The court agreed to hear testimony from 80 prosecution witnesses, out of 891 proposed by public prosecutors, and to hear 100 witnesses out of more than 300 proposed by the defence.

Suthep Thaugsuban, then secretary-general of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), and 28 other leaders of the group have been charged with many offences, including treason, acts of terrorism and obstructing an election.

The defendants denied all the charges when appearing before the court on Monday.

They were released on bail of Bt600,000 each, on condition of not leaving the country without permission from the court.

A monk formerly known as Phra Buddha Isara, one of the protest leaders, appeared in court in a wheelchair. He has now adopted his layman’s name of Suwit Thongprasert.

The ex-monk was taken to court from Bangkok Remand Prison, where he has been detained in a separate case in which he is charged with using the King’s name illegally.

The street protests held by the PDRC lasted from November 2013 to May 2014, the longest in Thailand’s political history.

The anti-government rally culminated in a military coup on May 22, 2014.

EC secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma said on Monday that he had assigned his deputy, Sawaeng Boonmee, to head a fact-finding investigation of the incident.

Under the new Political Party Act, parties are prohibited from allowing any non-member or outsider to interfere with their internal affairs, either directly or indirectly.

Any political parties found to be in violation of this provision risk being dissolved by order of the Constitutional Court.

Thaksin, who has been in self-exile overseas since 2008, last week was involved in a phone conversation with Pheu Thai politicians while he was in London celebrating the birthday of his sister, ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

In the conversation, recorded on video and broadcast in the media, Thaksin was heard predicting Pheu Thai’s election victory and warning its former MPs defecting to a pro-junta party that they would face electoral losses.

He holds no executive position in Pheu Thai but has retained much influence in the party, being referred to as “Big Boss” by many of its politicians.

Jarungvith said it could not be determined whether Pheu Thai had violated the law, as the party had yet to officially accept the outsider’s words as its policy.

Due to the junta ban on political activities, Pheu Thai has been unable to convene any party meeting, he added.

He also said he could not tell at this stage how long the EC’s investigation of the matter would take.

IN A MEETING with French President Emmanuel Macron today, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha would highlight economic relations, offering opportunities for entrepreneurs from France to use Thailand as their regional hub for trade and investment, but the junta chief was also ready to discuss democratisation, diplomatic sources said.

President Macron was expected to raise the issue of democratisation and human rights but Prayut would reaffirm his stance on following the road map towards election early next year, said diplomats close to the preparations for the meeting.

A group of exiled dissidents in France, meanwhile, plan to gather and show their disapproval of Prayut’s visit while urging Macron to pressure the junta chief on suppression of democracy and human rights abuses. Prayut, however, might not be seeing the dissidents, as the French authorities are likely to keep them away from the meeting venue.

“The relations with France these days are driven by economic factors notably the role of the private sector in trade and investment in aviation and the high technology sector,” said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Prayut arrived in France from London on Friday and witnessed the signing of an agreement between Airbus Commercial Aircraft and Thai Airways International in Toulouse to set up a multi-billion-baht maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) project for jetliners at the U-tapao airport.The MRO would be a giant leap towards making Thailand a genuine aviation hub in the region, said the diplomat and added the country would be a major supply chain for the industry.

Dubbed as the largest MRO hub of its kind planned for Asia Pacific, the U-tapao facility will have an annual capacity to service up to 4,800 wide-bodied aircraft such as A350 and A380 over the next two decades.

Many leading French companies such as VINCI Construction have also expressed their interest in doing business in Thailand, notably in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Their investments would support Thailand’s 4.0 vision and human resource development, he said.

Prayut’s visit to Europe became possible only after the European Union softened its stance on resuming political engagement at all levels with the Thai military government late last year.

Paris might have realised that enhancing economic ties had to go along with strong political relations with the Thai government, the diplomat said, adding, “engaging is better than no engagement”.

Macron, who champions the causes of reform, multilateralism and climate change, is expected to broach these subjects with Prayut, especially as Thailand would be taking the leadership reins of Asean next year. The EU is a dialogue partner of Asean and France also regards the regional grouping as the centre of security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, the diplomat said. In this context, regional issues such as the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar would be raised and Prayut was prepared to discuss Thailand’s role, he said.

Saran Chuichai is fixing posters in protest of Prayut’s visit to Paris–[pictured by Junya Yimprasert]

Meanwhile, activists Junya Yimprasert, Saran Chuichai – better known as Aum Neko – Jaran Ditapichai and other well-known dissidents said they had organised a series of protests since late last week when Prayut landed in France. The group has distributed hundreds of posters and stickers slamming Prayut as a dictator in Paris yesterday. Posters entitled “Dictateur de Thailande” were seen in public in Paris, according to Junya’s Facebook.

