Week 20 (14 April 2012 – 20 May 2012)
ASEAN Newspapers Issues pertaining to Thailand/politics
Number of article(s): 9
Keywords/criteria used for search: Thailand, Thai
Online newspapers included in search: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei) Brunei Times (Brunei) Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia) Cambodia Daily (Cambodia) Jakarta Post (Indonesia) Jakarta Globe (Indonesia) Vientiane Times (Laos) Vietnam Net (Vietnam) Nhan Dan (Vietnam) The Star (Malaysia) The New Straits Times (Malaysia) The Philippine Inquirer (Philippines) The Straits Times (Singapore)
Table of Contents
BRUNEI TIMES 4
15 / MAY / 2012 17 WOUNDED IN THAILAND ROADSIDE BOMBING (APF – ALSO FEATURED IN THE STRAIT TIMES) 4 • This article relates to the Southern insurgency. • 17 people including paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Southern Thailand, local police said • Local news reported of the blast on the 14 May. The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight. 20 / MAY / 2012 40,000 RED SHIRT SUPPORTERS GATHER IN CENTRAL BANGKOK (APF ALSO FEACTURED IN THE STRAIT TIMES) 4 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • It was estimated that approx. 40,000 "Red Shirt" supporters converged on central Bangkok • According to the report the rally highlight was a live video link with Red Shirt hero Thaksin at around 6:00 PM 20 / MAY / 2012 SHARED PASSIONS ARE BRIDGING THE DIVIDE IN THAILAND'S SOUTH (AFP) 5 • This article relates to the conflict in the South. • According to the article, there exists a common interest for sports, among southerners particularly for football. This common factor, it is argued, is where Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand's restive south can find common ground, where grassroots efforts to find elusive peace are gaining ground after years of bloodshed. The case is made in terms of the Pattani football team where people of different background and culture • It is stated that Thailand's obsession with football comes second only to Thai boxing, except in the deep south where football is even more popular and provides a rare space for often‐divided communities to come together.
THE PHNOM PENH POST 7
17 / MAY / 2012 AGREEMENT REACHED AT THAI SEAFOOD FACTORY 7 • This article relates to the working situation and possible human rights violation at the Phattana Seafood factory which is own by PTN. According to the Phnom Penh Post, a conclusive settlement seem to have been reached between the factory and its Cambodian employees, Cambodian ambassador to Thailand You Ay said on the 16 / May. • The ambassador was quoted for stating that she had helped strike an agreement that ensured the workers received free housing, This comes after a string of allegations of contractual breaches as well a the seizure fo passports from the Cambodia employee by the factory and CDM Trading Manpower in Cambodia.
JAKARTA POST 8 19 / MAY / 2012 DIVIDED BUT PEACEFUL 2 YEARS AFTER THAI VIOLENCE 8 • This article is an opinion piece and summary of the past events and the current situation with regards to the domestic political situation (Red shirts/government and the Democrats/opposition). • According to the article, there seems to exist a temporary acceptance of the situation from both sides, yet this can only be seen as temporary. Issues of Thaksin's return and amnesty are seen as potential factors that could destabilize the truce between the two groups.
JAKARTA GLOBE 10
20 / MAY / 2012 RED SHIRTS SEND WARNING TO THAI ELITE (AP) 10 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • Furthermore, according to the article, Red Shirts supporters are demanding accountability from the political elites for the deaths of some 91 people during the violent clashes in March‐May 2010.
NEW STRAIT TIMES 12
14 / MAY / 2012 17 INJURED IN SOUTHERN THAI BOMB BLAST 12 • This article relates to the Southern insurgency. • 17 people including paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Southern Thailand, local police said • Local news reported of the blast on the 14 May. The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight. • Also in a separate incident seven people made up of a police officer, a paramilitary volunteer and five civilians were injured in a hand grenade attack late last night in downtown Narathiwat province. A suspect has been detained in relations to this incident 18 / MAY / 2012 – YINGLUCK ANNOUNCES STRATEGIES FOR FIGHT CORRUPTION 13 • This articles relates to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra recent announcement on the government's anti‐corruption strategies • Relevant law amendments as well as hotline to receive corruption complaints as been opened. 20 / MAY / 2012 IMPATIENT THAI RED SHIRTS WANT JUSTICE FROM PM YINGLUCK (REUTERS) 14 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • According to the article, many red shirts are angry at the failure of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to bring to account those responsible for the 91 deaths during the 2010 events. Some are threatening action that could destabilise her government and start another period of political upheaval, after months of relative calm.
