CNS' anti-Thaksin campaign

The Council for National Security (CNS) has allocated a 12-million-baht budget for a public relations campaign to counter deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's attempts to discredit the coup-makers, a source said yesterday.

The request for the money was submitted on Jan 24 and was approved by CNS chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin.

The budget has been divided into six portions of two million baht each to finance the campaign's operations covering a period of six months, the source said.

Chianchuang Kalayanamitr, a younger brother of CNS deputy secretary-general Saprang Kalayanamitr, has been appointed head of the publicity team to make sure it turns out to be a successful campaign, the source said.

The campaign aims to pre-empt Mr Thaksin's attempts to sully the reputation of the coup-makers via his lawyer Noppadol Pattama, said the source.

The first month of the campaign in February was spent on explaining to the public the negative effects "Thaksinomics" has had on the country.

Seminars and discussions were held, essays and articles were written and published in the media to shed light on the mistakes of the previous government, such as the controversial privatisation of state enterprises - one of the signature policies of the Thaksin administration, said the source.

Bangkok Post

Last Updated : Sunday April 08, 2007