World watches Koh Tao trial as familiar |pattern unfolds
With all due respect to the families of the two British murder victims, I have to say that the trial of the two accused that's just begun is bigger than them.
It’s big news worldwide, and there are at least two other families involved – those of the scapegoats. Already, the father of one of the young Burmese men died recently of a broken heart. Everyone wants the real criminals caught and punished as much as anyone else does. Unfortunately we can’t rely on Thai officialdom to do what’s right – the same officials who staged the ridiculous crime re-enactment, who didn’t look for clues (by negligence or intentionally). The clues they did find they either misread, hid or destroyed. There’s also a precedent for this. Following the 2000 murder of British tourist Kirsty Jones, her mother accused the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of deliberately withholding crucial forensic data for fear of harming diplomatic relations with Thailand. Both prime suspects were Thai (one a policeman), so they were let off the hook. Sound familiar?
