Puea Thai Party Divided Over Leadership

[sriracha john]

General Chavalit turns down Thaksin’s request

Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyuth turned down the request by fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra to have him read out the petition for a Royal Pardon in front of the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary on August 17, a source at the opposition Puea Thai Party said on Thursday.

If General Chavalit agreed to do so, Thaksin would allow him to lead the opposition camp, according to the source. But General Chavalit denied and told Thaksin that if the ex-premier can comply with his two conditions, he will accept the Party Leader post. The two conditions are: 1) Puea Thai Party must really stick to reconciliation mean, and 2) members of the Shinawatra family must not interfere with the Party’s policy and must not lead the Party to a business politics.

Shinawatra Hadboonpad, a key leader of the United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said on August 17, UDD will set up a rally stage at Sanam Luang from 7am. When everything is ready, the red shirts will march to the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary to submit the petition for a Royal Pardon for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra said the person to be the leader of the petition will be a big surprise for general public. He declined to give details of the person.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/15...aksin-s-request

-- Bangkok Post 2009-08-13

Edited August 13, 2009 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Shinawat Haboonpad, a UDD core member, yesterday said: "The person to submit the petition will be a surprise. You will have to see for yourself if it is a general, a former prime minister or a respected figure. I do not want to spill the beans but it will be a real surprise."

The man who changed his name to Shinawat

sounds as if the terms are mutually exclusive...

The list of former prime ministers is dwindling... Chavalit has said no... and now, Anand doesn't exactly sound too keen to do so either....

Perhaps time for Samak to re-enter the public eye?

Now there's a "PM or respected" mutually exclusive match...

A "big surprise" would, of course, be former PM Prem.

[sriracha john]

Former PM Anand Panyarachun: Red-shirt Petition Unlawful

A former prime minister of Thailand, Anand Panyarachun, considers the move by the red-shirts to petition for a Royal Pardon on the behalf of ousted Premier and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra unlawful.

A former prime minister of Thailand, Anand Panyarachun, said the move on the Royal Pardon was not only unlawful, but it was also not in accordance with tradition.

He added that the government must decide whether to accept this petition, adding that inappropriate matter that could cause an uproar should be nipped in the bud.

He also recommended that the Abhisit government explain to the public that blocking the move was in no way political bullying of supporters of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship. He said the move should be stopped simply because it was unlawful.

Drawing from his own experience, Anand said his belief in the Thai justice system was steadfast as he himself was tried on two occasions. He was tried on a malfeasance charge while holding political office, and for a communist charge in the aftermath of the October 6, 1976 bloodbath at Thammasart University. He was cleared of both charges.

He went on to say that over the past five to six decades, there have been soldiers and politicians who were jailed, but they fought their cases through proper channels. To him, to say that Thai law and the judiciary system is unfair is a feeble excuse that anyone can use, but proof of innocence must be demonstrated in the court of law. Anand said Thai law ensures fairness for everyone.

From his observations of Thaksin, Anand said Thaksin would approve practices that benefit him and would criticize those that do not. Anand added that the monarchy was under the Constitution and could not be brought down to be involved in politics. To stage a move to pressure His Majesty the King into overturning the court's verdict is out of the question. Any conflict surrounding the petition must be dealt without involving the monarchy.

-- Tan Network 2009-08-13

[animatic]

Bravo Kuhn Anand.

I been saying he same for weeks now.