be dictator for life sponsoring a violent uprising to gain power, face and profit to the express cost of the uneducated and poor(who ironically were his main supporters)?

[Skywalker69]

Oh strewth, robes and all....

He is a monk!!!

[chooka]

Still hiding behind the robes. Look at me, I am a spiritual leader and a man of peace, I would never break a law. Sickening and this lowlife makes me sick. He is pure evil and the devil himself would not even accept him. I believe the devil has a restraining order on Suthep.

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

Edited March 26, 2015 by chooka

[Skywalker69]

Using this logic, any doctor that tried to help a patient(who later succumbed to injuries) should be punished. Silly really, because it was the underlying condition that was the killer. I don't believe Abhisit and Suthep woke one morning and decided to have the army fire willy-nilly into pedestrians going about their daily activities. Wasn't there and evil wanna-be dictator for life sponsoring a violent uprising to gain power, face and profit to the express cost of the uneducated and poor(who ironically were his main supporters)?

And didn´t this evil wanna-be say. "When the first shots are fired I will be on the barricade to fight by your side" and then went shopping in Paris with his daughter?

[Skywalker69]

Still hiding behind the robes. Look at me, I am a spiritual leader and a man of peace, I would never break a law. Sickening and this lowlife makes me sick. He is pure evil and the devil himself would not even accept him. I believe the devil has a restraining order on Suthep.

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

Still hiding behind the robes.

At least he is not hiding in Dubai.

[NongKhaiKid]

Buddhism is having a rough ride these days and this doesn't do much for the image.

[tbthailand]

nothing will ever come of this.

just smoke & mirrors...

[tbthailand]

Suthep said he told officials that Thailand was nearing a state of war prior to the 2010 crackdown,

2010, country on the "brink of war", the military cracks down on the protesters.

2014, country on the "brink of war", the military cracks down on the government.

At least they are color-consistent.

[tbthailand]

Suthep said ... with "perpetrators using war weapons to kill people, police, and soldiers in the middle of the city."

so that was 2010 and...

this was 2014:

A Human Rights Watch researcher told VOA that militants had M79 grenade launchers and were firing at police.

http://www.voanews.com/content/thai-court-upholds-emergency-decree-warns-against-violence/1854474.html

This guy is a knucklehead.

[tx22cb]

Oh strewth, robes and all....

Reminds me of the quote "But you know, you can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig." - US Presidential candidate, 2008.

[Mr Somtam]

Suthep said he told officials that Thailand was nearing a state of war prior to the 2010 crackdown,

2010, country on the "brink of war", the military cracks down on the protesters.

2014, country on the "brink of war", the military cracks down on the government.

At least they are color-consistent.

Team yellow protests, no problem!

Team red protest, how dare they, kill 'em all!

[Ricardo]

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

"or are they now the rulers and exempt"

I believe that they were 'given a pass' years ago, rightly or wrongly, and won't ever be asked to account for or answer for what happened, regardless of whether or not it was justified or unavoidable, neither will the actual troops on-the-ground of whom some (who didn't fire upon their fellow-Thais) were pulled from their trucks, and beaten or shot dead with their own guns. How savage was that ?

Will the person/people who, for their own reasons, instigated & paid-for the protests & their armed-supporters, ever own up ? Whoever he/they were, will there ever be an accounting, for the horrific miscalculation that was made ? I severely doubt it.

At least Suthep is still in the country, and showing-up (sometimes) when summoned.

And at least Suthep kept his word, retiring after the events of 2015 to become a monk and take no further part in Thai politics, however strange this seems to many of us farangs. I confess I myself find it hard to understand.

The slow pace of Thai justice doesn't contribute towards the reform of the country, either, IMHO.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Ricardo

[Ricardo]

Team yellow protests, no problem!

Team red protest, how dare they, kill 'em all!

I think you forget the many shootings & grenade-attacks in 2008, and 2014, or the time in 2009 the protesters tried to drag & kill then-PM Abhisit from his car (which he wasn't in), and many other incidents over the past decade.

It is wrong of you to try to rewrite history, when you say "yellow protests, no problem!".

There was plenty of violence, and blame, to go around on both sides !

Just because it was police or Men-in-Black or red-shirts getting carried-away by violent rhetoric, rather than the army clearing-away the barricades and remnants of an armed-camp or armed 'bodyguards' at a protest, doesn't make it any-the-more defensible.

[Robby nz]

Still hiding behind the robes. Look at me, I am a spiritual leader and a man of peace, I would never break a law. Sickening and this lowlife makes me sick. He is pure evil and the devil himself would not even accept him. I believe the devil has a restraining order on Suthep.

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

Sick indeed bitter and twisted to the point of insanity.

He did turn up unlike others recently who have sent their lawyers, the big picture on the front is a bit much though.

Hiding in plain view where everyone can see him, yea right.

He has taken up the robes as his form of penance for the deaths under his watch both in 2010 and 2014.

It would be nice if we could see some sort of contrition from the red leaders for the deaths and injuries they caused both times, but no that will never happen even when they are finally jailed for their atrocities they will still deny.

