Suthep: Retention of CRES necessary

DaffyDuck · 25-06-2010, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by Thaihome

Originally Posted by Pol the Pot

Wouldn't quick elections solve the problem of legitimizing Abishit's government? I don't understand why he doesn't just get himself elected properly. That'd solve all the problems and people would stop unfairly calling him a puppet. Jeez, I thought he was Eton and Oxford educated.

Being Eton and Oxford educated is why he knows he is properly elected by a majority of the members of Parliament.
TH

It appears that Pol the pot hit upon the other reason why some other regulars appear to constantly miss that point -- I guess what that tells us, pretty clearly, that guys like mc2, sabang, Noodles, SloppieJoe, Tom Sawyer -- are not only NOT Eton and Oxford educated, but actually lack a proper education.

A point they will, of course contest - and while they could easily disprove it by providing their own educational qualifications, something tells me they won't...

This, of course, explains why they support the legitimacy of uneducated trolls like Samak, or supermarket degrees like Thaksin's - it's a background and level they feel comfortable with, while a leader with an 'A' class education makes them uncomfortable.

It's no surprise that many of the same are rejecting someone like Obama, because he's black, in charge, and has achieved more than they ever will.

**Pol the Pot** · 25-06-2010, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Thaihome

Originally Posted by Pol the Pot

Wouldn't quick elections solve the problem of legitimizing Abishit's government? I don't understand why he doesn't just get himself elected properly. That'd solve all the problems and people would stop unfairly calling him a puppet. Jeez, I thought he was Eton and Oxford educated.

Being Eton and Oxford educated is why he knows he is properly elected by a majority of the members of Parliament.
TH

After a coup that toppled the last popularly elexted government, two elected PM's kicked out and 17 months of being bickered about he still thinks he wants to serve out the term, supported by (suposedly) bought MPs?

That's chutzpah! Go Abishit! He must have a large informal following.

**Mid** · 25-06-2010, 02:55 PM

CRES allows campaigns for 25 Jul by-election
Sarun Saelee

BANGKOK, 25 June 2010 (NNT) – The Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) has allowed candidates for the 25 July by-election to arrange election campaigns freely but in a peaceful manner under the state of emergency imposition.

Elaborating the directions given by the CRES, Election Commission (EC) Secretary-General, Suthipol Taweechaikarn, confirmed that a public gathering of more than five people could be done to support or give morale to the election candidates while election campaigns could be organized freely.

The secretary-general however noted that all election campaigns and related activities must end in an appropriate time without inciting unrest or breaching the constitution. He also cautioned that political speeches must not be provocative or incite people to cause unrest.

Mr Suthipol added that election candidates could use no more than 1.5 million THB in their election campaigns under the EC regulation. He said any candidates forbidden from processing financial transactions by the CRES order could seek an exemption from the Army Chief, General Anupong Paochinda.

The by-election will be organized on 25 July 2010 in Bangkok’s constituency 6 to succeed late Democrat MP, Tiva Ngernyuang. The ruling Democrat Party, the opposition Puea Thai Party, and the New Politics Party of the People’s Alliance for Democracy will send candidates to vie for the vacant seat.

thainews.prd.go.th

**Mid** · 26-06-2010, 06:24 PM

Red editor says emergency decree like mafia law
PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK
June 26, 2010

The emergency decree is being used as a tool to "destroy political dissent and democracy", said Somyos Pruek-sakasemsuk, a key red-shirt member and editor who was detained for three weeks under the law.

Calling it "mafia law", Somyos said there were still 400 more people - some as old as 70 - being detained with very little information known about their condition. Most are unlikely to be proven as "terrorists" as alleged by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, he said. The red-shirt supporter was detained from May 24 to June 13, when the court found that there was not enough evidence to detain him. People being detained under the emergency decree are "political prisoners", though the government maintains that they are mere suspects, Somyos said.

"I was definitely a political prisoner," he said, adding that he had no access to TV or newspapers until the last two or three days in prison. He says he had to endure scorching heat, living in a makeshift tent outdoors, surrounded by two layers of two-metre tall barbed wire at the Adisorn Army camp in Saraburi province.

While the heat was almost unbearable, he realised that freedom was very dear to the human spirit.

