Government warned of a political storm

Abhisit : Situation has confused public

By Supawadee Inthawong

Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday warned the Council for National Security and the government of a brewing political storm. Speaking at a seminar on politics after the Sept 19 coup, he said the political situation had not only turned risky for the CNS and the government, but was also confusing the public.

He said although the coup-makers had tried to be ''democratic'', they had failed to promote any democracy-related issues.

He said the CNS should not have kept politicians out of the charter writing process and banned political parties from carrying out political activities.

He said the CNS was way too paranoid, suggesting that a ban on political activities be made specific, such as a ban on using the masses to pressure the courts or imposing a ban on parties to prevent them from dissolving themselves to avoid punishment.

Mr Abhisit said he could not understand why the CNS was reluctant to respond to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's campaign, seen as a bid to return to politics, while fears were raised about his undesirable activities.

The CNS and the government are also fuelling discontent with their reservations about the key qualification of the prime minister _ whether or not he should be an elected MP, he said.

''You can't take things for granted. The old powers won't give in easily. The fight for power is not yet over,'' he said.

Mr Abhisit said the government's sufficiency economy policy had yet to bear fruit and it would not be good in the long run if things did not change.

He urged both the CNS and the government to take some decisively steps to convince the public that true democracy and a better quality of life would be achieved in the not-too-distant future.

''It is not that I do not sympathise with them or recognise [their] good will, but they need to make the public see how normalcy and sound economic fundamentals would be restored.

''[I think] we can achieve a great deal under the sufficiency economy principle,'' he said.

Somkid Lertpaitoon, vice-rector of Thammasat University and a charter drafter, said yesterday that it seems the government has got its priorities wrong.

''There are a number of issues it should have taken up before focussing attention on other highly-controversial issues,'' he said. This made the government look incompetent despite its good image, he said.

Chart Thai party deputy leader Somsak Prisanananthakul said the little change in the political landscape that was achieved after the putsch was only for the worse.

He said the resignation of two major factions from the ruling Thai Rak Thai party had raised concern that the CNS could be working behind the scenes so that it could cling on to power.

Bangkok Post
Sunday February 11, 2007