PM Abhisit To Talk To Red And Yellow Shirts: Thai Govt Spokesman

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PROTESTS

PM to talk to red and yellow shirts: govt spokesman

By Budsarakham Sinlapalavan,

Naya Jaikawang

The Nation

The government is getting ready to hold talks with both red and yellow-shirt supporters in the face of their plans to hold protests, spokesman Panithan Wattanayagorn said yesterday.

"The prime minister will personally take part in the talks, details of which should be finalised in the next few days," he said. The spokesman said the talks would be informal and that Abhisit Vejjajiva wanted to reason with rally organisers.

As for security measures during celebrations of His Majesty's birthday this weekend, the government has instructed relevant authorities to be vigilant, he said. Security agencies are also in charge of providing maximum protection for the Constitution Court and the Election Commission in the wake of the verdict on the Democrat Party dissolution case, he said.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said he didn't know what the government wanted to talk to the yellow shirts about.

PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul, meanwhile, said the alliance would meet tomorrow to decide whether it should proceed with its December 11 rally. He said PAD was initially planning to protest against the Thai-Cambodian boundary talks but the government had adjusted its position about amending the Constitution's Article 90, he said. "The PAD will meet to reconsider its rally after this new development," he said.

Article 190 prescribes to legislative scrutiny of the framework for international agreements.

Worawut Vichaidia, caretaker spokesman of the red-shirt Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD), said he didn't think the current government had any credibility to engage in negotiations, because it had never kept its word.

So far, he said, DAAD leaders had not decided whether they would talk to government representatives about the rally, which will be held on December 10 at the Democracy Monument from 5pm to 8pm. The new red-shirt leader Thida Thawornseth said the rally would coincide with the 78th anniversary of the Constitution Day.

"The rally will be held under the theme of 'Eight Months after Phan Fa and 78 Years under Constitution'," she said, adding that the rally was designed for the remembrance of red-shirt supporters killed in the crackdown earlier this year. At the rally, red-shirt supporters will release birds, hold a candlelit vigil and read eulogies for dead victims.

Thida said the December 10 rally signified the return of the red shirts in a concerted movement since the May crackdown. However, she added, the movement would abide by the emergency law.

By taking to the streets again, the reds aim to accomplish four tasks - campaign for the release of jailed red leaders, assist victims of the crackdown, demand justice and just enforcement of the law, as well as elevate the people's struggle to raise awareness and knowledge, she said.

The red-shirt movement has been revamped to upgrade its organisational structure, which now has divisions such as academic, international affairs, legal, youth, religions and a united front to form alliances with other organisations. In the long run, the movement will revive its political schools.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02