Brunei Times
15 / May / 2012 ‐ 17 wounded in Thailand roadside bombing (APF – Also featured in the Strait Times)
SEVENTEEN people including 10 women paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Thailand's insurgency‐plagued south, local police said yesterday.
The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight.
The device, which was concealed in a gas canister, was detonated when the military vehicle stopped at traffic lights, injuring 15 troops and a security volunteer. A local man travelling in a pick‐up truck was also hurt.
Police said none of the victims were seriously injured.
A shadowy insurgency, without clearly stated aims, has raged in Thailand's three southernmost provinces — Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala — since 2004.AFP
http://www.bt.com.bn/news‐asia/2012/05/15/17‐wounded‐thailand‐ roadside‐bombing
20 / May / 2012 ‐ 40,000 Red Shirt supporters gather in central Bangkok (APF)
UP TO 40,000 "Red Shirt" supporters from across Thailand converged on central Bangkok yesterday to mark the second anniversary of a deadly crackdown on street protests, city police said.
A carnival of flag‐waving Red Shirts, food vendors and the occasional monk, took over the retail heart of the city, where the 2010 protests in support of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra descended into the kingdom's worst violence in decades.
Police blocked traffic at the Ratchaprasong intersection, one of Bangkok's busiest junctions, as mainly rural working‐class Red Shirts arrived en masse in coaches laid on by the movement.
"At 6pm (1100 GMT) there were around 40,000 people at Ratchaprasong," a Bangkok police spokesman said as the rally highlight — a live video link with Red Shirt hero Thaksin — approached.
Red Shirt leaders had anticipated between 100,000 and 200,000 people would attend the rally, which began with Buddhist prayers for those killed in the 2010 unrest and will end early today.
More than 90 people, mostly civilians, died in the 2010 violence, which marked the culmination of a series of rival protests since a 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin, who now lives overseas to avoid arrest in Thailand.
The Red Shirts have called on the new government, led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck, to prosecute soldiers and officials responsible for causing the deaths and injuries, many to unarmed demonstrators.
So far no cases have been brought in connection with the violence and Yingluck's government has raised the prospect of an amnesty for those involved, prompting an outcry from human rights groups.
Red Shirt leader Thida Thavornseth stood on the stage — framed by a banner proclaiming in Thai 'Our friends must not die in vain' — and thanked the crowd for coming.
"Your numbers are a testament to the fact that our movement still exists and is getting stronger and stronger," she said.
The city's vast Central World shopping mall, which was set alight in the chaotic and bloody endgame to the 2010 protests, closed early as the crowd packed into the courtyard outside waiting for Thaksin's address.
AFP
http://www.bt.com.bn/news‐asia/2012/05/20/40‐000‐red‐shirt‐supporters‐ gather‐central‐bangkok
20 / May / 2012 ‐ Shared passions are bridging the divide in Thailand's South (AFP)
A SHARED passion for football is uniting Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand's restive south, where grassroots efforts to find elusive peace are gaining ground after years of bloodshed.
Unmissable in their bright orange shirts, the players of local side Pattani FC exchange banter almost as fast as their passes around the training pitch.
It is a scene familiar to football clubs across the world. But Pattani play in far from ordinary circumstances.
The Division Two team's hometown is in the heart of an area riven by a raging insurgency that has claimed more than 5,000 lives since 2004 in near‐daily bomb or gun attacks against both Buddhists and Muslims.
Despite the violence off the pitch, for Pattani's players all that matters is scoring goals.
"We are not divided, whether Muslim, Buddhist or Christian. We are all friends," said Samae Samak, a young Muslim.
As Thailand's government struggles for answers to end the seemingly intractable conflict, local peace moves are gathering pace.
The nation's obsession with football comes second only to Thai boxing, except in the deep south where it is even more popular and provides a rare space for often‐divided communities to come together.
"In Pattani, no matter how far away people live or if there have been incidents, they come to watch football matches," said Pitsarok Rujakat, a Buddhist player, originally from the north of the country.
Recent attacks have seen tensions rise across the troubled region: on March 31, bomb blasts left 15 dead and hundreds wounded in the cities of Yala and Hat Yai.
The explosions, which targeted civilians, appeared to mark an escalation in the campaign by the Muslim militants, who often target soldiers with makeshift roadside bombs.
Monks and teachers seen as a symbol of the Thai state are also sometimes attacked while out collecting alms or travelling to work.