[Tokay]

Still hiding behind the robes. Look at me, I am a spiritual leader and a man of peace, I would never break a law. Sickening and this lowlife makes me sick. He is pure evil and the devil himself would not even accept him. I believe the devil has a restraining order on Suthep.

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

Still hiding behind the robes.

At least he is not hiding in Dubai.

Living the good life in Dubai is hardly hiding. However, what is is going is avoiding an unfair trial.

[NeilSA1]

Oh strewth, robes and all....

Of course. Did you want to see him naked?

[realenglish1]

I hope they do ban Sutip from politics. He is a bad actor that will do and say whatever it takes to achieve his personal agenda.

Democracy does not need a sudo communist like Sutip . He is a very dangerous actor . And now a Monk WOW

[lucky11]

Oh strewth, robes and all....

Monks where robes!!! What were you expecting? him to turn up in fancy dress.

[lucky11]

nothing will ever come of this.

just smoke & mirrors...

Yes it will. They will be found to have being doing their job in clearing the protesters who were squatting illegally, unlike Yingluck, who was er........just there in parliament (on occasions) getting others to do her job.

If the men-in-black hadn't have started shooting at the army then none of this would have happened. The soldiers were told to use live rounds in order to protect themselves - which they did!!!

I have the feeling that they might be impeached to justify Yingluck getting 'the big one' and it may be no bad thing as the less politicians there are the better!!!

[Squeegee]

What a lovely folder he's made. It's so much better when they add nice pictures and do all the colouring in.

[Srikcir]

If Suthep is retrospectively impeached, will his ban from politics for five years also be applied retroactively? If so, that would mean he could run in the next elections if they were held in 2016!

[Fat Haggis]

Still hiding behind the robes. Look at me, I am a spiritual leader and a man of peace, I would never break a law. Sickening and this lowlife makes me sick. He is pure evil and the devil himself would not even accept him. I believe the devil has a restraining order on Suthep.

When are all the high ranking military officers going to be asked to explain or are they now the rulers and exempt?

Still hiding behind the robes.

At least he is not hiding in Dubai.

As much as I think the man is a dick, he's far from hiding, you do know the definition of hiding? it's not wanting to be found, I think the word you're looking for is residing, as he's not hiding from anyone.

He's not hiding from the Thai authorities as they know where he is pretty much 99% of the time.

Is he hiding from the courts? no he's refusing to attend, that's not hiding, when you hide from the law, you go persona non grata, and lay low, avoiding the authorities, this weasel openly travels, and doesn't hide in the true sense, I mean you do understand the principle of the game "hide and seek", they're not hiding when you know where everybody is

Semantics I know, however it's a misused word when referring to Thaksin.

[rubl]

Buddhism is having a rough ride these days and this doesn't do much for the image.

Unfortunately the NACC didn't want to wait till he left monkhood again and insisted he submit his explanation. Like responsibility concious people he went to hand over his explanation himself rather than sent legal representatives to do it. I guess Abhisit and Yingluck are just much more busy than this monk, as surely they are also responsible people.

[Fat Haggis]

nothing will ever come of this.

just smoke & mirrors...

Yes it will. They will be found to have being doing their job in clearing the protesters who were squatting illegally, unlike Yingluck, who was er........just there in parliament (on occasions) getting others to do her job.

If the men-in-black hadn't have started shooting at the army then none of this would have happened. The soldiers were told to use live rounds in order to protect themselves - which they did!!!

I have the feeling that they might be impeached to justify Yingluck getting 'the big one' and it may be no bad thing as the less politicians there are the better!!!

I sincerely hope that you feel the same way about the protesters from 2014 who entered premises illegally too and the ones who barricaded polling stations?

Somehow I doubt that very much, I have a feeling you've been a previous banned poster as well.

The less Politicians the better? So democracy in any shape or form where there's a healthy opposition doesn't suit your styl;e of living? I wonder what your resident country was like that you left to feel happy living under a Military Junta.

I'll be honest, I don't like it, I didn't come here to live or have my family live without choices and rights, within the law, but I'm here, and as long as I follow the laws, and don't bring attention to myself then I'll crack on for the sake of my family.

I'm also very aware of WHY the Junta need to be in control till after the event, reforms and reconciliation are nothing but smoke and mirrors behind the facade of the bigger game being played at the top end of the scale.

For someone who stated they've been here 7 years and you're not aware of the bigger picture, makes me more inclined to believe you're not interested and that you're only here to wind people up.

[rubl]

Suthep said ... with "perpetrators using war weapons to kill people, police, and soldiers in the middle of the city."

so that was 2010 and...

this was 2014:

A Human Rights Watch researcher told VOA that militants had M79 grenade launchers and were firing at police.

http://www.voanews.com/content/thai-court-upholds-emergency-decree-warns-against-violence/1854474.html

This guy is a knucklehead.

The normal obfuscation and apples and oranges.

So, 2014 explains 2010? A single grenade thrown at police in 2014 with more than 100 grenades lobbed on anti-government protesters and most cowardly in the night (Bangkok Post kept a count it seems). Absolutely comparable with 2010 with grenades only lobbed on non-protesters like police, military, a reporter and normal people. The similarity seems in anti-government protests, but there it stops.

