Arsonists punished, but what of their leaders?: Thai editorial

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Arsonists punished, but what of their leaders?
The Nation

The red shirts who incited the torching of city halls in 2010 have not faced justice, bolstering suspicions of double standards

BANGKOK: -- The tough sentences handed down to protesters found guilty of setting fire to city halls during the political unrest in May 2010 have drawn a clear line between legitimate protest and serious crime. Demonstrators will now think twice when their leaders try to incite them to cross that line.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed lengthy prison terms to many of the 13 red-shirt protesters found guilty of involvement in an arson attack on Ubon Ratchathani's city hall during the 2010 upheaval.

Six of them were each sentenced to 33 years and four months in jail, while the putative ringleader, Pichet Thabuddha, received life imprisonment after initially being sentenced to death. A core member of the local chapter of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, Pichet was found guilty of inciting the others to light the fires.

The verdicts are the latest fallout from the burning spree that took place in the Northeast during the 2010 rallies.

Last month a lower court in Khon Kaen sentenced red-shirt protesters to between three and 13 years in jail for setting fire to the northeastern province's city hall, while in September three convicted arsonists were each handed 15-year sentences in Mukdahan.

There is little doubt that the arsons were inspired, or even explicitly encouraged, by leaders of the 2010 protest - some of whom are influential politicians or activists.

As tensions between the government and the protesters reached a crescendo that May, red-shirt leaders directed ordinary activists to gather at city halls and "take whatever action was suitable" if the main protest site in Bangkok was dispersed by force. The leaders had repeatedly threatened a "sea of fire" and "a blaze that would consume every corner of Thailand" should the rally in the capital be broken up.

The rhetoric of incitement was directed from above towards ordinary protesters, many of whom responded eagerly in the belief that their leaders would protect them from legal consequences.

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court. Some of the accused complained of receiving no attention or assistance whatsoever from the protest leadership.

Protesters routinely violate traffic laws, emergency decrees and internal security measures. But those offences cause little or no damage to life or property and are often considered legitimate means of expressing opposition to authority. The committing of severe crimes in the name of political protest - whether or not at the incitement of leaders - cannot be tolerated in a like manner.

Hopefully the string of court rulings against arsonist protesters will discourage similar attacks in the future. Repairing and rebuilding the targeted city halls is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of baht. Some of the older buildings were considered cultural heritage and are irreplaceable.

Meanwhile cases against the protest leaders - some of them well-known and influential politicians - have progressed slowly. Although several have fled the country, others managed to evade legal fallout for their roles in the violence. To dispel suspicion of double standards, the authorities must do all they can to speed up legal action against those who incited the 2010 melee.

Critics, including several Western diplomats eagerly interested in Thailand's internal affairs, have voiced accusations of double standards and unfair treatment. They might now turn their attention to this issue, and that bodes poorly for the country's reputation.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Arsonists-punished-but-what-of-their-leaders-30275068.html

-- The Nation 2015-12-17

[NongKhaiKid]

Just when do ' leaders ' here ever really get punished for anything and I'm not going to get into amnesty situations ?

[klauskunkel]

The lesson to any violent protestors: After you commit the crime that you have been told to do, you will be invariably dumped by your leadership like the mindless trash you are, that is if the protest are unsuccessful. If they are successful and result in a new government, you all will be handed a mansion, a pension and a bag of rice.

[seajae]

yes the red leaders et el called on thais to burn the country but are now distancing themselves, they are gutless morons. They were paid by their master to stir as much trouble as possible, cause as much conflict as possible yet they are still walking free. When will the courts actually send these red pieces of sh*t to prison where they belong along with the yellows that caused mayhem. Seems they rich in Thailand are untouchable while the poor are used as cannon fodder by them while they simply keep on stirring up trouble.

[WhizBang]

Yup, Cannon Fodder, plain and simple.

