The Democrat and Pheu Thai parties slammed a military member of the National Reform Council (NRC) on Tuesday for saying “two political parties” were conspiring on a campaign of sabotage in the South and planning Bangkok rallies to topple the junta.
Thawatchai Samutsakhon, who is on an NRC committee on political affairs, cited an intelligence report on Tuesday morning that there might be bomb attacks in the three southern border provinces between Wednesday and Friday.
He claimed two unidentified political parties were pulling the strings behind the latest flare-up of violence in the far South by jointly providing financial aid to perpetrators.
They planned to mobilise at least one million supporters in the South and the Northeast and to march them to the capital to stage rallies, he said. "The ultimate goal is to evict the military government."
The former 2nd Army Region chief’s remark came after six persons were killed and 11 injured in eight separate bomb attacks from late Friday to Saturday morning in the restive southern provinces of Narathiwat, Songkhla and Yala.
"The ultimate goal is to evict the military government, says Gen Thawatchai (Bangkok Post file photo).
Former deputy Democrat leader Thaworn Senniam, meanwhile, called on Gen Thawatchai to name the parties in question so the government could take legal action against them.
He said these parties could be dissolved by the Election Commission if the general’s allegations prove true. Besides, Mr Thaworn urged Gen Thawatchai to lodge a complaint with police, the National Council for Peace and Order, the Department of Special Investigation and EC.
"Gen Thawatchai must take responsibility for his remarks and his duty is to thwart felons and wicked political parties. So I demand him take action accordingly,” Mr Thaworn said.
Former Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema said Gen Thawatchai’s remarks were intended to smear both Democrats and Pheu Thai members when the NRC members could not find solutions to the southern problems.
He alleged the reform councillors had not accomplished anything major after a year and tried to stay in power by proposing the interim government's term be extended by another two years so that national reforms could be implemented.
“It was just a smear campaign to make one look good,” Mr Worachai said.
Early this month, Gen Thawatchai angered the family of one of the 14 student activists of the anti-coup New Democracy Movement group after he said representatives from “an ill-intentioned foreign organisation” had met the student in Surin for two nights to try to instigate him to rise up against the junta.
He said he had talked to the student’s father, who later denied his claim.