ABOUTPolitics
Premature parties cancelled after Yongyuth verdict -Stage show confirms government's suspicions over Saprang -PAD hopes rest of cabinet will follow in Noppadon's wake
Yongyuth: Supporters forced to cancel celebrations |
PPP backed the wrong horse
The People Power party is reeling from the embarrassment of betting that its former deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat, accused of buying votes in the last election, would be exonerated by the Supreme Court.
The PPP had been preparing to celebrate when the Supreme Court delivered its guilty verdict on Mr Yongyuth, dealing a massive blow to the PPP members planning a lavish bash for the former House speaker.
The party had reportedly been so confident of his court victory that it was proceeding to include him in the cabinet line-up at the next reshuffle.
On the day the court read its verdict, PPP supporters turned up in droves at the party headquarters and outside the court. Roses in hand, they were apparently certain he would be let off the hook and they would have cause for celebration.
The ruling, however, stunned the supporters who had been counting on him resuming his political career. The guilty verdict came with a five-year political ban on one of the most influential power brokers in the PPP.
The opposition Democrat party was baffled by what it felt was an incomprehensible level of confidence from the PPP that Mr Yongyuth would survive the trial unscathed. The Democrats said the vote-buying evidence was so apparent that there was not the slightest loophole in the law through which he could escape.
The PPP, on the other hand, argued that all accusations against Mr Yongyuth could be rebutted. Another reason the party expressed utter confidence in a favourable outcome of the trial was that it had received reliable "inside information" to that effect.
A source said some PPP members believed the party's waning fortunes were the work of the same scheming mastermind who has done everything in his power to bring the PPP down.
But the PPP is returning fire by assigning its MP Suthin Klangsaeng, who chairs the House standing committee on the affairs of independent agencies, to initiate a process to look into a complaint against the National Counter Corruption Commission, which some PPP insiders blame for the party's troubles.
The NCCC inherited the corruption cases of the now-dissolved Assets Scrutiny Committee and will pursue legal action in the committee's place.
One of the most prominent suits is the allegedly irregular fire truck and boats procurement case targeting Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
The complaint was raised against the NCCC after the commissioners were alleged to have broken regulations by creating the positions of consultant, secretary and assistant secretary to serve themselves.
The complaint was submitted to the Suthin committee by Yiamyod Srimuntra, adviser to a teachers federation and a member of the pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship of Thailand.
Mr Samak earlier questioned the legitimacy of the NCCC, charging that it had not been sworn in before His Majesty the King, which would make the appointment of the NCCC members invalid.
The NCCC insisted that swearing in was not mandatory for members of independent agencies.
If the NCCC is right, the PPP may need to brace for further loss of face.
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Samak: Keeping an eye on things |
Samak's message for the birthday boy
Government intelligence officials, the Defence Ministry and the army came to the same conclusion _ that defence deputy permanent secretary Saprang Kalayanamitr has been involved in the prolonged anti-government protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
What confirmed their suspicions was when rock singer Chatchai Sukkhawadee, better known as Rang Rockestra, sang Happy Birthday to him in front of PAD demonstrators on Ratchadamnoen avenue on July 7.
The song followed reported remarks by Gen Saprang that the PAD was an alliance of good people and that the military should stage another coup.
There has also been reports of Gen Saprang sending his subordinates to join the protest and supplying strategic information to PAD co-leader Chamlong Srimuang.
"Gen Saprang is close to and highly respects Maj-Gen Chamlong. Their birthdays are also close," said a source close to Gen Saprang.
Previously Prime Minister and Defence Minister Samak Sundaravej did not take Gen Saprang to task, although political activists Weng Tochirakarn and Prateep Ungsongtham-Hata, who were against the coup two years ago, urged him to do so.
Mr Samak did not launch an investigation against Gen Saprang. But he ordered an investigation into Gen Somchet Boonthanom, the chief adviser for the defence minister and former secretary-general of the Council for National Security, who echoed calls for another military coup.
However, Mr Samak has had his intelligence monitor Gen Saprang's movements, especially when his Class 7 classmates from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School actively support the PAD protest.
In his national broadcast last Sunday, Mr Samak said: "Someone had a big birthday party with a huge supply of food, expecting a large number of guests. It turned out that only a handful of people showed up, so the leftovers were served to PAD demonstrators."
He could not have been referring to Maj-Gen Chamlong's 73rd birthday on July 5, because he did not throw a party.
A source close to Gen Saprang denied he had a big party for his 60th birthday. He just had a small and private gathering of family members and close friends and then went out with his family in the evening, the source said.
No matter whether Mr Samak's information was true or not, he has obviously sent the birthday boy a warning, with the message: "I know what you are doing."
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Saprang: `Private gathering' for 60th birthday |
Protesters playing their ace card
The controversy over Preah Vihear temple had been a complex issue for many years and has thrust several governments into a political storm.
This time around, the long-standing issue might spell the end for the current government.
These political commentators have no doubt there was an attempt to turn the matter into a bilateral conflict between Thailand and Cambodia and further the cause of anti-government factions, especially the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
The government's downfall would pave way for the 'New Politics' formula put forward by the PAD in the hope of what it calls the re-establishment of a genuine democracy.
It seemed the opposition group's efforts partially paid off as the Preah Vihear issue heightened a strong sense of nationalism far and wide.
Although the Preah Vihear temple was already placed on the World Heritage list despite strong opposition, the issue still represented the PAD's best chance to unseat people in positions of authority who had a hand in the successful listing.
The resignation of foreign minister Noppadon Pattama last week was a case in point. He paid a high price for signing the Thai-Cambodian joint communique to endorse the listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site without parliamentary approval.
Even though Mr Noppadon called it quits, the opposition group did not break stride.
On Tuesday, three Thais who crossed into the disputed border area were seized by Cambodian soldiers but released later following a four-hour negotiation.
They were senior monk Phra Khampheng, Vicharn Tabsorn and Chanikarn Kengnok, members of the ultra-nationalist Dharmayatra group.
The group had camped out on the Thai border in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province since June 22 to protest against Thai support for Phnom Penh's listing of the Hindu temple.
The PAD plans to stage a protest together with others in Kantharalak district today.
"The objective is to get our land back. As long as the Cambodians stay on the overlapping areas, who can guarantee Thailand will not lose her sovereignty in the end?," said a source in the opposition movement.
The PAD clearly views the Preah Vihear issue as an ace card in its goal of unseating the government led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
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