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Somchai must start the healing process by giving answers on who was responsible for the clashes.

Both the government and PAD protesters played their parts in the incident. But people question whether casualties could have been avoided. Did the government act out of na?vety? Did it really believe that tear gas could end the conflict once and for all? And what role did protesters play in instigating the violence? The government must also address the most-asked question that if tear gas was the only weapon used, could it alone have caused such terrible wounds?

During the meeting with foreign diplomats, Somchai justified the use of tear gas as the "international standard" for restoring civil order. However, there are doubts if the firing of tear gas was the best option for the police.

Tear gas should be kept as the last option to disperse protesters because people react differently to its effects. It can cause blindness and is especially dangerous to children and pregnant women. The police should have negotiated with the protest leaders first, then used loudspeakers to attempt to disperse the protesters, set up barricades or used batons. Tear gas should have been the last resort.

However, the police, without warning, fired the gas directly at the PAD protesters early on Tuesday morning when many of them had only just woken up and were off guard. TV audiences saw the police action. Amidst the smoke and chaos, some people at the scene reported seeing grenades and some protesters carrying guns. These are the questions that the government must find the truth to.

The clashes were severe. A young female protester was badly hurt and died en route to hospital. A man was killed when a jeep exploded, under still mysterious circumstances, in front of the Chat Thai Party's headquarters. A few dozen policemen were also injured in the clashes, some having been stabbed by protesters. Eight people lost limbs. One has suffered blindness.

Yesterday morning, a number of academics came out to criticise the government's decision to take violent action against the protesters. Some questioned whether the police officers were trained to use tear gas. Some of them fired the canisters at the protesters, not over their heads. Countless volleys were directed too close to the protesters.

Panitan Wattanayakorn, a professor at Chulalongkorn University, asked why the police didn't use other options such as water cannons. In addition, he questioned why the police had to continue firing tear gas at the protesters until almost midnight, long after Prime Minister Somchai finished his policy statement to Parliament.

An independent body should be set up to investigate and provide honest answers to the public on the causes of the worst street violence in 16 years. Only the truth will give us lessons and reflections on the true state of Thai democratic development.

We have suffered massive grief and damage and it's time for the healing process to start. There is no better way to begin this process than searching for the truth. Somchai, a former permanent secretary to the Justice Ministry, should know this. He must prove to society that his government is willing and able to offer justice and fairness to all.

Somchai cannot deny responsibility, neither can the Metropolitan Police commander or the leaders of the PAD.

The process must start with the truth. Thais expect nothing less than that.