Human rights groups accuse the army of carrying out reprisals in villages suspected of harbouring the suspects, perpetuating the cycle of violence.
On the campaign trail last year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised greater autonomy for the worst‐affected southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
But those pledges have remained unfulfilled and most of the three provinces have been under a state of emergency since 2005, with locals subject to deeply unpopular laws allowing 30‐day detention without evidence.
Governors and senior army officers are mostly Buddhist and appointed from outside the region, fuelling resentment among the Muslim‐majority local population.
Despite recent conciliatory overtures, the government has failed to find a path out of the chaos.
In late April, Yingluck met local religious leaders and military officials, promising an injection of money for education, sports clubs and small businesses in the hope of easing tensions, but activists are sceptical.
"The main problem is martial law and the massive army presence," said Huda Longdewaa, president of the Southern Association of Women for Peace.
The prime minister "talked about sending more troops, but this can't solve anything."
Where the government struggles, localised efforts at peace are gaining traction.
In the village of Bangma in Pattani, soldiers started a month ago to visit a mosque every week to discuss about the conflict with its imam and learn the basics of Islam and the local language, Yawi.
They also share ideas on the region's economic problems and distribute medicine for the elderly.
"They do not know much" about Islam, said the Imam Kono Samae. "They come to study local traditions and are trying to understand them."
But for many on both sides, true reconciliation seems a long way off.
Recent reports of affairs between local Muslim women and Buddhist soldiers sparked anger among villagers, highlighting the divide that needs to be bridged for peace to take root.
"Our cultures are very different, women, family... it takes a long, long time to understand those differences," says Thai army Captain Worayuth Boonyakait after a meeting with the Bangma imam.AFP
http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2012/05/20/shared‐passions‐are‐bridging‐ divide‐thailands‐south
The Phnom Penh Post
17 / May / 2012 ‐ Agreement reached at Thai seafood factory
A conclusive settlement has been reached in the long‐running dispute between a Thai seafood factory and its Cambodian employees, Cambodian ambassador to Thailand You Ay said yesterday.
Rights groups and workers at the Phatthana Seafood factory in Thailand’s Songkhla province, which employs 1,050 Cambodians, have accused the company of a raft of abuses.
After workers won concessions from the factory on wages, possession of passports and a food allowance, they continued protesting for free housing, which they argued was promised by Cambodian labour firm CDM Trading Manpower in the contracts to send them abroad.
You Ay said she had helped strike an agreement that ensured the workers received free housing, required CDM Trading Manpower to visit the factory every month and address their access to healthcare.
“I do hope that everything is better now, and I promise to you that I will follow up everything that the factory and CDM agreed with workers,” she said.
But for a group of workers she described as semi‐legal, the high price of obtaining passports and the multiple steps towards becoming legal workers remained a problem.
“How to do this one because the [semi‐legal] workers do not have money to pay from the beginning?” she said.
Joel Preston, a consultant at Cambodian Legal Education Center, said about 100 of these workers had been trafficked by different groups to the factory.
“Our priority is that everyone is legitimate and they’re legally entitled to be there,” he said.
Preston said if the agreement the ambassador had negotiated was respected, it was finally a step in the right direction.
“If they’ve been given what they were promised by CDM, workers should be content to stay and make the best out of a bad situation,” he said.
So Saobol, a CDM Trading Manpower representative responsible for its Phatthana Seafood workers, said the ambassador had settled the issue.
Phatthana Seafood’s parent company, PTN, which supplies retail giant Walmart, has repeatedly failed to respond to the Post.
