BANGKOK, Oct 22 – Jatuporn Prompan, one of the key red shirt leaders, urge investigators at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to seek cooperation from the army in an attempt to locate the black-clad men alleged to have involved in the 2010 political violence.
In his testimony to the DSI today concerning the deadly clashes between security forces and red-shirt protesters in April and May 2010, Mr Jatuporn said the red shirt protests were peaceful gatherings of unarmed demonstrators.
Mr Jatuporn urged the DSI to secure close-circuit camera’s footage at the Army’s 11th Infantry Regiment, adding that he learned from army sources that the men in black actually came from the army’s unit which was used as a command centre of the now-dissolved Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES).
The red shirt leader said he came to the DSI to testify as a witness in the incident.
Mr Jatuporn said he did not harbour any ill intention against the military but wanted justice done with the then-prime minister and deputy prime minister who ordered (military operations).
When asked whether he could confirm the existence of black-clad men, the red shirt leader said the matter was cooked-up, saying the only media agency capturing images of alleged men in black released the picture three days after recording it on April 10 which he described as unusual.
The mysterious “men in black” have been linked to the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and were believed by some to have attacked security forces and killed people during the political violence.
The UDD has offered an additional 1 million baht reward for information about the men in black on top of the 1 million baht bounty already announced by the DSI last week for information leading to arrests of the suspects.
Mr Jatuporn said there were some people who expressed interest in contributing additional cash rewards for this purpose.
