Warrant issued for Gen Pisal

The Narathiwat provincial court has issued an arrest warrant for Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri, a Pheu Thai Party list MP, in connection with the 2004 Tak Bai massacre case.
The Cross Cultural Foundation said on Thursday that the arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday at the request of the victims’ lawyer.
The foundation is legally representing the families of the 85 people who died during the Fourth Region Army’s dispersal of protesters in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district on Oct 25, 2004.
Gen Pisal, a former commander of the Fourth Army Region, was previously summoned to stand trial, but he was protected under his parliamentary immunity against legal prosecution.
However, House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said the 2017 constitution contains a provision which allows the judiciary to prosecute Gen Pisal as long as the legal prosecution does not interfere with the MP’s parliamentary duties.
Gen Pisal failed to respond to his summons, leading to the arrest warrant.
The 74-year-old now finds himself among seven defendants being prosecuted on a number of charges for allegedly colluding to murder the 85 protesters, said the foundation.
Gen Pisal ordered the dispersal of the protest and declared an emergency decree at the protest site, in which seven demonstrators died at the scene. A further 78 others died from suffocation or organ failure after 1,000 protesters were piled up in several layers on top of one another in 25 military trucks. They were transported in such a state to Ingkhayutthaborihan military camp in Pattani, 140 kilometres away.
Meanwhile, Rangsiman Rome, a People’s Party list MP, on Thursday accused the government of attempting to stall the legal proceedings in the Tak Bai case by not allowing the suspects to be brought to stand trial until the case’s 20-year statute of limitations expires on Oct 25.
He claimed the government is doing this to protect an important figure in the government from being named in a court hearing of witnesses as the real mastermind behind the massacre.
“Now people tend to believe you and your political party aim to bring the case to an end by letting its statute of limitations expire without any hearing of witnesses because their testimonies will possibly point to the bigger name, won’t they?” said Mr Rangsiman.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai responded that the question was apparently aimed at discrediting the government and its so-called important person.
In reality, this case is undergoing the judicial process involving various sides, including police, prosecutors, and the court, Mr Phumtham said. The government is doing its part by speeding up the police hunt for suspects to stand trial, which isn’t easy, he said.
“If you ever have evidence to prove your claim that the police are dragging their feet, bring it out to prove the claim. Don’t just imagine things and make a groundless accusation out of that,” he said.