Workers also could not be reached yesterday.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012051756221/National‐ news/agreement‐reached‐at‐thai‐seafood‐factory.html
Jakarta Post
19 / May / 2012 ‐ Divided but peaceful 2 years after Thai violence
Just two years ago, Thailand was at war with itself. Rifle shots and exploding grenades rang out in Bangkok as troops crushed through barricades to disperse a nine‐week‐old insurrection. A retired nurse was the last to capitulate. "I stood before the soldiers and asked if they wanted to shoot me, or arrest me," said Phussadee Ngamkham, now 57, who became a hero of the Red Shirt protest movement by refusing to budge while others fled a final crackdown by soldiers on May 19, 2010, after weeks of deadly street fighting. "At that time, I had made a promise with my Red Shirt brothers and sisters that if we didn't get democracy, I wouldn't go home," she said. Those days of mayhem, which pitted Thailand's rural masses against a government they decried as elitist and which left at least 90 people dead and almost 2,000 injured, now seem a world away. An election has since given an overwhelming mandate to the party most closely allied with the protesters, and the normally peaceful Buddhist country has returned to its routines and tourists to its tropical beaches. Much of the us‐versus‐them vitriol has dissipated, giving way — for now — to an apparent acceptance on both sides that while neither the current government nor its predecessors are perfect, elections may be better than street violence for deciding the country's future. On Saturday, Red Shirt supporters gathered in central Bangkok to peacefully mark the anniversary. Like most Red Shirt rallies it was to include an evening video appearance by ex‐premier Thaksin Shinawatra. He fled into exile after being ousted by a 2006 military coup, and was convicted of corruption in absentia. The 2010 conflict was largely between supporters of Thaksin — whose populist policies made him the rural poor's hero — and supporters of Thailand's traditional powerholders in the royal palace and the military. Part of the reason for the current state of peace is because Thaksin's supporters have been appeased by the new prime minister, Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra. She won her 2011 campaign by a landslide and ended the premiership of Abhisit Vejjajiva, a staunch Thaksin opponent who ordered the May 19 crackdown on anti‐government protesters who were demanding that his government immediately resign. Still, deep divisions remain, and many wonder how long this phase will last. "It's stability on the surface. The conflicts are still there," said Michael Nelson, a Thai studies lecturer at Walailak University in southern Thailand. "It's a return to business as usual, and as long as there's no really outstanding point of conflict." Yingluck has continued in the spirit of her brother's populist policies, cementing her rural base and winning over others who were not initially supporters. She has increased the minimum wage, handed out ample tax refunds to the budding middle class and endeared rice farmers with a new program that pays them above market rates for rice. Many Thais who oppose Thaksin have come to terms with his sister's government, saying she has managed to maintain an uneasy but welcome calm. And Thai politics has not yet produced a viable alternative to the Thaksin camp. "I'm not satisfied with this government, but to be honest the Abhisit government wasn't any better," said Siriluk Pornchaitipparat, an anti‐Thaksin cafe owner who had to shut her central Bangkok shop for 10 days in 2010 when the Red Shirt rioting raged in her neighborhood. "No matter how incompetent I think Yingluck is and no matter how much I'd like to reject the current government, I don't see any other choices who can compete with them effectively," she said. "Life goes on as usual but we don't know when another round of demonstrations will occur. Maybe when Thaksin returns." Yingluck's unstated priority is to ease the way for her brother to return without serving the two‐year sentence for corruption in office that he fled to avoid. Thaksin himself has said he would like to return to Thailand this year, a prospect that would surely fire up the other camp of protesters in Thailand, known as the anti‐Thaksin Yellow Shirts, who also have wreaked havoc on Bangkok streets over the past half‐dozen years. Yingluck's ruling party has pushed for a broad amnesty bill for political leaders, supporters and security forces involved in the 2010 unrest — seen as an attempt to pave the way for Thaksin's return. New York‐based Human Rights Watch warned against such a measure as an affront to reconciliation, and has criticized both Yingluck's and Abhisit's government for failing to bring to justice a single soldier or official for the scores of deaths and injuries that occurred during the political violence. "This gives the green light for ... people in uniform to do this again next time," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director. At least one lasting legacy of the Red Shirt movement is the political awakening of Thailand's majority of rural and urban poor. Phussadee, the former nurse known as the "Last Red Shirt," said she'll hold the government to account regardless of whether or not it hails from her side of the country's political divide. She said the Red‐Yellow divisions in her neighborhood remain, though she is happy to note the hostility has eased. "Without the mob mentality, people tend to think with reasons, not emotions. The Yellows are thinking what they did was not totally right and now the Red Shirts also see that the government they supported is not perfect either," she said. "I think I have accomplished the goal that I fought for two years ago, but it's still just the first step," she said. "I'm giving this government four years before they lose my support."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/19/divided‐peaceful‐2‐years‐ after‐thai‐violence.html
Jakarta Globe
20 / May / 2012 ‐ Red Shirts Send Warning to Thai Elite (AP)
Thailand’s “red shirt” movement is flexing its muscles again, saying reconciliation must be preceded by truth and accountability for the political violence that left 91 people dead two years ago.
On the anniversary of a military crackdown in the streets of the capital in 2010, tens of thousands marched to a rally at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection yesterday.
There, the leaders of the movement warned that the violence should not be swept under the rug in the interest of a cosy compromise by the political elite.
