Govt mulls red shirt request for April 10 event
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IT IS UP to the Internal Security Operations Command to decide whether the red shirts are allowed to go ahead with their gathering on Friday.
April 10 is a symbolic day of political conflicts in the past. We must exercise prudent judgement before granting permission. We need clear details about what activities will be carried out on that day,” National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Winthai Suvari said yesterday.
The red shirts yesterday sought permission from Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to hold a merit-making ceremony to mark the 5th anniversary of the 2010 crackdown on red-shirt protesters.
United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) chairman Jatuporn Prompan had spokesman Thanawut Wichaidit submit a letter to Prayut seeking permission to hold religious rites at Wat Plabplachai on April 10 from 10am to noon, to commemorate those killed in the crackdown from April 10 to May 19, 2010.
He said his group was seeking permission to prevent misunderstanding that UDD intended to violate NCPO’s order No 3.2558. He said this activity was in no way politically motivated.
Thanawut said the group submitted the request after learning that Winthai said the government would not let the red shirts hold any activities without permission.
“The activity on Friday is purely spiritual and has no political motivations. We will not set up any rally stages,” he said.
Thanawut added that the government should allow his group to hold this activity as it had allowed the Democrats to conduct religious rites.
Jatuporn also led his group to meet Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Suwana Suwannajutha to ask about the progress of investigations into the death of 99 people in 2010 and why the agency had replaced the investigators.
He also expressed concern about soldiers being part of the new investigation team.
“There have been reports that before the previous investigation team was replaced, there had been moves to change content in the investigation file to prove that the men in black were involved. If this is the case, then the case would be resolved [as intended],” he said.
He added that there was just one incidence of so-called men in black being involved, and that was in the clashes on April 10, 2010.
“So far, nobody is able to point to the spot from where these men in black fired at people and security officials,” he said.
During the investigation, it was learned that the Al Jazeera news agency had bought photographs of men in black from others. Jatuporn said nobody had investigated to find out who the agency had bought the pictures from.
Suwana, meanwhile, promised that the DSI would not change the content in the investigation files, adding that only seven soldiers were appointed to the new investigation team, not 20 as reported in the press. She said the seven soldiers would coordinate with the military for information.
She said a new team had been put in place because the damaged parties filed complaints seeking their replacement.
“They even wanted DSI deputy chief Pol Lt-Colonel Wannapong Kacharak to be removed,’’ she said.
However, she rejected red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn’s request to have his lawyer present during the investigation, because she said it was against the law.
Prayut, meanwhile, has downplayed the replacement of the investigators, saying the focus should be on evidence, not investigators.