"They interrogated me on everything - though many [issues] had nothing to do with my charge," he said. He had been detained on the charge of "assembling with more than five people for political reasons", while he was distributing leaflets calling for a rally in a province that was not under emergency rule.

Somyos insisted there were only three persons, including fellow detainee Suthachai Yimprasert, a historian at Chulalongkorn University.

"They tried to make me confess that I received money from Thaksin Shinawatra and offered me some help in return if I stopped my political activities - such as ending the publication of the Voice of Taksin magazine [which was eventually shut down by the government]," Soyos told The Nation. "This offer is unacceptable anyhow."

A big change in his detention came in the third week, on June 2, when - just five minutes prior to the arrival of members of the National Human Rights Commission - his makeshift 3x5-metre tent, where light was kept on all night to make sure he didn't escape, was quickly dismantled. His accommodation was upgraded to a small dorm-like room.

Officers listened to his conversations with all visitors, including those from the rights commission.

While hundreds detained under the law are little known figures, Somyos has a high public image and an online campaign to free him was launched by sociologist Chaiyan Ratchakoon, a former director of the Thai Studies Centre at Thammasat University. Somyos credited Chaiyan, who he does not know personally, for the pressure that eventually led to his release.

Now out of detention and planning to challenge the government by launching a new red-shirt bi-monthly magazine called Red Power early next month, Somyos said detaining people under the emergency decree will not lead to reconciliation.

"Reconciliation can only take place in a democratic environment. The government must accept the equality of those who have differing political views," Somyos said. He is currently exploring possible legal ways to hold the government accountable for holding him in a small tent under the scorching sun for more than two weeks.

nationmultimedia.com

**Tom Sawyer** · 26-06-2010, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by Mid

The emergency decree is being used as a tool to "destroy political dissent and democracy", said Somyos Pruek-sakasemsuk, a key red-shirt member and editor who was detained for three weeks under the law.

Calling it "mafia law", Somyos said there were still 400 more people - some as old as 70 - being detained with very little information known about their condition. ...

"I was definitely a political prisoner," he said, adding that he had no access to TV or newspapers until the last two or three days in prison. He says he had to endure scorching heat, living in a makeshift tent outdoors, surrounded by two layers of two-metre tall barbed wire at the Adisorn Army camp in Saraburi province.

"They interrogated me on everything - though many [issues] had nothing to do with my charge,"
...
"They tried to make me confess that I received money from Thaksin Shinawatra and offered me some help in return if I stopped my political activities - such as ending the publication of the Voice of Taksin magazine [which was eventually shut down by the government],"
...

Officers listened to his conversations with all visitors, including those from the rights commission.

nationmultimedia.com

And the US remains silent. The rest of us understand that this is just the beginning. These mass interogations will lead to a purge of course - just like Chile, Argentina and all the rest that the US client states have implemented the CIA playbook. Chapter for chapter it seems (see the Issues piece)

**ENT** · 28-06-2010, 01:53 PM

Letting Jatuporn, Natuwat and other key red shit stirrers ( some are actually charged and under some form of secret semi-arrest, ....as a prisoner, fek all civil rights, no?) register for election, while charged and (supposedly) confined,. is, I think, a tad skewif.

For the simple reason being, that their status as non-criminal participants in the election is in question.

Until the courts resolve the issue (as they are partly trying to do), those arrested as charged are under confinement, so ineligible to participate in the normal social/ political interactions of a free citizen.

Thus the reds in "custody" are legally unable, temporarily, to fulfil all necessary requirements to register as candidates for election, as supporters of the law and as registered voters in Thailand.

Now when it comes to the machinations of the legislature and government in the matter, deals are struck in Thailand, rarely conforming to western expectations of events.

So shit runs free.

**StrontiumDog** · 29-06-2010, 08:31 AM

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...emergency-rule

Government may keep emergency rule

Published: 29/06/2010 at 12:51 AM
Online news: Local News

The government will review its plan to lift the emergency decree in some central provinces after Sunday's RPG attack on an army fuel depot in Nonthaburi, acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says.
The attack and other acts of sabotage will be taken into account when deciding whether to lift the decree, which has been in force for about three months in Bangkok and 23 other provinces, Mr Panitan said before the meeting of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban earlier said the government would weigh the current situation carefully before it makes a decision on whether to revoke the decree next Monday, CRES spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd quoted him as saying hours before the meeting.