They definately need to go after, and come down hard, on all those red shirt 'leaders' who were calling for the burning of Bangkok and the rest of the country. They also need to charge Thaksin with treason and other crimes against the state. Then send Interpol to round him up and bring him back in chains.

[bangon04]

Just when do ' leaders ' here ever really get punished for anything and I'm not going to get into amnesty situations ?

oh be fair - they are all weighed down by so many suspended sentences that they have lost count.......

[oneday]

Wow! I wonder what color shirt this reporter wears.

Anyone who agrees with a life sentence for a fire where no person was harmed is unhinged.

[MrJohnson]

Anyone who has been here for more than about 5 minutes knows too well that if you are rich and/or connected you are immune from the legal and judicial system in this country. Plain and simple. Not a situation exclusive to Thailand, mind you. Sad, but true!

[ramrod711]

The rhetoric of incitement was directed from above towards ordinary protesters, many of whom responded eagerly in the belief that their leaders would protect them from legal consequences.

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court. Some of the accused complained of receiving no attention or assistance whatsoever from the protest leadership.

The most interesting thing about this article is that they don't name "the leaders". Everyone knows who they are, I could provide various video links, but they won't be named.....and we all know why. How, in any reasonable persons mind, could one be guilty of libel, when there are recordings, video and audio, of the person saying what he is alleged to have said. The monkeys are running the zoo and the law is an ass.

[ianf]

Wow! I wonder what color shirt this reporter wears.

Anyone who agrees with a life sentence for a fire where no person was harmed is unhinged.

In the UK the maximum sentence for arson is life imprisonment (sentence is usually 5 years). Nothing unusual here. Except, I guess, arson with a political intent could be construed as terrorism in which case the whole life would apply.

[EnglishJohn]

The rhetoric of incitement was directed from above towards ordinary protesters, many of whom responded eagerly in the belief that their leaders would protect them from legal consequences.

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court. Some of the accused complained of receiving no attention or assistance whatsoever from the protest leadership.

The most interesting thing about this article is that they don't name "the leaders". Everyone knows who they are, I could provide various video links, but they won't be named.....and we all know why. How, in any reasonable persons mind, could one be guilty of libel, when there are recordings, video and audio, of the person saying what he is alleged to have said. The monkeys are running the zoo and the law is an ass.

And don't forget that many of those red-shirts in prison would have been released under the first draft of the amnesty bill.

But the goblin threw them all under a bus at the last minute purely for his own benefit. Yet many doe-eyed simpletons still think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. And they wonder why we laugh at them.

If any of the big names get slammed away, the rest of the red-machine will be sent into action to cause as much trouble as possible. Thailand doesn't need their terrorism at this juncture so we get these double standards.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I think it is a just sentence, considering there is no chance that they wll actually spend life in prison. They will likely be out in 5 years or the same day if the PTP are ever elected again.

[pomchop]

and what happened to the yellow shirts that illegally shut down the airports ?

[tbthailand]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

[Baerboxer]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

And not one red shirt leader, any one of those who appears on YouTube, inciting their supporters to arson has been charged and prosecuted.

But, like the post before yours too, just another diversion attempt to change the discussion away from why the red leaders, who even stated they would be accountable, are still out on bail, with no trial date.

[bangrak]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

Thank you for putting this in a broader perspective, by reminding us it is not only about the red arsonists and their evil leaders, but also about the armed 'red guards' and 'the movement''s hired 'men-in-black' mercenaries, killing and wounding civilians and soldiers (for some part with assault rifles and explosive devices stolen from the military), during, and before, the Bankok insurgency!

Though it is also true that, although not killers, the so-called 'yellow shirts' suspected to have committed brutalities during the illegal occupations of the Government house, and of the airports, should be brought to Court for their actions, as should all the 'red shirts' suspected of the same kind of actions in Bangkok and elsewhere in the land, or were these tens of thousands from both sides the ones some kind of an agreement existed to grant amnesty to...?

[scorecard]

Wow! I wonder what color shirt this reporter wears.