While it is clear that the red shirts have an independent voice, it is also clear that the movement continues to support Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Puea Thai party — and her older brother and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
But it may be the first time in a history littered with coups d’etat and political violence that accountability is being demanded by such a wide cross‐section of Thais.
“We want to show the power of the red shirts,” said the movement’s chairman Thida Tavornseth in an interview behind the stage at the rally in downtown Bangkok’s business and shopping district.
“We are for reconciliation, but it’s a long way off and you need the truth to come out first.”
The rally underlined the breadth of continued support for Thaksin, who spoke via a video link to the crowd. It was a reminder that, even after he was booted out of office by the army in 2010 and had two of his political parties disbanded, the Puea Thai party still managed to sweep elections last year and his sister became the country’s first female prime minister.
“We want to show not the government but the aristocrats our power,” Thida said.
The red shirts have challenged Thailand’s entrenched power structure, demanding an end to interference in electoral politics by the “amart,” or aristocratic and bureaucratic elite, and the army.
The old elite are deeply suspicious of Republican elements in the red shirt movement, and fear erosion in the stature of the monarchy and the rise of populist elected governments.
Army chief Prayuth Chan‐ocha last week warned red shirts against forming “red villages” in southern Thailand as the movement has successfully done in the north and northeast. “We must allow time to know what true democracy is, and to what extent,” he said.
The red shirts are a sprawling coalition of groups which has grown in strength and organizational capability. But a move towards an amnesty for crimes related to politics in the interest of reconciliation is being hotly debated in the movement.
Last week, Somsak Jiamthirasakul, a Thammasat University academic, was quoted in the Post Today criticizing red shirt politicians now in positions of power in the government.
“It is not fair to ask the grassroots to risk losing their lives while those claiming to love democracy, having been elected, do nothing,” he said. “You are elected to serve the people, not to enjoy political power and cling to your posts.”
Red shirts are divided over whether to support an amnesty in the interest of continued political stability with Yingluck in charge and Thaksin’s potential return to Thailand, or to pursue justice for those killed in battles with the army in 2010.
“The purpose of today is to remember our heroes. We must bring the murderers to justice,” said Weng Tojirakarn, one of the movement’s leaders.
Referring to violence that left scores dead in 1973, 1976 and 1992, with almost nobody ever held accountable, he said: “This time is totally different. This time the people are involved in the situation.”
Many supporters of the movement are also upset that prominent red shirt Jatuporn Promphan was removed from his seat in Parliament.
Last Friday, the constitutional court ruled that his election last year was invalid because his membership in the Puea Thai party had been nullified automatically when he was jailed on remand last May.
“All the independent organizations are still in the hands of the oligarchs,’ Weng said, citing the verdict on Jatuporn, who was due to speak at the rally last night.
He defined “oligarchs” as “a group of people, former civil servants and military officers.”
But he said: “If there is no change in the political structure, it will be very dangerous for Thaksin to come back” from the self‐exile he has been in since 2008.
Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/red‐shirts‐send‐warning‐to‐ thai‐elite/518980
New Strait Times
14 / May / 2012 ‐ 17 injured in Southern Thai bomb blast
BANGKOK: A total of 17 paramilitary volunteers and civilians were wounded during a Red Cross fair in Thailand's far south in a Pattani's explosion while seven others were injured after a grenade attack in another fair in Narathiwat, local media reported today.
Seventeen people ‐‐ 15 paramilitary volunteers and two civilians ‐‐ who were assigned to secure safety at a Red Cross Fair in southern Pattani were wounded in a bomb attack when returning from duty around midnight yesterday.
According to police, assailants detonated a bomb hanging on a road sign as a truck carrying the 17‐member group was travelling on a road linking downtown Pattani and a military camp in another district, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a related development, seven people made up of a police officer, a paramilitary volunteer and five civilians were injured in a hand grenade attack late last night in downtown Narathiwat province.
Reports said two men on a motorcycle hurled two hand grenades into a checkpoint at a Red Cross Fair while members of the police and military forces were inspecting vehicles heading to the fair. However, only one of the grenades exploded.
Police have detained one suspect for further investigations.
Since the resurgence of insurgency in January 2004, over 11,000 violence‐related incidents had taken place in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which once were part of the independent sultanate of Pattani.
