DPA
Bangkok - Thai police on Tuesday arrested a leader of the protest movement that seized Bangkok's two airports in 2008, costing the country billions of dollars in lost tourism and trade revenue.
Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a former leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was arrested while eating lunch at a Bangkok supermarket on charges of illegally occupying Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang Airport from November 27 to December 3, 2008.
The PAD, also called the yellow shirts for the colour of its protest apparel, held street protests for seven months in Bangkok to try to topple the then-government, led by the People's Power Party. The party was openly supportive of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
The weeklong seizure of the airports ended after Thailand's Constitutional Court disbanded the party for election fraud, paving the way for a new government.
The PAD leaders were charged with seizing public property but have never been brought to trial and sentenced.
'I intended to get arrested,' Chaiwat said. He claimed he was on his way to police headquarters to turn himself in when he was nabbed by police.
Earlier Tuesday, Chaiwat led hundreds of protestors to the Grand Palace to petition King Bhumibol Adulyadej to look into the government's mismanagement of a border spat with neighbouring Cambodia.
The PAD claim to be royalists, but their detractors charged they have dragged the monarchy into Thai politics. Yellow is supposed to be the lucky colour of the king.
Chaiwat is also a core leader of the Thai Patriots Network, whose main mission is to return the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border to Thai control. The World Court on 1962 ruled the temple belonged to Cambodia, but Thailand still claims a plot of land adjacent to the Hindu site.
Another Thai Patriot Network leader, Veera Somkwankid, was arrested by Cambodian soldiers December 29 after he and six other Thai nationals wandered into Cambodian territory to inspect another disputed border area.
Veera faces charges of both illegally entering Cambodia and spying, for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Except for Veera, the other six Thais have been freed on bail although they have been barred from leaving the country.
2 comments:
He should be charged because of holding a video camera and recording the scene or the scenario on Cambodian side. He should be charged for being spy!
These Thai people have no respect for Cambodia sovereignty. They think they can do anything they want even it means in Cambodia territory. To my opinion, I think they are trouble makers with their attitude to disrespect their neighbor.
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