Anyway, both Abhisit and Suthep deposited their explanations. The fun can continue.

[rubl]

If Suthep is retrospectively impeached, will his ban from politics for five years also be applied retroactively? If so, that would mean he could run in the next elections if they were held in 2016!

If so, he also needs to leave monkhood, join a political party a few months before the general elections, get himself a constituency or ask to be put on the party list, and only assuming the weather is nice.

More likely a ban would be from day of impeachment or being found guilty in the Supreme Court for Political Office Holders whichever comes first. Maybe you should ask Ms. Yingluck.

[rubl]

nothing will ever come of this.

just smoke & mirrors...

Yes it will. They will be found to have being doing their job in clearing the protesters who were squatting illegally, unlike Yingluck, who was er........just there in parliament (on occasions) getting others to do her job.

If the men-in-black hadn't have started shooting at the army then none of this would have happened. The soldiers were told to use live rounds in order to protect themselves - which they did!!!

I have the feeling that they might be impeached to justify Yingluck getting 'the big one' and it may be no bad thing as the less politicians there are the better!!!

I sincerely hope that you feel the same way about the protesters from 2014 who entered premises illegally too and the ones who barricaded polling stations?

Somehow I doubt that very much, I have a feeling you've been a previous banned poster as well.

The less Politicians the better? So democracy in any shape or form where there's a healthy opposition doesn't suit your styl;e of living? I wonder what your resident country was like that you left to feel happy living under a Military Junta.

I'll be honest, I don't like it, I didn't come here to live or have my family live without choices and rights, within the law, but I'm here, and as long as I follow the laws, and don't bring attention to myself then I'll crack on for the sake of my family.

I'm also very aware of WHY the Junta need to be in control till after the event, reforms and reconciliation are nothing but smoke and mirrors behind the facade of the bigger game being played at the top end of the scale.

For someone who stated they've been here 7 years and you're not aware of the bigger picture, makes me more inclined to believe you're not interested and that you're only here to wind people up.

How much of the bigger picture is relevant in this charge of "abuse of power" at the Supreme Court for Political Office Holders?

[lucky11]

nothing will ever come of this.

just smoke & mirrors...

Yes it will. They will be found to have being doing their job in clearing the protesters who were squatting illegally, unlike Yingluck, who was er........just there in parliament (on occasions) getting others to do her job.

If the men-in-black hadn't have started shooting at the army then none of this would have happened. The soldiers were told to use live rounds in order to protect themselves - which they did!!!

I have the feeling that they might be impeached to justify Yingluck getting 'the big one' and it may be no bad thing as the less politicians there are the better!!!

I sincerely hope that you feel the same way about the protesters from 2014 who entered premises illegally too and the ones who barricaded polling stations?

Somehow I doubt that very much, I have a feeling you've been a previous banned poster as well.

The less Politicians the better? So democracy in any shape or form where there's a healthy opposition doesn't suit your styl;e of living? I wonder what your resident country was like that you left to feel happy living under a Military Junta.

I'll be honest, I don't like it, I didn't come here to live or have my family live without choices and rights, within the law, but I'm here, and as long as I follow the laws, and don't bring attention to myself then I'll crack on for the sake of my family.

I'm also very aware of WHY the Junta need to be in control till after the event, reforms and reconciliation are nothing but smoke and mirrors behind the facade of the bigger game being played at the top end of the scale.

For someone who stated they've been here 7 years and you're not aware of the bigger picture, makes me more inclined to believe you're not interested and that you're only here to wind people up.

The difference is, that the two protests you refer to were peaceful protests without guns. That is a big difference.

I wasn't referring to 'a healthy opposition or not' as you put it, I mean ALL politicians as they are self serving and only seem to be in government for the money and....well money (Abhisit and Korn excluded).

I am not living under a military junta - I am living exactly the same as before but with peace and stability and I can sense a general feeling of happiness that this General has brought to the Thai people throughout the country, I am not a great supporter of democracy admitted as it has too many flaws. In an ideal world (no such thing) then it would work beautifully, but surely you cannot possibly think that this 'democratically elected' government was even close to being democratic due to the abuses and non adherence to democratic rule once it got it's foot through the door under false pretences.

I am bringing attention to myself!!! adding my piece to a forum constitutes bringing attention to myself!!!

Crikey, you realise why the junta's intervention was necessary, well that's one thing we are agreed on at least. The reforms are needed because Thailand could not carry on as it was. I was pleased to see that the main proponents of complaint were the politicians as that signals to me that he is getting it right. They must be tearing their hair out that the government is closing their loopholes and cracking down on corruption both actively and through the constitution revamp that is making checks and balances (particularly relating to the procurement of large projects where they can rake it in) so much more transparent and open to the public.

I can see the bigger picture my friend, don't worry about that - if what I write winds people up then that is their problem. I may goad people on occasions (I think we all do given the chance) but I believe that I have my finger on the pulse and if I disagree with someone's view then I counter with my own and rely on my own arguments to carry the day!!