Mr Suthep, who is charge of security and is CRES chairman, made the comments after two rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired at one of 11 fuel depots in the Quartermaster's Department compound on Sanam Bin Nam Road in Nonthaburi's Muang district on Sunday night.

There were no injuries in the attack.

The steel-made fuel tank had been empty for nearly 20 years and did not explode, an army source said.

Nonthaburi is among central provinces where it was thought the government was likely to lift emergency rule as all had been quiet there. Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Ayutthaya were in the same boat.

Mr Panitan said Sunday's attack in Nonthaburi hurt the province's prospects. It could dim the hopes of critics who want the government to lift the decree which they say is undemocratic and violates human rights.

In addition to the Sunday attack, a bomb also exploded near the head office of the Bhumjaithai Party last Tuesday.

Two days later on June 24, a homemade bomb was found at a phone booth in Udon Thani.

Despite emergency law being place, army chief Anupong Paojinda admitted in the CRES meeting Monday that safety could not be guaranteed.

Meanwhile, police were working with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to look into Sunday's attack.

Deputy city police chief Amnuay Nimmano said police and DSI officers were investigating whether the incident was related to an earlier RPG attack on a jet fuel tank owned by Thai Petroleum Pipeline Co in Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district on April 21. The attack caused a 4cm hole in the jet fuel tank, but the fuel did not ignite due to the tank's protective double layer.

An initial police investigation said four unidentified men were seen on Sunday on two motorbikes near the Quartermaster's Department. They were believed to have launched the RPGs in front of Tasai Upatham school where they could see the fuel depot most clearly.

Mr Suthep said in Monday's meeting the CRES has not yet concluded if the attackers were in the same group which allegedly launched attacks during the red shirt rally.

The army source said Gen Anupong has ordered an internal investigation besides the police probe due to concerns that some soldiers in the Quartermaster's Department might have colluded with the attackers.

In another development, Pol Lt Gen Amnuay said officers had arrested three out of seven suspects allegedly involved in the bomb blast near the Bhumjaithai office last Tuesday .

He did not believe the incident had been set up so that the emergency decree could be kept in place.

Democrat spokesman Buranat Samutharak said the party believed attackers were targeting political parties, including the Democrats and New Politics. He also cited the party's assessment of the situation which says acts of sabotage were being prepared in Bangkok by underground groups, imitating insurgents in the far South.

The Puea Thai Party and United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship have denied involvement in the bomb near Bhumjaithai, which is the main coalition partner of the Democrats.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government had no reason to use the attack to prolong emergency rule.

**StrontiumDog** · 29-06-2010, 11:43 AM

Getting real bored of this, real fast...

"Failed to admit its defeat"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingn...-kept-in-place
House panel: Emergency law needed

Published: 29/06/2010 at 10:05 AM
Online news: Local News

The government should continue imposing the emergency decree in Bangkok and 23 other provinces as the red-shirts have not yet given in and are still moving against the government, Jeh-arming Tohtayong, chairman of the parliamentary state security committee, said on Tuesday morning.

Mr Jeh-arming believed the recent bombings in Bangkok had a connection with the red-shirt people group, which had failed to admit its defeat.
He also believed there would be more violence during the July 25 by-election in Bangkok’s constituency 6.

“Therefore, my panel has suggested the government keep emergency rule in place. Tight security should also be provided for the prime minister and other ministers involved in the crackdown on red-shirt protesters,” he said.
National Security Council secretary-general Thawil Pliansri took the same tone, saying the emergency law is necessary as the situation has not truly returned to normal.

The recent bomb attacks in Bangkok showed that the violence is not over, Mr Thawil said on Tuesday morning. He said one reason for the bombings was the military's withdrawal of troops from the city to their barracks.

He said there will be no discussion of lifting the state of emergency this week, but the issue will be tabled for consideration next week when the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation would consider whether it is necessary to redeploy troops in the capital.

**StrontiumDog** · 30-06-2010, 09:07 AM

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...lace-of-decree

Govt considers ISA in place of decree

Published: 30/06/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

The government is considering replacing the emergency decree with the Internal Security Act in areas thought to still pose a security risk, acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says.

