Thai minister rejects charges over last year’s airport siege
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has refused to resign after police questioned his involvement in last year’s Bangkok airport siege. He reported to a police station on 06-July evening to hear charges which include illegal assembly, invasion, breaches of aviation law and terrorism following the rallies by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). He was among more than 30 leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) summoned by the police this week.
“I am not a terrorist” said Kasit whose involvement in the last year’s airport siege has made him a major target for the opposition, led by allies of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Kasit was seen speaking at several rallies by the Yellow Shirt protesters, who occupied the prime minister’s office compound for three months and shut down Bangkok’s airports.
The PAD is an ardent royalist group that helped topple tycoon Thaksin with mass rallies in 2006 and then took to the streets again last year to drive his allies out of government.
Their campaign peaked with the seizure of Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi international and Don Mueang domestic airports, which left hundreds of thousands of travelers, stranded and caused huge economic damage.
They abandoned the airport siege after the Constitutional Court disbanded the former ruling pro-Thaksin party in December. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister later that month.