Abhisit says public fed up with protests
- Published: 31/01/2009 at 09:03 PM
- Online news: Breakingnews
Davos - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the World Economic Forum on Saturday he believes the mood of the people is turning against opposition protesters but that he could order a second economic stimulus package.
Speaking as thousands gathered in Bangkok calling for the dissolution of parliament, Abhisit, who has only been in office for one month, told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he was not worried.
"The deputy prime minister is making sure that there is no repeat of what happened last year,” he said, referring to mass protests that rocked the country in 2008 and stranded hundreds of thousands of tourists.
"I think the mood of the people now is that they very much want to move forward, they want to get over the current divisions, they want to see a government that works hard, that deals with people's concerns and has the honesty and integrity that has been missing for so long,” he said.
"If we can keep on working in the way we have for the last month then I'm not worried about it.”
He said the government has a future "if we can deliver on what we promised, bringing stability back, running the economy well, no corruption scandals.”
He said the demonstrations would be "a way of checking the strength of the Red Shirts movement” which supports former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Abhisit said the world economic crisis was a "bigger risk” for his government and that he could order new stimulus measures on top of a 116-billion-baht (3.3-billion-dollar/2.5-billion-euro) package approved by parliament this week.
He said the finance ministry was in negotiations with international financial institutions for a possible cash injection, mainly with regional development banks. "There could be a second financing package if necessary.”
Abhisit said the Thai economy was now technically in recession but he hoped it would return to positive growth in the final quarter of 2009.
The premier said that he felt stronger as he had gained more support in parliament since taking office. By-elections have given his Democratic Party and its allies a majority of about 50, he said.
But he said that the Thaksin camp still had influence. Thaksin, a business tycoon, was forced out of power in a military coup in 2006 and has since lived in exile.
"I think the ball is in our court, it is up to us to deliver, up to us to show the people. The Thai people are really really tired of conflicts and divisions,” Abhisit said.
"You can never underestimate somebody with that amount of money, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of the Thai people want the country to move on. Why should we be held up by one man?”
Abhisit said Thaksin followers had been lobbying embassies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries in Bangkok urging the countries not to attend the Asean summit scheduled for Hua Hin at the end of the month.
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- Writer: AFP
