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Thai opposition greets probe leader with skepticism
Agence France Presse - June 8, 2010
Anusak Konglang, Bangkok – Thailand's prime minister on Tuesday named a former attorney general to head an investigation into last month's deadly street violence, sparking a row with the opposition, which said it feared a whitewash.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Kanit Nanakorn would set up an independent panel to probe clashes between armed troops and Red Shirt antigovernment protesters that left 89 people dead, mostly civilians.
The opposition Puea Thai party, however, called for inter-national watchdogs to take the lead in the inquiry, saying a probe headed by Kanit would probably be a "whitewash."
"It's difficult to accept Kanit as chairman of this committee as he's very close to government figures and was selected by Abhisit, who ordered troops to crack down on protesters," spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.
"If the government wants all groups in Thailand and worldwide to accept the findings, it should invite international organizations to act as investigators."
Kanit, 73, is the dean of law at Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok. He headed a probe into alleged extrajudicial killings of 2,500 people during a war on drugs under ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and is idolized by many Red Shirts.
Speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum in Vietnam on Sunday, Abhisit said he wanted somebody who was sympathetic to the Red Shirts in the panel "to make sure that all sides can be confident of the neutrality of their work."
Abhisit has pledged to accept the findings of the probe.
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