Anyone who agrees with a life sentence for a fire where no person was harmed is unhinged.

Of course. It was just a fire, no problem at all.

[bangrak]

Wow! I wonder what color shirt this reporter wears.

Anyone who agrees with a life sentence for a fire where no person was harmed is unhinged.

Yeah, right, no colour(!) or any colour other than red makes one very suspect, indeed, ...of not blindly following the ukases of the UDD propaganda!

And your 'for a fire', one must be 'unhinged' to reduce ARSON to that, leaves me speechless...

[bangrak]

and what happened to the yellow shirts that illegally shut down the airports ?

Thank you for informing me, I didn't know the yellow shirts arsoned the airports, how could I have missed that one! Wow!

[Artisi]

and what happened to the yellow shirts that illegally shut down the airports ?

Sure the yellow shirts "took over" the airport and caused a few problems but they didn't shut down the airport, that was a

calculated and conscious decision of the airport authority. It's not much of a stretch to assume that it was instigated on the direction of a certain person as a means to blame the yellow shirts as the cause.

[tbthailand]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

And not one red shirt leader, any one of those who appears on YouTube, inciting their supporters to arson has been charged and prosecuted.

But, like the post before yours too, just another diversion attempt to change the discussion away from why the red leaders, who even stated they would be accountable, are still out on bail, with no trial date.

not a diversion at all, but a relevant issue related to this topic of 2010.

BTW, the one fellow had already been convicted and sentenced to 1 year in prison for his crime, then the supreme court stepped in and handed out a death sentence ... the junta wants / needs to make examples of "normal" people in order to keep them scared today. The junta is certainly aware that their biggest threats will come from normal folks rather than establishment folks. Thaksin has long since "ordered" his people to roll over for the junta.

People like the Resistant Citizen and Dao Din folks don't give a rip about what Thaksin says... They are the normal folks who will drag down the junta if the junta doesn't step back into the shadows fast enough ... (and it doesn't look like they intend to do so soon, ... ) But I digress...

So while the editors at The LapDog go off on how hypocritical it is that the red shirt leaders have not been prosecuted for their violence / inciting violence, the vast marjority of violence in 2010 was dealt out by the military, and again, ... no one has even come close to being held accountable.

So yeah, not a diversion, ... that would be this editorial which would like to divert everyone from noticing that the perp's of the real violence in 2010 are the ones running the show in Thailand today...

Oops...

[tbthailand]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

Thank you for putting this in a broader perspective, by reminding us it is not only about the red arsonists and their evil leaders, but also about the armed 'red guards' and 'the movement''s hired 'men-in-black' mercenaries, killing and wounding civilians and soldiers (for some part with assault rifles and explosive devices stolen from the military), during, and before, the insurgency!

Though it is also true that, although not killers, the so-called 'yellow shirts' suspected to have committed brutalities during the illegal occupations of the Government house, and of the airports, should be brought to Court for their actions, as should all the 'red shirts' suspected of the same kind of actions in Bangkok and elsewhere in the land, or were these tens of thousands from both sides the ones some kind of an agreement existed to grant amnesty to...?

blah, blah, blah, blah, ... so much of the same denial of reality...

so I know this will go right over your head, but before I get to that, of course, you needed to imply that yellow shirts never killed anyone (wrong)...

anyway, some people like yourself, never seem to recognize the obvious, which is that the MIB were army. And then you guys never think about why there were tanks in BKK in 2006. And then you never consider why there was army-on-army violence in 2010... Or finally, why there was no longer a need for tanks on the streets in 2014.

Sit back, grab a beer, and reflect on what happened just a bit more deeply...

[rubl]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

And not one red shirt leader, any one of those who appears on YouTube, inciting their supporters to arson has been charged and prosecuted.

But, like the post before yours too, just another diversion attempt to change the discussion away from why the red leaders, who even stated they would be accountable, are still out on bail, with no trial date.

not a diversion at all, but a relevant issue related to this topic of 2010.

