Yellow shirts vow they'll fight airport seizure cases
Retired diplomat Surapong Jayanama vowed yesterday to hand himself in to police, but attacked terrorism charges levelled against him as ludicrous and unsubstantiated.
Surapong, one of 79 suspects from the yellow-shirt movement, was summoned on Thursday to give a statement in relation to his involvement in the seizure of two Bangkok airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, in 2008. "The details of my charges include the destruction of certain equipment - this is a groundless accusation since I appeared only to make speeches on the rally stage four times at Suvarnabhumi and did nothing which can be construed as violent activities," he said.
Surapong said his speeches were meant for educational purposes and police had no grounds to brand him a terrorist.
He said he planned to deny all charges and he pinned his hopes on public prosecutors ensuring justice and dropping unjustified charges laid by police.
New Politics Party spokesman Samran Rodphet said he viewed the terrorism charges against the 79 as part of a campaign to discredit the yellow shirts. "I think by laying charges for the yellow shirts, police just wanted to please their political overseers."
He claimed the government had no justification for laying out terrorism charges but did so out of political expediency to curb the growth and popularity of the NPP and the yellow-shirt movement.
He voiced suspicion that police might have acted with double standards because people who appeared on the red-shirt stage were not charged, but yellow-shirt leaders and rally speakers alike were facing charges.
He said the yellow shirts did not want an amnesty or lenient treatment. But there were fears that police might use the red-shirt involvement in terrorism as a pretext to target the yellow shirts as well.
NPP secretary general Suriyasai Katasila said the terrorism |cases against the reds and the |yellow shirts were different.
The red shirts were prone to violence and linked to armed units, he said, while insisting the yellow shirts were peaceful and unarmed.
Yellow-shirt suspects are expected to report to police from July 28 to September 6. The main charge they face is terrorism.
Related violations include assembly by more than 10 people to cause disturbance, violating the state of emergency, encroaching on and refusing to vacate government installations, disrupting the civil aviation services, blocking traffic and interfering with the postal service.