Anti-pm Campaign Targets Businesses

[george]

Anti-PM campaign targets businesses

BANGKOK: -- Members of civil society groups aligned in opposition to caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday approached leading businesses in the Thai capital seeking to wean them from financially supporting the premier and his Thai Rak Thai Party and asking them to stay impartial in politics.

Fifteen persons from 10 organisations led by leading economist Sangsit Piriyarangsan were trying to meet with Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of Chareon Pokphan, Thailand's major agro-industry conglomerate, to present a letter stating their demand that the company stop patronising ''Thaksinocracy''.

The company sent its senior executive officier to take the letter as Mr. Dhanin was said to be unable to meet the group.

''We hope that business people, the police, the military and financial institutes will stop supporting the prime minister and understand what is the interest of the country. We hope this would enlighten some people in the public,'' Mr. Sangsit said.

Calling itself ''Civil Society Network to Stop Thaksinocracy'', the group is peacefully mobilising social sanctions against the prime minister and his political party.

The Network has asked the public to join the sanctions as well and has distributed booklets offering guidelines on how to conduct the ban such as using verbal act when seeing them or banning products of the premier's family business.

Mr. Sangsit said the group would later visit other companies which have done business with Mr. Thaksin, his family and his associates, namely Grammy Limited and the Thai Beverage Company which produces Chang Beer.

The network is a loose alliance of civil society groups and has no policy to conduct street protests, Mr. Sangsit said, but would peacefully incite an opposition to bring a bloodless end to Mr.Thaksin and his cronyism.

--TNA 2006-08-08