PAD all set to fight Thaksin's return

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has said that it will stage a rally if the Pheu Thai Party-led government amends the law to pave the way for Thaksin to be granted amnesty, PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongpan said yesterday.
He added that the PAD was also against a campaign launched by a group of legal scholars called “Nitirat” (Citizens of Law) calling for all judicial decisions resulting from the 2006 coup to be invalidated. The yellow shirts are convinced that this move is aimed at expunging the Supreme Court verdict against Thaksin, the spokesman added.
In October 2008, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced Thaksin to two years in prison for abuse of power related to his wife’s purchase of a coveted state-owned plot at a price that was much lower than market value. Thaksin, who left the country shortly before the verdict was handed down, said the ruling was politically motivated and has been on a self-imposed exile since.
The PAD yesterday also issued a statement calling on the government to provide fair compensation to yellow-shirt protesters injured or killed during the police crackdown on the PAD rally four years ago.
On October 7, 2007, PAD protesters rallying against the government of Thaksin’s brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, clashed with police officers, which left two yellow shirts dead and many others injured due to defective teargas canisters.
The PAD spokesman said yesterday that in reality 10 people had been killed during the crackdown and more than 1,000 injured, with seven losing their limbs due to the teargas explosion.
He said the compensation should be comparable to the amount being paid for the red-shirt protesters killed or injured during the crackdown on the red-shirt rally.
PAD leaders, including Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, Phipob Thongchai and Somkiat Pongpaiboon, joined other yellow-shirt supporters at the Royal Plaza yesterday morning to give alms to monks to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the 2007 crackdown.
Panthep told the crowd yesterday that the PAD was afraid the Constitution would be changed to allow the return of “Thaksin’s authoritarian regime”.
The statement also backed the Opposition party’s move to seek an impeachment of the attorney-general for deciding not to appeal against the recent Appeals Court verdict that overturned a lower court’s ruling on a tax-evasion case against Thaksin’s ex-wife Pojaman Damapong na Pombejra, her brother Bannapot Damapong and secretary Kanachanapa Honghern.
Meanwhile, opposition Democrat MP Wiratana Kalayasiri said yesterday that the party would give the Office of the Attorney-General until Tuesday to provide it with copies of documents that public prosecutors used to make their no-appeal decision.
Wiratana, who is a member of the Democrats’ working group on legal affairs, said if the Attorney-General’s office fails to meet the deadline, opposition politicians would have to seek access to the documents by invoking the Official Information Act. He said the case was under widespread social attention and could affect judicial proceedings in the future.
In a related development, Ombudsman Pramote Chotemongkol said yesterday that his office has informed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that it had agreed to launch an investigation against her for possible conflict of interest and violation of the code of ethics.
A group of Democrat MPs recently asked the Ombudsman’s Office to determine if the prime minister had violated the code of ethics or was involved in conflict of interest in relation to her government’s policy to offer subsidies to first-time home buyers. The opposition MPs also pointed that the prime minister’s family runs a real-estate business.
Pramote said yesterday that Yingluck had been informed in writing to provide her explanation to the Ombudsman’s Office as soon as possible. “But we have not set a timeframe because we are aware that she is busy tackling the flooding, which is a big problem at present,” he added.