Former Thai Rak Thai leader Chaturon Chaisang on Thursday reported himself at the Lumpini police station to acknowledge his charges for violating the security ban by attending and making speeches at the red-shirt rally.
Chaturon's charges are based on provisions in the Internal Security Act and not related to the state of emergency which was imposed after his appearances at the rally.
After police completed booking him, he said he denied all charges and that he had submitted the transcribed copies of his recorded speeches made at Rajdamnoen and Rajprasong rally sites as proof of his innocence.
"What I said was aimed at demanding for democracy and warning the government not to use force against the people," he said, insisting there is no justification for charges against him.
He said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was the culprit for ordering the people killed, hence he should be facing charges instead of trying persecute his opponents.
He ruled out the allegation that he and the opposition tried to derail the road map for reconciliation.
"No one is trying to block the reconciliation but the problem is no genuine plans existed to bring about reconciliation," he said.
He said the prime minister's road map was actually a pretext to destroy his opponents, arguing the process was dominated by the pro-government camp.
"Reconciliation does not seem to make sense because the prime minister said he would not mend fence with terrorists when he is, in fact, the true terrorist after using the military forces to crackdown on protesters," he said.
He also voiced scepticism that the Kanit na Nakorn panel could uncover the truth related to the unrest, saying although Kanit is a capable figure, he has to work under the conditions imposed by the government.
The Nation