Mr Panitan, who is also deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, yesterday said the government is looking at introducing the ISA when the executive decree on public administration in emergency situations is lifted.
The ISA provides for the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), chaired by the prime minister, to take charge of security operations. Soldiers play a support role in assisting police and officials maintain law and order.

See also:
Democracy without liberty is illiberal democracy
No longer an emergency

The joint civilian-military Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) is now responsible for the enforcement of the emergency decree.

Emergency rule bans public political gatherings of more than five people and any attempts to disrupt order. It prohibits the spread of disinformation or news which could cause fear or misunderstanding, and gives the authorities sweeping powers to restore order as instructed by the prime minister.

Mr Panitan said the imposition of the ISA is not yet the main issue, as security authorities are still discussing whether the emergency decree should be kept in place. The security situation in different areas is the key factor in deciding whether to continue the use of the decree.

"In areas where the situation is volatile, if the emergency decree is lifted, it must be ensured that the situation is under control, especially in Bangkok and surrounding areas," Mr Panitan said.

"In Udon Thani and Chiang Mai, we must consider if the police can work without the emergency decree. If police can [carry out their work], it can be lifted."

The emergency law is imposed in 24 provinces, including Bangkok. The order is due to expire next Wednesday. The government will decide on Tuesday whether to lift it after the CRES assesses the situation.

Mr Panitan said a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on an army fuel depot in Nonthaburi on Sunday was something the government would have to consider when deciding whether to lift emergency rule.

He said the attackers needed training to use the RPG launcher and needed easy access to and a quick exit from the Quartermaster's Department which was the target of the attack.

He believed the attackers are linked to recent anti-government protests.
Prompong Nopparit, spokesman for the opposition Puea Thai Party, dismissed Mr Panitan's remarks. He said the grenade attack is a ploy to justify the continued imposition of the emergency law.

The National Security Council is one of several agencies in favour of keeping the emergency rule in place.

NSC secretary-general Thawil Pliensri yesterday said the decree remains necessary while national order is still being restored. However, he admitted that the decree has affected people's freedom.

**StrontiumDog** · 30-06-2010, 11:43 AM

One says one thing, another says another....

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingn...replace-decree
Suthep: ISA won't replace decree

Published: 30/06/2010 at 11:23 AM
Online news: Breakingnews

The government has no plans to replace the state of emergency with the Internal Security Act in some areas, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security Suthep Thaugsuban said on Wednesday.
Security agencies will assess the overall situation before deciding to lift the emergency decree. Their assessments will be used for consideration next week, Mr Suthep said.

"I think it is necessary to continue enforcing the emergency law in Bangkok as some groups of people have been trying to create unrest in the city areas," he said.

The state of emergency was invoked in Bangkok on April 7 and extends to 23 other provinces to deal with the anti-government movements of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship. It is due to expire on July 7.

Mr Suthep said the government had frozen suspected red-shirt backers’ financial accounts to prevent some people from inciting violence.

"However, I see that freezing the financial accounts would only prevent violence to some extent because the terrorist group still has other channels to get financial support.

"The funds for the red-shirts are from within the country and there are no foreign nominees as reported," he said.

The deputy premier said he had received reports that some fugitive UDD core figures like Arisman Pongruangrong might have escaped to Cambodia.

**StrontiumDog** · 01-07-2010, 01:43 PM

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...ncy-law-in-bkk

PM for keeping emergency law in BKK

Published: 1/07/2010 at 12:58 PM
Online news: Breakingnews

The state of emergency should be continued in Bangkok but might be lifted in the other 23 provinces if the situation has returned to normal, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

Mr Abhisit said he agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is director of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), who said earlier that Bangkok was still at risk of violent attacks by anti-government elements.

The CRES spokesman, Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, said Mr Suthep had raised this matter for discussion at previous meetings of the CRES.

It was agreed at the meetings that the state of emergency should be lifted in as many areas as possible with the condition that after the emergency decree was no longer imposed the efficiency of authorities responsible for security must remain unchanged, he said.

Col Sansern said National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri, as secretary-general of the CRES, would on Friday look into the possibility of revoking the emergency decree in some provinces, taking all factors into account.

The NSC chief was expected to make a final decision on July 5 and submit his recommendation to the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he said. The emergency decree expires on Tuesday night. Cabinet will decide if and where to renew it.