Jaran Ditapichai, left, is in protest on business deal between Airbus and Thai Airways sealed when Prayut arrived in France on Friday [pictured by Junya Yimprasert]

The demonstrations would reach a climax today when the group takes its protests to the French Presidential Palace, although local police would keep the group 150 metres away from the palace.

“There would be a surprise for the Thai dictator,” Junya told The Nation, “we have a clear message for the French leader – not to have any agreement with Prayut since he is not the legitimate leader of Thailand.”

Prayut staged a military coup in 2014 to topple the elected civilian government led by Yingluck Shinawatra, who is now in self-exile abroad and showed up in London when Prayut was there last week.

“We want President Macron to press him to return democracy to the Thai people soon,” Junya said.

The group also submitted a protest letter to Airbus when the giant aircraft manufacturer signed a pact with Thai Airways last week.

Yesterday, the group gathered at a park, distributed posters and leaflets as well as discussed the future of Thai democracy on the occasion of 86th anniversary of the 1932 Revolution that turned Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.

The signing ceremony took place during Prayut’s official visit to France where Airbus is headquartered. Earlier, Prayut also visited the UK and held talks with British prime minister Theresa May. Usanee Saengsingkaew, acting president of THAI, represented the national flag carrier at the ceremony in Toulouse, while Airbus was represented by Eric Schulz, its executive vice president.

The MRO project is a major component of Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) mega-investment project where the government aims to promote aviation and other industries.

The planned MRO hub will have the latest equipment and systems for all major types of jetliners’ maintenance and repair work using digital, analytic and other technologies.

In addition, the project consists of a repair centre for composite materials used in aircraft as well as a state-of-the-art personnel training centre.

The centre also will have resources and equipment to perform aircraft engine overhaul work for all Airbus fleets in the Asia and Pacific, where the airline and tourism industries have been growing at a rapid rate over the past several decades.

Dubbed as the largest MRO hub of its kind planned for Asia Pacific, the U-tapao facility will have an annual capacity to service up to 4,800 wide-bodied aircraft over the next two decades.

Prayut said the government aims to develop the U-tapao project and the EEC as a regional gateway for aviation and other industries. In addition, there will be linkages of land, sea and air transport services as well as development of a smart city and industrial parks within the EEC, which covers parts of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao provinces.

Regarding the expansion of the U-tapao international airport, the premier said the airport, which will be linked with Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang international airports via a high-speed railway, will be able to serve up to 15 million passengers per year within the next five years. In the next stage, U-tapao will be further expanded to handle up to 60 million passengers per year.

When combined with the capacities of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, Thailand will have one of the largest airport capacities in the region to accommodate the high growth rate of its tourism industry.

As part of the “Thailand 4.0” initiative, the government has also promoted the so-called new S-curve industries in the EEC, including e-commerce and logistics, smart and electric automobiles, bio-tech, bio-medicine and other new industries.

RED-SHIRT leaders and democracy activists yesterday voiced disappointment over the rejection of their appeals by relevant authorities within the justice system.

Nattawut Saikua, secretary-general of the red-shirt umbrella group United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), reacted emotionally yesterday to the decision of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) turning down a petition by UDD leaders.

The petition had urged the NACC to review its earlier decision not to prosecute former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his ex-deputy Suthep Thaugsuban for malfeasance in connection with the crackdown on red-shirt protesters in 2010.

The petition presented no new evidence to warrant a review, the agency’s secretary-general, Warawit Sukboon, said yesterday to explain the rejection.

He said if the UDD came up with new evidence before the case’s statute of limitation expired, they could seek a review of the original NACC decision.

Nattawut, who was present at the NACC press conference yesterday, said he did not think the agency’s decision was fair to the people killed during the street protests.

“My heart does not believe the decision is fair. As a human being, I can’t accept it.

“I am pained,” said the red-shirt leader, who is also a Pheu Thai Party politician.

The UDD leaders would collect new evidence and petition the NACC again, said Nattawut. They would gather at least 20,000 signatures and petition the Supreme Court through the Parliament president for an investigation into the NACC’s conduct.

“That will be done when we have an elected government,” Nattawut added.

Ninety-nine people were killed during the anti-government rallies held by the UDD between March and May 2010.

The victims included protesters, military and police officers, passers-by and foreign journalists.

