Many readers will be bored reading our comments on the Bangkok Post’s very Nation-like op-ed writer Veera Prateepchaikul, who has been a propagandist for the anti-democratic movement that began in 2005 as the People’s Alliance for Democracy, and continues in that role to this day.
To begin with, PPT points to the dueling headlines regarding Veera’s op-ed. The first, from the Post’s electronic cover, is about honesty, followed by “lie” repeated thrice. The second is from the story itself referring to “decency.”
The topic is the statement by a police general that the “men in black” on the Ministry of Labor on the day the anti-democracy movement stormed the Thai-Japan Stadium to prevent the registration of candidates in the 2 February election.
Veera rightly points out that there were initial conflicting opinions and that the authorities initially went into denial mode, which is common in such events, especially for Thai authorities used to impunity. He quotes three statements of apparent “denial.” The problem is that one of these do not amount to a denial, at least not as cited, one is a denial of an incident involving a vehicle, and only the third, by the hopeless Chalerm Yubamrung, is quoted in a manner that shows it is a denial.
Veera’s poor writing aside, for a period of about a week, there was denial about the so-called men in black on the roof of the Ministry of Labor. By late last week, it was pretty clear what had happened and that the police at the Ministry of Labor were not responsible for the shooting of other police. In any case, the denials were apparently put right by the senior policeman’s statement a couple of days ago. The same policeman said that the events were under investigation and that any faults would be punished.
Veera then demands apologies from the others:
But do not expect them to say sorry for telling lies to us, because they don’t think they have done anything wrong. Telling the truth and telling lies are, after all, part of their job – at least, as they see it. So think twice, and then think again, before accepting anything they say in future.
Now PPT asks Veera why he employs double standards? Why is it that Veera does not condemn, say, Suthep Thaugsuban and his sidekick Abhisit Vejjajiva, along with the military brass for their incessant lying about the state-instigated murders of 2010? The military has never done anything but lie on the use of live rounds and snipers. Both Suthep and Abhisit deny that protesters were shot by troops under their orders. One might suggest that this is because murder charges have been brought against them, but these denials have been maintained from the time they were in government.
So why the double standards? Part of the reason for Veera’s double standards is to propagate and re-energize the Democrat Party government’s men in black excuse for its murder of red shirts in 2010. Another reason is that Veera is the anti-democracy movement’s propagandist.
Rather than making political propaganda about this policeman’s admission of an obvious fact, Veera might be asking why it took a week for this to happen, but more than three years have passed and Suthep, Abhisit and the military are still lying.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 