**Pol the Pot** · 01-07-2010, 01:47 PM

Mr Abhisit said he agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban

He had better! Or lil' Abbiboy'll get jarred!

**Mid** · 01-07-2010, 06:04 PM

CRES spending, allowances questioned
1/07/2010

The actual budget for the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), initially put in the region of a billion baht, has been questioned by the House committee on military affairs.

The committee, chaired by Pol Lt-Col Somchai Phedprasert of the opposition Puea Thai Party, wants to know how much money had been spent from the central fund of the 2010 budget for the operation of the CRES, which was set up to oversee the protests of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

Representatives of the Budget Bureau were invited to testify to the committee on Thursday. They included Thammasak Samphansantikul, director of the General Administration Budget Preparation Office, Duangta Tancho, director of the Budget Policy and Planning Office, Kalaya Fongsamut, director of the National Security Budget Preparation Office, and Sarasin Sirisathaporn, director of the Defence Budget Preparation Office.

All of them testified similarly, that it had not yet been concluded how much had been spent on the CRES, as it is still in operation. They believed it could be more than one billion baht.

Pol Lt-Col Somchai also asked them why soldiers and police working for the CRES receive a special allowance of 400 baht per day, while those operating in the three southern border provinces get only 210 baht per day.

The representatives of the Budget Bureau said the size of the allowance had been fixed under agreements made between the army and security agencies and the Finance Ministry. The Budget Bureau was responsible only for allocating the money.

Pol Lt-Com Somchai said the committee would on July 8 invite high-level executives of the Finance Ministry to explain whether it was still necessary for the CRES to get such an allocation.

The committee chairman said he was of the opinion that it was a waste of tax payers' money to continue paying the allowance to more than 60,000 personnel of the CRES when the situation had been, to an extent, resolved.

"More importantly, the Finance Ministry and the government should not allow the allowances for security personnel to be so different. Soldiers and police in the southern border provinces are operating in a riskier situation," he said.

On Wednesday, Surapong Towichakchaikul, a Puea Thai MP for Chiang Mai, also demanded the Anti-Money Laundering Office examine the assets of members of the CRES and Department of Special Investigation.

Mr Surapong made the demand in his capacity as chairman of the subcommitee on microeconomics of the House committee on monetary, fiscal and financial institutions.

He accused some CRES officers of extoring money from the 83 individuals and companies who have had their financial transactions frozen for allegedly funding the red-shirt protests.

bangkokpost.com

**StrontiumDog** · 02-07-2010, 10:00 AM

Chavarat believes state of emergency will be lifted soon

Chavarat believes state of emergency will be lifted soon

Interior Minister Chavarat Chanweerakul Thursday expressed confidence that the state of emergency in several provinces will be lifted soon.

He said the Interior Ministry has monitored activities of the red-shirt people in several provinces and found that they become less active in their campagns.

Chavarat said the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation will consider whether to lift the state of emergency in the provinces but he believed the possibility is high that the state of emergency would be lifted.

He added that the emergency is likely to be extended in some provinces, where red-shirt people still had active campaigns, like Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen.

The Nation

**dtalok** · 02-07-2010, 10:20 AM

with no evidence whatsoever, just based on how these people operate, i am sure that there will be no elections even next year in november, the emergency decree will remain in force, and i have no doubt that the excuse for why they cannot have the election is already being planned out
emergency decree "decide if and when to renew it" i am sure they will lift it in a few provinces to show "progress" but basically it is a means to have immunity to do whatever the government wants as long as possible, because they realize their opponents are a big problem [sorry-pompem]

**Butterfly** · 02-07-2010, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by dtalok

i am sure that there will be no elections even next year in november,

I hope you are right, the country is not ready for an election, it would certainly turn violent

at least we have a good government, can you imagine the same scenario with the old team under Thaksin and his yellow PAD friends ?

**Pol the Pot** · 02-07-2010, 11:30 AM

You confuse, Butterfly.

**Butterfly** · 02-07-2010, 11:32 AM

^ look it up, the yellow PAD team is made in majority of all Thaksin former loyal friends

hilarious, isn't it ?

**Pol the Pot** · 02-07-2010, 11:38 AM

Indeed it is. Goes to show how loyal they'll be to PAD

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