The Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) is con¬sidering a plan to give amnesty to redshirt demonstrators charged with minor offences, an informed source said yesterday.
The source said the demonstrators might be exempted from punish¬ment if they were not facing terrorism charges.
"The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has already been instructed to look into the legal context," the source said.
According to the source, the CRES wants to pass special laws in a bid to grant amnesty to demonstrators facing just minor offences.
"Those facing terrorism charges will not enjoy amnesty, though," the source added. Not more than 50 have been charged with terrorism. Of them, 20 have already turned themselves in to police.
The same source said the CRES also wanted the DSI to make sure that immunity be granted to all officials carrying out operations relating to the redshirt rally.
Although the state of emergency decree has been in place, the law has extended legal protection to just some officials only.
The source added that the military insisted that the decree could not be lifted because red shirts had continued their political activities in var¬ious areas.
"The military is concerned that any rush to lift the decree may result in the failure to control the situation," the source said.
The source added that the CRES was planning to distribute VCD show¬ing its operations and the May 19 incidents so as to give facts to the pub¬lic.
In response to Jatuporn Promphan's claim that the government was responsible for the death of a redshirt guard, Sakkarit Kongkaew, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Jatuporn had always passed the blame to the government.
"Police will investigate this case. Absolutely, the government is not involved in the killing," Suthep said.
In Chon Buri, police are also busy investigating the death of Sawat Duangmanee, a 60yearold redshirt guard.
Sawat's body was found on June 10. His hands were tied and he was clearly suffocated by a chequered piece of cloth around his neck.
"We suspect that he might have been killed elsewhere. His killers might have dumped his body here to avoid being nailed down," Bo Thong police station superintendent Colonel Pakorn Maneepakorn said.
In Ubon Ratchathani, police yesterday arrested two more suspects for torching the provincial hall. To date, 60 out of 78 suspects have been nabbed in response to arrest warrants.
In a related development, the Criminal Court yesterday turned down a CRES request to detain Somyos Preuksakasemsuk - editor of Red News - for seven more days.
Somyos is a prominent red shirt. He has been detained for nearly two weeks already.
The court did not allow the CRES to detain Somyos for seven more days, because reasons cited in the request were exactly those cited two weeks ago.
The court said unrest had now stopped and thus it was not necessary to keep Somyos in detention any longer.
Somyos will thus be released from detention tomorrow.