Most say 'no' to street protests: Poll

Most say 'no' to street protests: Poll

Future Forward leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit greets supporters at Pathumwan police station on Jan 10. (Bangkok Post photo)
Future Forward leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit greets supporters at Pathumwan police station on Jan 10. (Bangkok Post photo)

A large majority of people say they would say "no" if asked to join a political rally or a street protest for fear it could lead to the same kind of political unrest as before, according to the result of an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, nor Nida Poll.

The poll was conducted on Feb 12-13 on 1,255 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country.

Of the respondents, a huge majority -- 91.87%  -- said they had never participated in a political rally before, while 8.13% said they had.

Asked whether they would join a political rally or a street protest if asked by a politician, a political party or a political group, a majority -- 82.87% -- said they would say "no" because they feared it would be unsafe and could lead to political unrest or a riot as before, adding that they would rather follow news on television; 14.02% said they were uncertain, saying they would investigate the details, including the objective, the venue and core leaders of the rally; and 3.11% said they would participate because they want to see the country more developed and dislike the present government.

On Future Forward Party secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul's plan to organise public no-confidence debates at various venues outside parliament against six cabinet ministers -- who are already set to be grilled in the House of Representatives -- if his party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court, 20.0% said they strongly agree with the plan because the FFP had been treated unjustly while 11.71% said they are in moderate agreement with the plan, saying a debate outside parliament is a form of political expression.

On the other side, 11.16% said they disagree with the plan as it could lead to unrest, adding that a no-confidence debate should be made in parliament only, while 31.95% said they were totally against it, reasoning it could lead to rioting and cause the situation in the country to deteriorate.

The rest, 25.18%, said they had no comment or were not interested.

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