Prayut warns students over resurgence of rallies

Prayut warns students over resurgence of rallies

Students hold up the three-finger salute as they denounce dictatorship and stand up for democracy at Triam Udom Suksa School on Thursday. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
Students hold up the three-finger salute as they denounce dictatorship and stand up for democracy at Triam Udom Suksa School on Thursday. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Thursday that he understood why students were protesting against the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP), but urged them to listen to both sides of the story.

In response to questions about rallies organised by high-school and university students, Gen Prayut said they had his support and that he sympathised with the new generation.

"But I'm concerned about these gatherings. I understand their demands ... but they should listen to all sources of information, so they understand how the nation should progress," the premier said upon arrival at parliament.

He also warned the students to think about their future and take care not to break the law, pointing out that those who had broken the law in the past had been taken to court.

"The law is the most important thing ... These children are the future of the nation ... They should be open to information to judge what is right or wrong ... Paying heed to just one side of the story will leave Thailand in a trap," Gen Prayut said.

Immediately after the Constitutional Court dissolved the FFP on Feb 21, students began rallying to call for democracy and to denounce dictatorship.

The court ruled that the FFP had wrongfully taken a 191.2-million-baht loan from party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit as it exceeded the 10-million baht ceiling of financial support allowed from a single sponsor.

The limit aims to prevent anyone with financial clout from wielding undue influence on a political party, the court said.

The FFP was created 16 months ago and garnered 6.3 million votes in the March 24, 2019 general election. When it was dissolved, FFP had 77 MPs and 61,864 members.

The ruling resulted in 16 FFP executives losing their political rights for 10 years. The number of FFP MPs was cut to 56, while nine have moved to join the Bhumjaithai Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

Meanwhile, Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, urged the government to think about whether it should stay on now that students have shown they are not happy with the way the country is being run.

He said the government should listen to the voices of students from many universities.

"The government should know what it is up against," said Mr Jatuporn, a former student activist.

He said no politicians were behind the actions of the students, who he described as a "pure force".

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