Separately, the Supreme Court yesterday upheld earlier verdicts by the Criminal Court and the Appeals Court to reject a lawsuit filed in 2015 by a group of political activists against Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and four other leaders of the 2014 military coup. The plaintiffs accused the five coup leaders of committing treason by abolishing the Constitution and overthrowing the three branches of government.

Anti-coup group to fight on

In rejecting the lawsuit, the Supreme Court ruled that the post-coup interim charter of 2014 gave amnesty to all the coup-makers, who were later collectively known as the National Council for Peace and Order.

The Criminal Court had cited the same reasoning in rejecting the lawsuit in May 2015 as did the Appeals Court in February 2016.

The lawsuit was filed by 15 political activists and human rights campaigners, including Sirawit Sereethiwat, Pansak Srithep, Anon Nampha and Jatupat Boonpattararaksa. Some have ties to the UDD and the red-shirt movement.

Lawyer Anon Nampha, one of the petitioners, yesterday said the reasoning put forth by the judges would encourage military commanders into thinking that staging a coup was not a criminal act.

“Today we may not win. But I hope Thai society will defeat coups in the future. The law alone can’t beat coups,” he said.

Anon said the inability to punish the coup-makers was a “collective loss” for his group.

But he said they had been successful in communicating with the public that the coup had caused damage to the country over the past four years.

He said he hoped Thai society in the future, perhaps in the next 10 or 20 years, would realise that military coups were a social scourge.

“When the time comes, we will see those coup-makers punished,” he added.

The lawyer also said that some of the fellow-plaintiffs, who are a part of the People Who Want to Vote group, also are campaigning for “pro-democracy” politicians to eliminate all the legal remnants of the coup if they get elected.

Anon has previously represented red-shirt leaders in legal cases against them stemming from street protests.

Netizens accused Prayut of hypocrisy, alluding to his nationalistic campaign earlier this year. The propagator of Thai Niyom – literally Thaism in English – was pictured in the British capital on Thursday wearing a Louis Vuitton Jhelam scarf in black to match expensive-looking sunglasses and a vest.

The rest of the economic team, which included Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, accompanying Prayut was dressed modestly in a white shirt and trousers.

The photos were released online by government officials but were later removed after coming under criticism on the Internet and social media.

Some commentators were sarcastic, saying the scarf, which displayed the distinctive LV logo and reportedly cost more than Bt20,000, was ‘nice’ but perhaps he had borrowed it from a friend. The dig was a subtle reminder of the excuse offered by Prayut’s deputy and junta number two Prawit Wongsuwan when he was accused of possessing a large number of luxury wristwatches that were not declared to the authorities.

Others questioned: “Why does he seem to be the only one troubled by the weather? And FYI, it’s summer now in London.” The temperature during daytime when Prayut took a walk on Wednesday was about 26 degrees Celsius.

Government Spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak yesterday told Government House reporters in a chatroom message that the PM had been unwell and had been advised to wear the items to keep warm. He, however, did not say why such an expensive scarf was necessary to keep the strong soldier warm.

Prayut told the Thai community on Thursday that he was upset with such nit-picking on social media. He said he had dressed different from other officials during the stroll that day since he was not feeling well. “I just wore it but was not aware of the brand. I don’t know what’s the brand but it’s not so expensive,” he said. “The next time I will wear Pha Khao Ma [a traditional loincloth],” he said.

This is Prayut’s first official trip to Europe since coming to power after the 2014 coup, when diplomatic relations between Thailand and the free world got downgraded.

Prayut yesterday headed to Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron next Monday. The junta leader is expected to discuss democracy and the upcoming election.

But the junta chief may have reasons to feel uneasy. Like London, Paris is also home to a great number of anti-junta activists, including those living in exile fearing persecution.

After news got out about Prayut’s trip, they took to social media promising they would stage a demonstration against the junta chief.

As Prayut paid May a visit on Wednesday, he met with both supporters and dissidents in London.

Led by political critic Giles Ungpakorn, who faces a lese majeste charge and now lives in exile, the protesters held a big banner that read: “Prayut not welcome.”

Giles told reporters that as Prayut had come to power via a coup, he lacked the legitimacy to make any decision on behalf of the Thai people.

Supporters, meanwhile, held banners showing their backing and encouraged the junta leader to stay in power longer.

In addition to Prayut’s visit this week, London has also welcomed two former premiers, Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.

Thaksin threw a little birthday party for his sister Yingluck, who turned 51, in London on June 21, a day after Prayut’s arrival. Prayut was apparently not invited even though he had served as Army chief under Yingluck before he ousted her in 2014.

Prayut yesterday left London for France where he met with Airbus executive Guillaume Faury in Toulouse before witnessing a signing an agreement between Airbus and Thai Airways to set up a maintenance, repairs and overhaul centre in Thailand.