BTW, the one fellow had already been convicted and sentenced to 1 year in prison for his crime, then the supreme court stepped in and handed out a death sentence ... the junta wants / needs to make examples of "normal" people in order to keep them scared today. The junta is certainly aware that their biggest threats will come from normal folks rather than establishment folks. Thaksin has long since "ordered" his people to roll over for the junta.

People like the Resistant Citizen and Dao Din folks don't give a rip about what Thaksin says... They are the normal folks who will drag down the junta if the junta doesn't step back into the shadows fast enough ... (and it doesn't look like they intend to do so soon, ... ) But I digress...

So while the editors at The LapDog go off on how hypocritical it is that the red shirt leaders have not been prosecuted for their violence / inciting violence, the vast marjority of violence in 2010 was dealt out by the military, and again, ... no one has even come close to being held accountable.

So yeah, not a diversion, ... that would be this editorial which would like to divert everyone from noticing that the perp's of the real violence in 2010 are the ones running the show in Thailand today...

Oops...

Actually the real violence started around the time a court decided on the billions confiscated from Thaksin c.s. His lackeys the UDD leaders had already been talking about 'justice' and 'bringing empty bottles to Bangkok'. The first dozen grenades had already been dropped on non-red-shirts before the Abhisit government issued strong warnings.

So, hypocrisy or just a bad memory tbthailand ?

BTW if Ms. Yingluck's blanket amnesty bill would have passed as law any of these discussions would be no longer needed. Mind you, when Pheu Thai party list MPs and UDD leaders tried to calm down their common red-shirts who protested against the bill there were talks that 'off course' the 'blanket' amnesty bill was only meant for the 'right' people. Justice Pheu Thai style, or should that be Thaksin the de facto UDD leader style?

[rubl]

ah, the junta lapdog's editorial drips with double standards, but ... not because of arsonists being punished, ...

Yet, with dismal inevitability, those red-shirt chiefs and politicians were nowhere to be seen when their foot soldiers landed in court.

but rather because not a single person has been held responsible for killing dozens of protesters even though courts have pinned responsibility specifically on the army for some of the killings...

So while protester "foot soldiers" have been in court and are now in jail, not one soldier, much less a general, has "landed in court"...

Thank you for putting this in a broader perspective, by reminding us it is not only about the red arsonists and their evil leaders, but also about the armed 'red guards' and 'the movement''s hired 'men-in-black' mercenaries, killing and wounding civilians and soldiers (for some part with assault rifles and explosive devices stolen from the military), during, and before, the insurgency!

Though it is also true that, although not killers, the so-called 'yellow shirts' suspected to have committed brutalities during the illegal occupations of the Government house, and of the airports, should be brought to Court for their actions, as should all the 'red shirts' suspected of the same kind of actions in Bangkok and elsewhere in the land, or were these tens of thousands from both sides the ones some kind of an agreement existed to grant amnesty to...?

blah, blah, blah, blah, ... so much of the same denial of reality...

so I know this will go right over your head, but before I get to that, of course, you needed to imply that yellow shirts never killed anyone (wrong)...

anyway, some people like yourself, never seem to recognize the obvious, which is that the MIB were army. And then you guys never think about why there were tanks in BKK in 2006. And then you never consider why there was army-on-army violence in 2010... Or finally, why there was no longer a need for tanks on the streets in 2014.

Sit back, grab a beer, and reflect on what happened just a bit more deeply...

Well the reality is that some arsonists got sentence to life imprisonment. The brains behind the arson are still freely walking around although some may have been charged for 'inciting violence' or 'terrorism' already.

BTW 'MIB were Army' should be 'some MiB may have been former or even actual Army personel'. Your description suggests those cowardly night attackers worked with the permission of the Army Chief. Same with the Army-on-Army violence, misguided army former or current personel liked the change to do some cowardly killing on behave of a renegade general and a shopping in Paris criminal fugitive. Allegedly, that they liked the killing that is.