Who Was Who In 2010
It is not surprising to see Mr. Suthep Thueksuban, former vice Prime Minister and former director of the so-called Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), insisting that his decision to authorize the fully armed military personnel to disperse the protesters in 2010 was a correct, innocent, and appropriate one.
Surely, every individual has the freedom to speak or express according to what he or she believes, and it is the right of the individual to defend his or her self from allegations.
But whether other individuals and agencies would agree with Mr. Suthep is entirely different matter.
We hope that the Court of Justice will judge what is right and wrong according to the laws, after it has collected all the information and accounts from every side involved, while the society that has been waiting for "truth" about the incident will finally understand what really happened, or reaffirm whatever beliefs they have already held.
What is certain is this: the investigation about deaths of civilians caused by the military crackdown cannot rely on what came out of Mr. Suthep's mouth alone. One must listen carefully to all sides of the story.
Another crucial piece of information that we must bear in mind is that almost 100 civilians and security forces personnel were dead with more than 2,000 people injured by the crackdown, and that there must be someone to take responsibility for the losses.
The legal process to achieve justice for those who suffer losses is important thing, but what is also important is the process to discover the truth so that the society can learn together, that we might find the way to prevent such atrocities from recurring in the future.
History will not only remember who has which roles in the crackdown, but also who attempted to hide the truth when others sought to reveal it to the world.