More than 5,200 people were killed and nearly 8,000 wounded during this period. ‐‐ BERNAMA
http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/17‐injured‐in‐southern‐thai‐bomb‐ blast‐1.83791#ixzz1vRX6OUM0
18 / May / 2012 – Yingluck announces strategies for fight corruption
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has announced anti‐ corruption strategies and has opened a hotline to receive corruption complaints, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.
Yingluck briefed her government's anti‐corruption strategies to Cabinet members and representatives of government offices at the central government complex, emphasising on proactive and effective anti‐graft attempts.
The prime minister also opened a new official hotline to receive corruption tip‐ offs and complaints and promised her administration will amend relevant laws to support the anti‐corruption strategies.
The Pheu Thai premier urged government offices and local communities to start fighting against corruption within their own agencies first, as advised by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, warning that corrupt personnel will be punished. ‐‐ BERNAMA
Read more: Yingluck annnounces strategies to fight corruption ‐ Latest ‐ New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/yingluck‐annnounces‐strategies‐ to‐fight‐corruption‐1.85273#ixzz1vRVmw9BJ
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/yingluck‐annnounces‐strategies‐to‐fight‐ corruption‐1.85273
20 / May / 2012 ‐ Impatient Thai red shirts want justice from PM Yingluck (Reuters)
BANGKOK (Reuters) ‐ Thailand's "red shirts" took to the street this weekend to mark the anniversary of the army's bloody repression of their mass rally in Bangkok in 2010 amid growing signs of a rift with the government they helped elect last July.
Many red shirts are angry at the failure of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to bring to account those responsible for the 91 deaths during the 2010 events. Some are threatening action that could destabilise her government and start another period of political upheaval, after months of relative calm. At least 20,000 people attended the rally, which ended peacefully in the early hours of Sunday. They blocked a major crossroads where a huge shopping mall was set on fire during the dispersal of the 2010 rally. "My son has been in prison for two years and hasn't been allowed bail. I haven't received any help from this government to get him out," said Bantao Muangkot, whose son was arrested for allegedly setting fire to a town hall in the northeast. Families of those killed fear a political amnesty bill proposed by the Yingluck government could see charges dropped against those guilty of crimes related to Thailand's six‐year political crisis, including members of the military, former ministers now in opposition and ex‐premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Red shirts at the rally held pictures of Thaksin, Yingluck's brother, who was ousted in a coup in 2006. He has chosen exile to avoid going to jail after being found guilty of a conflict of interest when he was in power but is itching to return. Though they support Thaksin, many red shirts are demanding a full investigation into the military's role in the deaths. "Most red shirts I spoke to said that if they were forced to choose, they would rather see those responsible for the violence go to jail than bring Thaksin home to Thailand," Thida Thawornseth, leader of the red shirts' United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, told Reuters. Thaksin addressed the rally through a video link. "I know you feel hurt, but we have to push personal issues to one side and work for the greater good, for reconciliation," he told the crowd. "Those responsible for the killings in 2010 will be brought to justice but that could take some time." The government has enjoyed an uneasy peace since taking office, facing little opposition from the royalist, anti‐Thaksin "yellow shirts" of the People's Alliance for Democracy, whose leaders also stand to gain from an amnesty, having organised the invasion and closure of Bangkok's two airports in 2008. LESE‐MAJESTE Natthaputt Akhard, whose sister, Katekamol, a volunteer nurse, was shot dead in a temple during the crackdown on the 2010 rally fears most cases will remain unresolved. "My mother whispered to Thaksin at a red shirt gathering in Cambodia that she didn't want an amnesty deal, she wanted the truth," said Natthaputt. Soon after, Thaksin addressed red shirts on Thai television, asking them to "make sacrifices" for the greater good. "Thaksin would be betraying the reds if he made a deal at their expense," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. Anger at the government's refusal to amend Thailand's strict laws that shield the country's monarchy from criticism is also causing tension. Many red shirt supporters at the rally wore T‐shirts calling for an amendment to the lese‐ majeste laws. That is a sensitive issue in a country where King Bhumibol Adulyadej is regarded by many as semi‐divine. Critics say the laws are being abused to silence or imprison opponents of the royalist establishment and some are angry that Thaksin and Yingluck seem more interested in reaching a political compromise than addressing injustice. "This government should try harder, especially to ensure red shirts still in jail are treated in a humane way," Thida said. (Editing by Alan Raybould and Ron Popeski) Copyright © 2012 Reuters
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/20/worldupdates/2012‐ 05‐20T043000Z_1_BRE84J02A_RTROPTT_0_UK‐THAILAND‐ REDSHIRTS&sec=worldupdates