THE House of Representative today (Oct. 3) gave the go-head to Narathiwat Provincial Court to immediately arrest Gen. Pisal Wattanawongkiri, Pheu Thai’s party-list MP, for not attending a hearing of a lawsuit on the dispersal of a protest at Tak Bai district that led to 85 people dying on Oct. 25, 2004 when he was 4th Army Region commander, Naewna newspaper said.
However there are just 22 days left for the statute of limitations to expire, People’s MP Rangsiman Rome pointed out during today’s House session.
Pol. Lt. Col. Aphat Sukhanan, secretary-general of the House, said the Court of Justice had sent a letter requesting permission to prosecute Pisal.
After a meeting was held on this issue a reply was sent to the Court of Justice last week that according to paragraph four of Article 124 of the 2017 constitution, which is a new content, legal action could be taken against Pisal without parliamentary approval.
It is now at the court’s discretion whether or not to arrest Pisal, he added.
That Pisal has not been attending House sessions is because he took leave to go abroad for medical treatment from Aug. 26 to Oct. 30 with his application being approved by Deputy House Speaker Pichet Chueamuangphan, he mentioned.
“From now on, it is up to the court’s discretion. If Gen. Pisal is found, he can be arrested immediately. However, on days when there is a House session, the court must release him to attend it.
“After the meeting is over, he can again be taken back into custody,” Pol. Lt. Aphat said.
At today’s House session Rome slammed the government and police for dragging the Tak Bai case to the point where there are now just 22 days left to reach the statute of limitations, after which it will no longer be possible to take legal action against those involved.
Every government must take responsibility for settling this issue until peace is restored at the southern border, he said, pointing that this incident occurred when Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister.
The government at the time set up a fact-finding committe which concluded that the incident was caused by negligence by state officials which led to this tragedy.
In the end, successive governments ignored this case until now it is almost expiring, Rome said, adding that even this lawsuit was filed by the people themselves and is not a result of government action.
On Oct. 25, 2004 a demonstration of around 1,500 people took place in front of a police station in Tak Bai to protest the detention of six men. Several hours into the protest, the crowd attempted to cross the police barrier into the station. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, and the crowd responded by throwing rocks. Police fired into the air and then into the crowd at head height, killing seven.
Almost 1,300 protesters were detained at the scene. They were ordered to strip to the waist, lie on their stomachs, and crawl to nearby trucks that would transport them to another site. Footage taken by journalists confirmed allegations that many protesters were kicked and beaten with sticks even after they complied with orders to lie on the ground.
The detainees were then stacked atop one another in trucks and transported to Inkayut Army Camp in Pattani Province. The drive took five hours, and by the time the trucks arrived at the destination, 78 detainees had died from suffocation or organ collapse.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Pheu Thai MP Gen. Pisal Wattanawongkiri, left, and a House session taking place, right.
Insert: People’s MP Rangsiman Rome. Both photos: Naewna
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