More PAD leaders report to police

BANGKOK, March 12 (TNA) - More leading political activists under the helm of Thailand's yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) reported to police Monday morning to acknowledge charges. The PAD leaders, including a famous actor, Saranyoo Wongkrajang , Sawit Kaewwan, Panthep Puapongpan and Pichet Patanachot, met the police investigators at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, in response to the police's third summon based on written orders earlier issued by public prosecutors. Most of them were charged with violating the emergency decree, but Sarayoo and Sawit separately acknowledged additional charges of forcing other people to act or not to act and involving in terrorist acts respectively. All the PAD leaders, who are among remaining 36 PAD activists summoned by the police, have denied the charges. Police General Somyos Pumpanmuang a Royal Thai Police advisor in his capacity as the head of the police investigators' team for the case, told reporters he was informed by PAD lawyers that a total of 30 remaining PAD activists would report to police by Monday, including those meeting the officers this morning, while five others have asked for postponing their reporting to police indefinitely and the rest one has never contacted police. Police General Somyos vowed, however, that his team would seek a court approval for arrest warrants against remaining PAD members who failed to report themselves to the police by March 17, the deadline of the third summon. The yellow-shirt PAD is a strong Thai political movement against convicted ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his allies, including two previous administrations led by late premier Samak Sundaravej and premier Somchai Wongsawat, as well as the red-clad National United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The charges against the PAD leaders were related to the PAD group's 10-day seizure of Thailand's main Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi Airports in late 2008, as part of the country's political turmoil against Thaksin from 2005-2010. (TNA)