Military calls off invitation to ex-energy minister

[webfact]

Military calls off invitation to ex-energy minister 

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The military has called off its plan to summon former energy minister of the Pheu Thai Party for a meeting after criticising the military junta’s performance a failure after three years in power.

 

The former energy minister Pichai Naripthaphan said on his Facebook page that  the military earlier summoned him to a meeting today saying they would pick him up from his home to the Army Second Calvary Division at 9.30 am today.

 

But he said that they made another call late in the morning cancelling the meeting.

 

They just told him that they were worried that he might not understand fully well of the military junta’s performance and therefore would forward video clip to him instead to see so that he would gain better understanding of its performance.

 

They also said as the invitation could be interpreted a threat to freedom as it drew attention from the news media, it would rather call it off and send him video clips instead.

 

He said the military summoned him after he criticised the military junta’s three years in power a failure, citing reasons of no new investments by investors, particularly the Japanese.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/military-calls-off-invitation-ex-energy-minister/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-05-22

[webfact]

Military calls off ‘talk’ with Pheu Thai’s Pichai after move attracts media attention
By The Nation

 

Pichai

 

BANGKOK: -- The military called off a meeting with the Pheu Thai Party’s Pichai Naripthaphan, which had been scheduled for this morning, after the invitation to attend “a talk” attracted media attention, the politician said.

 

Pichai said he had received a phone call from the military earlier in the morning to inform him he would be picked up at 9.15am and taken to the 2nd Cavalry Division to discuss some “news and information giving”.

 

However, he added that after the move came to the attention of the press, an officer of colonel rank had called to cancel the meeting.

 

“They told me they had concerns that I did not understand the government’s work clearly because I’d said it was a failure and had achieved no concrete accomplishments,” he said.

 

“So they said they would send me a video and I could then ask them if there were any questions I had,” he added.

 

The former energy minister said he had, however, insisted on sticking to his earlier remarks about the lower level of investment in the country. 

 

He said he had met with officials from the Japanese Embassy and been informed why the Japanese were holding off on investment in the Kingdom.

 

He added that this was a serious problem and asked the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to discuss the matter with him if it considered his remarks to be incorrect.

 

The politician said the military had also complained that because he was in the media spotlight, it was difficult to reach a mutual understanding with him. 

 

His invitation to a discussion at the military barracks had come across as a “threat”, he added.

 

However, it was up to the public to decide how they interpreted the move, he stressed.

 

The officer who telephoned to call off the meeting had asked him to give out correct information as well as not to mention his name, Pichai added.

 

The former minister also said he was thankful that the media had been kind to him, and emphasised the importance of press freedom to ensure that the public was fed well-rounded information and reliable truth.

 

The Pheu Thai Party Pichai politician speaks on economic issues and is outspoken in his criticism of the NCPO’s economic performance. 

 

Since the coup in May 2014, he has been invited several times to have a “talk” with the military at a barracks location.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30315956

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-23

[wakeupplease]

All the greens seem to do is read facebook, no wonder law order and the economy is like it is.

 

We invite you to have a chat, their answer to everything.

 

Frank Sinatra

 

says the Khun

Edited May 22, 2017 by wakeupplease

[Thechook]

What is the military so scared of?

[Raymonddiaz]

3 hours ago, Thechook said:

What is the military so scared of?

because they don't want Thai people to know the truth.

[worgeordie]

Very sensitive for an Army.

regards worgeordie

[robblok]

4 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

All the greens seem to do is read facebook, no wonder law order and the economy is like it is.

 

We invite you to have a chat, their answer to everything.

 

Frank Sinatra

 

says the Khun

Seems everyone but me is on facebook, as for the economy, its linked to the worlds economy, in reality there is little governments can do. If it was any different don't you think our countries would have done better when the world economy was going down ?

 

But you are right to blame the junta in this.. its childish to go after people with an different opinion. Its always super easy to comment on a governments mistakes. That is why i cant wait for the PTP to be in power, shooting them down will be fun too. (figuratively speaking).

 

 

[robblok]

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

Very sensitive for an Army.

regards worgeordie

Yep that is one of their major failings.. they really hate it when they get contradicted. They handle it so badly its unbelievable. 

[Srikcir]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

the military summoned him after he criticised the military junta’s three years in power a failure

However, former Democrat PM Abhisit who also had the same criticism wasn't summoned nor warned about his statements. Just another instance of unequal justice under Prayut.

[CantSpell]

They are going to send him a few tapes of Dallas? 

 

Tales of power, treason and deceptions?  

[metisdead]

A post containing an erroneous link has been removed:

 

15) Any links posted must lead to the website the link indicates. Links that are misleading or direct to a site different than the one indicated are not allowed.

[ratcatcher]

Military calls off ‘talk’ with Pheu Thai’s Pichai after move attracts media attention