PAD to rally against Thaksin
- Published: 10/11/2009 at 04:30 PM
- Online news: Politics
The People's Alliance for Democracy will stage a major rally this Sunday to show its dissatisfaction with Thaksin Shinawatra's interview with the online edition of The Times of London about the monarchy and Cambodia's appointment of him as economic adviser, the PAD said in its statement on Tuesday.
PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said the rally will begin at 4pm at Sanam Luang.
The demonstrators would send a message to the world community that Thai people were loyal to the monarchy and denounce Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Thaksin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for having trodden on the dignity and integrity of Thailand.
Somsak Kosaisuk, a PAD leader, said Thaksin should be charged with lese majeste for his comments made in the interview with The Times.
Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, another PAD leader, called for retired military officers to turn up at the rally to protect the monarchy.
The Times quoted Thaksin him as saying "circles" within the royal institution were interfering in administrative affairs, and calling for reform of the monarchy.
Asked if he was saying the monarchy was a good thing, but the royal institution needed reform, Thaksin said: "Yes, yes."
The Siam Samakkhi Group on Tuesday filed two complaints alleging lese majeste with Dusit police against Thaksin and two other people.
The complaints were lodged on behalf of the group by senators Somchai Sawaengkarn and Warin Thiamjarat, Gen Somchet Boonthanom, former chief of the secretariat of the Council for National Security, and Lt-Gen Nanthadet Meksawat, former deputy chief of the national intelligence coordination centre.
The first complaint was against Thaksin and Richard Loyd Parry, asia editor of The Times. Parry was the one interviewing Thaksin in Dubai.
The second was against Ji Ungpakorn, a former lecturer of Chulalongkorn University who fled the country after being charged with lese majeste, and the website redsiam.net for disseminating articles alleged to contain lese majeste.
On Monday, Thaksin issued a statement condemning TimesOnline for publishing a false report. He said some of his comments made during the interview were misrepresented in the story.
In the statement, he said he never said any of the things which appeared in the first paragraph of the article about reforming the instution and the future of the monarchy.
Suchart Lainamngern, deputy spokesman of the opposition Puea Thai Party, said that Thaksin would sue TimesOnline for defamation over its report of the interview.
“Thaksin has assigned his lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, to study ways to take legal action against the foreign online website for false reporting,” Mr Suchart said.
He insisted that Thaksin had never insulted nor made offensive comments about the monarchy.
According to Mr Suchart, Thaksin believed the Democrats were trying to destroy him by accusing him of disloyalty to the high institution to provoke nationalistic sentiment among Thai people. The attempt was aimed at covering the government’s failure to resolve the economic problems of the country.
The deputy spokesman said Thaksin had accepted the job as an economic advisor to Cambodian government only to help end poverty in the neighbouring country.
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