Death by state

PPT wishes to draw attention to the op-ed by Achara Ashayagachat in the Bangkok Post on the investigations on deaths during the crackdowns by the military, under the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in April and May 2010. Upfront, she states: “It is the culture of impunity that has made state violence against the people possible.”

She argues that what is especially needed are “apologies to the relatives of the dead as well as the removal of the social stigma for those unfairly accused of treason and lese majeste offences.”

Achara notes that under the Yingluck Shinawatra government, it is:

undeniable that we have not seen much concrete progress in the investigation by the police, fact-finders and prosecutors into the previous government’s decision to violently disperse the red shirts, which was tantamount to a licence to kill.

And she observes that it is “disturbing is that only two politicians, and no army leaders, were charged…”.

She acknowledges that:

Perhaps it would be less questionable if the DSI chief who announced the charges against Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep [Thaugsuban] was not the same Mr Tarit [Pengsit] who was part of the tainted team.

Even so, Tharit has explained that: “The decision to use force was made by the committee in charge of operations, and the decision makers were Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep…”.

Like many others, she wonders if the investigations have become “a chip for the Pheu Thai Party to trade for Democrat support for the charter amendment and reconciliation bills.” This leads to questions about the government and the Puea Thai Party, demanding that the party has the “political guts to bring the military to justice as well, and not just token politicians.”