BANGKOK
Thailand’s anti-corruption agency announced Tuesday that it is to start the impeachment of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy, local media reported.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission is to investigate Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban over the 2010 repression of anti-government “Red Shirt” supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that led to more than 90 deaths.
Commission Secretary General Vicha Mahakun told the news website Matichon that Vejjajiva and Thaugsuban failed to “review or adjust the tactics used by military personnel to disperse the demonstrators.”
He added: “They should have considered that, among the demonstrators, there were not only armed people but also demonstrators without any weapons and bystanders who were not linked to the political conflict.”
On May 19, 2010, Vejjajiva and Thaugsuban ordered the military to launch an assault on up to 3,000 Red Shirt demonstrators encamped in Bangkok’s commercial district.
Some protesters opened fire but most were unarmed and indiscriminate firing by troops killed several people, including nurse Kamolkate Akahad, who was caring for the injured, and Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi.
Between April 10 and May 19, more than 90 people were killed, the vast majority being Red Shirt demonstrators.
Murder charges were filed against Vejjajiva, who was born and educated in Britain, and Thaugsuban but the case was dismissed in August last year with the court citing its lack of jurisdiction.
The junta-appointed National Assembly will vote on the impeachment and if impeached Vejjajiva and Suthep face a five-year ban from politics.
Shinawatra’s sister Yingluck, whose government was deposed by the military in May last year, was impeached last month for dereliction of duty in a costly rice subsidy scheme.
The case was filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which has been widely criticized for leading a campaign against the Shinawatras and ignoring their political enemies, including Vejjajiva and Thaugsuban.
Yingluck also faces criminal charges over the rice subsidy program. If convicted she faces a jail term of up to ten years.
