I could not believe my eyes upon reading of Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra's offer to negotiate between Thaksin and the government. This is absolute nonsense and also irresponsible behaviour for someone in his position.
Thaksin is not in any position to be granted any negotiation or further special treatment. You do not negotiate with those that blatantly break the law. Spare Thaksin the opportunity of grabbing any media interviews and do not degrade yourself to even talk with him, as this should be left to the prosecutor and the investigators. Get him back to Thailand as soon as possible, even if you must use force and place him in the jail. No mercy or special treatment should be shown. He is responsible for tearing the Thai nation apart and has many more serious charges to face when he is eventually brought back. Someone needs to get some sense into this governor of Bangkok.
We do not care anymore about Thaksin and his entourage, we only wish to see justice prevail and that he be duly punished for all his crimes if and when he is found to be guilty. Leave that business with the proper authorities who are authorised to deal with criminals through the law. Thaksin is no longer a PM, MP or anyone special, he is a commoner and a criminal who must face trial for his numerous unlawful activities.
THAI FAN
BANGKOK
Adding insult to injury at Rajprasong
The recent red-shirt 'flash' protest staged by Sombat Boon-ngam-anong in Rajprasong exemplifies the hypocrisy, ignorance and callous insensitivity of so many red shirts and their sympathisers. The protest itself was genuinely peaceful and blessedly brief, which surely was a relief for Bangkok 's weary residents. But even if the protest itself represented legitimate political expression, it doesn't mean the protesters showed any respect for the truth or the people who suffered because of the previous red-shirt rally.
Sombat and his group shouted "People have been killed here" - a bold-faced lie, as no protesters were killed at Rajprasong intersection. The lie follows a multitude of falsehoods created and parroted by red shirts and their supporters. Jatuporn shamelessly throws about accusations that recently apprehended red-shirt bombers are government agents - with zero evidence to back up his claims. NHRC, a local NGO, claims that detained red-shirts' rights have been violated, which would sound less odious had they expressed a shred of concern for peaceful protesters in Silom attacked by red-shirt militants or a word of compassion for the citizens of Bangkok during the mass arson attacks on May 19.
And that brings us back to Rajprasong. "People have been killed here." No, people have been saved here. Almost a hundred people, according to one newspaper account, by the police who fought red-shirt arsonists to rescue innocent civilians trapped inside Central World. Meanwhile, buildings have been burned here, livelihoods and jobs have been destroyed here; truth has been trampled on here.
The red cloth that Sombat and his ilk were tying to the Rajprasong road signs was a slap in the face to the people of Bangkok - a callous, insensitive display lacking in basic empathy and compassion and designed to rub salt into the wounds of those who genuinely suffered from the hell of the previous two months. And sadly, it was a typical red-shirt tactic of adding insult to injury; of bullies shamelessly posing as victims.
As more protests will surely follow, with more brazen lies passed off as indisputable truths, a question remains: Will the red shirts ever take responsibility for their actions - either embrace the violence they caused and defend it as just, thereby admitting that their movement is an insurgency not a protest - or accept that the violence they instigated was wrong and apologise for it, thereby turning into a legitimate opposition? Because their position now, perfectly exemplified by the misleading cry "People have been killed here", shows either wilful ignorance or a stunning degree of hypocrisy.
BANGKOKDAVE
BANGKOK
A spokesman for whom?
In disputing the evidence of Surachai Thawarat, Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit puts himself in the spotlight. He is a representative of the red shirts. Is he defending the reputation of Seh Daeng? Is he trying to protect others named? Is he an apologist for the red-shirt violence or does he deny that anything violent happened? Was he one of the paymasters?
Is he ready to start the reconciliation process? If he wants to speak to the Department of Special Investigation and tell them what really happened, I am sure they would welcome him
RICHARD BOWLER
BANGKOK