The NACC had ruled in 2015 that ex-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban were not guilty after they had been accused of ordering protest dispersals in May 2010 that killed nearly 100 protesters and injured thousands.

The red-shirt umbrella United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) had a petition with the NACC to review the closed case following a court’s verdict that confirmed the bullets killing protesters were fired by the military.

The NACC voted eight to zero that its previous verdict was correct. However, the agency would pass on the evidence that the UDD had presented to the Department of Special Investigation which was working on the crackdown case against the soldiers.

Vasit, a former deputy national police chief and former deputy interior minister, passed away on Wednesday night at Police General Hospital, where he had been treated for pancreas cancer for two weeks. He was 88 years old.

He was viewed as a key royalist who often praised the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej for what the monarch did for the country and the people during his reign. Vasit was also known for his public defence of the monarchy against criticism.

After the late monarch passed away on October 13, 2016, Vasit said the news brought him great sorrow although, due to the rule of nature, the passing did not surprise him at all.

“I thought the King would certainly pass away some day. But I had often cursed myself to die before he did. It’s because I didn’t want to hear this bad news,” he said.

After serving in the police force for almost three decades, Vasit gained the top rank of police general in 1989 and became a deputy national police chief in charge of special affairs, one of a select few to ever rise to that level without first graduating from the Royal Police Academy.

In August 1990, he left the police force to join the Chatichai Choonhavan government as deputy interior minister. But his time in politics was short-lived as he left the Cabinet in December that year, just a little over three months later.

For almost 12 years between 1970 and 1981, Vasit worked in the Office of Police Attached to the Court. That work allowed him to develop his respect and love for the late King while providing protection to the Royal family.

Vasit recounted his impression of the closeness between the monarch and his people. Many loyal subjects wanted to get as close to the late King as possible during his visits to different areas throughout the country. And that made the work of royal bodyguards like him more difficult.

“As court police, we had to assume that people who wanted to get close [to the King] might have ulterior motives. But in fact, most of them simply wanted to touch the King, or even his shoes. Some of them wanted to hand their petitions to the King in person,” said the former chief royal bodyguard.

Vasit was also well known as a productive novel writer, under the penname “Ko Bangkok”. His novels were mostly about policing and crime and more than a dozen of them became widely popular. He also wrote short stories and non-fiction anecdotes under his real name. Many of his novels were put into life as television series and films, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1998, Vasit was honoured with the prestigious title of National Artist in Literature by the Culture Ministry.

In his column in the Matichon newspaper, where he had served on the editorial advisory board, Vasit criticised the police force from time to time regarding irregularities in personnel transfers and complaints against senior executives at the Royal Thai Police, among other issues.

Vasit once said he considered it was his duty, towards the country and the monarchy, to comment publicly and to campaign against injustice in politics and public administration.

“My audience or readers may not be capable of fighting against bad politicians or bureaucrats. But at least they know what those people did wrong. I am ready to face the consequences of what I do. As long as I am physically able, I will continue doing it,” he said.

In reflecting on Thai society, Vasit once said, “We often teach our children and grandchildren about freedom and rights. But we forget to teach them about duty. People are aware of protecting their rights but they don’t do their duty when required.”

Vasit was born in northeastern Udon Thani province on November 14, 1929. Both of his parents were schoolteachers.

He graduated with a bachelors degree from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science. Later, he got a masters degree in Public Administration from New York University in the United States. While in the US, he also attended courses at the New York police academy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Vasit began his career as a lecturer at his alma mater, Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science, in 1952. Later, he joined the police force – starting with the Special Branch, then the Central Investigation Bureau, Border Patrol Police, before moving in 1970 to the Office of Police Attached to the Court, which was part of the Royal Aide-de-Camp Department. Vasit served at the court police office for almost 12 years and became its commander in 1978.

He was appointed a member of the National Legislative Assembly in 1973, a senator in 1989 and then again in 1996.

Vasit was married to Khunying Tassana Bunnag in 1957, and they had two children and three grandchildren.

His funeral ceremony is being held at Makut Kasatariyaram Temple in Bangkok. The bathing rite yesterday was presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The Abhidhamma praying ceremony started yesterday and runs until June 25 at 7pm.

Prayut met with May on Wednesday (yesterday Thailand) in London when the Thai junta chief arrived for a visit to cement ties and cooperation, notably on economic matters.

May said at the beginning of the meeting in front of cameras that she expected to see an election in Thailand in early 2019.

