Abhisit, Suthep hear crackdown charges
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OPPOSITION LEADER Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban appeared at the Office of the Attorney-General yesterday to acknowledge the charges against them in connection with the crackdown on the political demonstrations in Bangkok in 2010.
Abhisit was prime minister during the months-long demonstration by red-shirt protesters, while Suthep was deputy prime minister and director of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation set up to deal with demonstrators, mainly at the Ratchaprasong intersection.
The public prosecutor is charging each on a count of committing premeditated murder by issuing orders that led authorities to kill people during the political rally, which was led by the red-shirt group United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship.
Abhisit said official indictments would need the court’s approval, as he and Suthep – both members of Parliament – were legally protected from trial or arrest during a parliamentary session.
The present session ends in December and the public prosecutor decided to postpone the official indictment to December 12.
Abhisit said all factions should respect the judicial system. He called on the government to stop pressing for the passage of the Amnesty Bill and to concentrate on solving the people’s problems.
“I agree that the 2010 political incident resulted in losses, and a fact-finding process should be encouraged. Mr Suthep and I are ready to go through the process and defend ourselves,” he said.
“We stand firm that we will strongly oppose the Amnesty Bill both inside and outside Parliament. Suthep will organise an activity to protest against the bill,” he said.
Regarding a Pheu Thai MP’s call for the pair to resign from Parliament, the former prime minister said it was necessary for him to stay in Parliament to fight many other government-spearheaded pieces of legislation, including a proposed constitutional amendment.
He said he would wait until the public prosecutor formally indicted him and Suthep, after which they would file a lawsuit against the attorney-general.
Attorney-General Atthapol Yaisawang said he was not under pressure to indict Abhisit and Suthep.
Atthapol reiterated that he did not base his decision on political sentiment because he was not a politician.
He said he had considered the case carefully and based his decision to charge them on legal aspects, witnesses and evidence without allowing politics to influence his decision.
Meanwhile, Wicha Mahakhun, the spokesman and member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, said the NACC decided yesterday to continue its inquiry against Abhisit and Suthep over the 2010 crackdowns.
The NACC considered whether it should continue the inquiry after the attorney-general had decided to charge the duo.
The meeting yesterday resolved that the NACC has the authority to continue the inquiry, Wicha said.
He added that the NACC had received more than 10 other complaints, alleging that Abhisit and Suthep had abused their authority by ordering the crackdowns on the red-shirt protesters.
Wicha said the NACC would summon three more witnesses, who took part in meetings of the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation, to testify.
