Army Chief denies double standards in handling yellow and red rallies

Matichon reported an interview which Army Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda had with 100.5 FM radio station on May 9.

Gen Anupong said that when there was a melee between yellow and red shirts on the night of Sept 1, 2008, he sent three companies of soldiers to intervene because the police force was not sufficient.  At 5 am on Sept 2, then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej ordered him to deal with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD)’s seizure of Government House.  He told the PM that he could not do it, because the PAD had threatened to shut down the water and electricity services, and the airports, if force was used; the country would have been damaged.  The police was better equipped than the military, and if large numbers of troops were to be mobilized, there could have been many casualties and injuries.  And that would put the military in a difficult position, in which the police now found themselves [due to the clash with the PAD on Oct 7, 2008].

He said that no matter who formed the government, the army would follow proper orders.  He had a good relationship with Samak.  The media even reported that he walked behind Samak because he was afraid of being dismissed from the post of Army Chief.

‘When he ordered me to disperse [the PAD], I told him that I couldn’t.  He understood, and we consulted on what to do.  He was about to lift [the Emergency Decree], but he was dismissed by the court for his TV cooking show,’ said Anupong.

Anupong said that during the Somchai Wongsawat administration, military force was not used [to disperse the PAD] either, and there was a lot of pressure from society.  And he had to [order troops to] help the police to guard many places.

And it was the same with the Abhisit government.  He lent support to the government as far as was allowed by law.  The government and the army agreed not to disperse [the red shirts], because if they held peaceful rallies, no one could do anything to them.  But the red shirts went too far in breaking the law, blocking traffic.  Even diplomats from many countries agreed that it was illegitimate, and the public also did.

According to Anupong, in the eyes of the public and foreigners, the red shirts went too far when they attacked and prevented the ASEAN Summit.  The Thai authorities could not answer foreign guests regarding Thailand’s security measures.

The road blockades in Bangkok had many impacts, causing chaos in the country. It was not a peaceful demonstration, and it had to be dealt with.  Just a few companies of soldiers were deployed, and they were insufficiently equipped.  So they had to use blank ammunition.  Although the use of blank ammunition was not really standard practice, there was no other choice.  Nothing else could have been done, said Anupong.

What happened was not a dispersal of the demonstrations, but the maintenance of law and order, because the demonstration at Government House was able to continue until the last day.

Anupong gave his word of honour that there would be no dispersal of demonstrations, but the demonstrations would probably be cordoned off to prevent newcomers joining.  He said he could account for his actions, and he was consistent no matter what government was in power.

Regarding the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Phuket, Anupong said that military troops might be used as the main security force, and the 15 nations would probably be asked to bring their own armed security personnel, because the police force was not sufficient, but that would damage Thailand’s reputation. 
 
When asked if the PAD’s seizures of the airports did not cause trouble in the same way that the red shirts’ road blockades did, Anupong said that at that time the Samak government declared a state of emergency, and Interior Minister Pol Gen Kowit Wattana was the one who was in charge.  The Metropolitan Police and the Air Force took charge of Don Muang Airport.  Provincial Police Region 1 took charge of Suvarnabhumi Airport, and they could ask for help from the navy, and then from the army, respectively.  The army, which was third in line of command, sent three companies of soldiers to help, said Anupong.   
 
‘So you see?  Could Pol Gen Kowit Wattana do it?  He was the one who’s in charge. The state of emergency had been announced.  How could I all of a sudden have sent out the troops on my own?  What authority did I have?  How could I answer if I was asked who gave the order?  If there were any casualties, how could I answer the Court as to who gave the order?

‘That is not double standards.  It’s like saying there are robberies, or student brawls, why doesn’t the army intervene?  It’s not our duty.  I had no idea who [Pol Gen Kowit] gave orders to, because I had no authority. Pol Gen Kowit was in charge under the Emergency Decree.  I was Army Chief.  What could I do?  It’s not double standards.

‘Just ask Pol Gen Kowit why he didn’t [do his duty].  Don’t ask me.  But I would say that he could not do it.  If it was to be done, I would say how it should be done, and such and such losses would result.  Could the police do it?  Then give the orders.  Probably no one dared to give the orders, because there would be deaths and injuries.  [Interviewer] should ask Pol Gen Kowit why he didn’t.  Why double standards?  Why did he do it on Oct 7 [2008], but didn’t this time?’, said Anupong

He said he was tired by the media and the misunderstanding of people.  His non-partisanship has made him a target of abuse from three sides; the yellows, the reds and the media.
 
He said he was now consulting lawyers about taking legal action against what PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul had said about him.

When asked about the assassination attempt on Sondhi, Anupong said, ‘I don’t know.  How could I know?  I’ve never seen any cartridges, never seen the car, never seen any detail of the case, never talked to anyone who witnessed the scene, never seen the [closed-circuit] cameras, never seen any pictures.  The media have also never seen them, so how could you make your criticisms?  I don’t know.  I’ve seen just that.  How could I know?’ said Anupong.    

Source: 
<p>http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1241855586&amp;grpid=00&amp;catid=01</p>

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