Mini-walkathon in protest
Surprisingly warm send-off for villagers
Anchalee Kongrut Bangkok Post, Aug 24, 2000
Protesting villagers led by the Assembly of
the Poor did not receive a red-carpet welcome when they marched to the
Criminal Court to answer summonses yesterday but they certainly got a
surprisingly warm send-off.
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| Pak Moon villagers
gather at the Criminal Court yesterday to attend a court hearing
in a case in which they have been charged with trespassing on
Government House compound on the night of July 16. _ KOSOL
NAKACHOL |
As their bail expired yesterday, the 220 villagers charged with
trespassing on Government House and their supporters walked the 12km
distance for four hours from their make-shift protest site to the court
building on Ratchadaphisek Road.
But it was a different story when they emerged from the courthouse.
Three coaches and minivans were provided by a senior justice official to
ferry them back to the protest site.
The 220 villagers were arrested in the middle of last month after they
scaled the Government House wall which sparked a melee between riot police
and other protesters outside the compound.
Chamroen Waraporn, president of Lawyers Association, posted bail
guarantee for 189 of them while the other 31 used personal guarantees to
bail themselves out.
Mr Chamroen yesterday arrived at the court before the villagers and
proceeded to request the court for an extension of the bail.
When the villagers arrived and were told of Mr Chamroen's action, they
became upset and rebuked the lawyer for taking action without informing
them.
Suriyan Thongnu-iad, an adviser to the assembly, reiterated that the
villagers were not guilty of any charge and would fight in court to prove
their innocence.
He asked Mr Chamroen to withdraw the bail guarantee because the
villagers have no trust in him as their legal representative.
Mr Chamroen is known to have close ties with senior members of the
Democrat Party. He claimed it was his own initiative which had nothing to
do with the Democrats when he posted bail for all the villagers even
though he was not requested to do so.
Since then, he has had no contact with the villagers or their leaders.
Both sides have passed on messages to each other through the media.
This was Mr Chamroen's second bail extension request. He has repeatedly
insisted that his moves were well-intentioned.
When the court hearing was completed at about 3pm, Bandit Ratchatanandh,
deputy permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry, assigned three coaches
and minivans totake all the villagers back to their makeshift village
outside Government House.
"The court doesn't want to imprison people who do not deserve to
be in jail. These cases are not really serious," he said. When the
bail extension expires again on Sept 4, Mr Bandit said he would ensure the
villagers were afforded "the convenience" in reaching the court.
However, he declined to confirm that he would provide transportation to
the villagers.
If the authorities decide to proceed with the legal action when the
villagers' bail expires early next month, the Law Society of
Thailand-another lawyers' group-would provide legal aid as the assembly
had earlier requested.
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