Prayut said in reply that his government was moving towards democratisation. “I reaffirm that the election will take place early next year. We are now preparing many legal instruments [for the poll] and many of them have already been promulgated. In the meantime, we are also preparing for the coronation ceremony,” he said.

Prayut has made similar promises about holding elections to other foreign leaders like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early 2015, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon in late 2015 and US President Donald Trump last year.

The two premiers also discussed the importance of continuing to cooperate on a range of shared international security challenges, including working together to tackle human trafficking, and strengthen the ability of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to attribute chemical weapons attacks, according to May’s spokesperson.

They also discussed the importance of the international community in continuing to come together to counter violent extremism and enhance cybersecurity, and to take forward efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade.

Regarding trade, the two leaders agreed that as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, the bilateral trade and investment relationship would continue to go from strength to strength.

May welcomed the work of the UK-Thai Business Leadership Council in identifying areas where bilateral trade could be further liberalised, according to the British spokesperson.

Prayut is leading a Thai delegation to UK and France until next week aimed not only at international recognition after the EU resumed political engagement with military-ruled Thailand at all levels, but also for business deals.

The Thai delegation includes economic tzar Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai as well as other economic ministers.

Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana and Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office secretary-general Kanit Sangsubhan yesterday joined a round table at Asia House in London to explain the government’s economic strategy and its pet EEC project with the hope of luring British investors. Some 20 business executives from leading companies such as ARUP, HSBC, KPMP, Shell, Prudential and Wood Plc attended the session.

Thailand 4.0 and the EEC were designed to link with other regional strategies such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Japan’s Open and Free Indo-Pacific and India’s Act East, said Uttama.

With such a platform, he said, Thailand could be a connecting point to other regional development schemes including Asean and countries in the Mekong basin – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Prayut’s visit was welcomed by pro-junta groups but encountered opposition from anti-junta movements resident in the UK and other European countries. International human rights defenders urged May and French President Emmanuel Macron to press Prayut on democratisation and human rights practices.

DEVELOPING a truly democratic Thailand requires that the country’s elites get behind the idea, a symposium heard yesterday. But public pressure can make a difference in motivating the powerful to move in that direction.

As author of “Comparative Transition to Democracy”, political scientist Siriphan Noksuan Sawasdee literally wrote the book on the democratisation experiences of other countries. She told the seminar that the role of the political elites is one of the most important factors in moving a country from authoritarianism to democracy.

Without their willpower, she said, it was unlikely the process would be successful.

Fellow political scientist Surachat Bamrungsuk agreed that changes were mostly the result of decisions made by the country’s leaders.

“It’s all about whether or not the elite will change. For Thailand, it depends on whether the military leader will change,” he said. “Unless they agree, the door to the transition to democracy can never be opened.”

But public opinion has the potential to play a major role in encouraging elites to change, said Surachat.

“Without the pressure [from public opinion], they will never change,” he said.

The symposium reflected Thailand’s current situation after four years of military-led rule installed by a coup and a vague promise of an election. “Transition to democracy” is also the buzz term used by the junta as they promised to put the country in order and return it to democracy.

Most pro-democracy activists have called on the junta to hold an election as soon as possible and support scrapping the junta’s legacy, including the Constitution. But Siriphan has a different view about the transition.

Gradual change 

She said it was important for different people to find common ground. Sudden changes or scrapping the Constitution may not yield a good result, she said, but it could also make those on the right wing of politics feel they were losing power and this would make it impossible to have a consensus. Siriphan proposed that changes to the Constitution be done gradually. How long it takes before an election does not matter as much as what has been done during the interval, she said.

But the clock is ticking, she said. It has been over four years since Thailand has seen an election, while other countries facing the same political situation took an average of two years to return the power to the voters.

High-profile political scientist Anek Laothamatas, who has served on several reform committees under the junta, said he saw Thailand as an exception when it came to democracy. The country tends toward a hybrid approach to regimes featuring a constant alteration between civilian and military rule, said Anek, who is a leader of the pro-junta Action Coalition for Thailand Party that he co-founded with pro-junta politician Suthep Thaugsuban.

This see-sawing happens because Thai voters are not really loyal to any particular rule, he said, but instead pay more attention to the performance of the government.

Occasionally, voters would miss the military when the government performed poorly. And it went the other way around, too, he said.

Democracy was a grey zone because it was too rigid to follow the book written by westerners, Anek said.

“It doesn’t fit us,” he said. “And I think it’s too ideological. And when we hold on too much to the ideology, it becomes a trap.”

Anek said that there was nothing wrong about reality not fitting the book. The book actually had to be written according to the reality, he said.

“So, I want us to be pragmatic in politics,” he said.