Govt gets new calls to resign
The Nation
,July 30 ,20000
PRIME Minister Chuan Leekpai remained defiant in the
face of growing pressure for an immediate House dissolution yesterday,
saying the ongoing anti-government protest at Sanam Luang was politically
motivated and being backed by some former opposition politicians.
"I understand that the ongoing demonstrations are
aimed at forcing the government to dissolve the House of Representatives.
This situation followed the resignation of many [opposition] MPs, some of
whom said they would carry out their political campaigns outside
Parliament," Chuan said.
But the anti-government movement found new momentum
yesterday when former student leader Seksan Prasertkul, now a Thammasat
University lecturer, launched a new political think tank, which
immediately echoed protesters' calls for a new election. The think-tank,
the Democracy for the People Group, was co-founded by key former student
activists and successful businessmen.
The first public meeting of the group at Thammasat
yesterday attracted some 500 people from different sectors, including
academics, businessmen, social activists and farmers.
Seksan's move added new momentum to the mass rally at
Sanam Luang over the weekend in which several thousand people converged in
the largest anti-government protest against the Chuan administration to
date.
The premier said he hoped the protests against the
government would be carried out within the scope of the law.
However, he warned those involved in the protest against
"taking advantage of democratic mechanisms" to make political
gains, which he said could damage the country.
He said he did not believe the ongoing anti-government
protests would snowball into a large-scale incident similar to the
demonstrations against the Suchinda Kraprayoon government in May 1992.
However, several thousand protesters moved from Sanam Luang last night to
Government House to join the Pak Mool protesters.
Chuan, speaking to a group of residents at a temple in
Sing Buri province, said yesterday that if he were to solve the problems
of the protesters in this case, it would involve breaking legal and moral
principles. He said he therefore did not mind the criticism levelled
against him for not taking action.
"This government is working for the benefit of the
majority of the people. If the government has done some good things, it
will surely be supported in the next election; otherwise, nobody will vote
for it," the premier said.
Chuan told the audience that his government would help
people who deserved it although they did not hold rallies or protests to
publicise their needs. However, he added that it was impossible for the
government to help all the people or to break the law to help them.
Chat Thai Party leader Banharn Silapa-archa said
yesterday the government had met most of the protesters' demands, adding
that no administration would be able to meet them all.
He said he was suspicious about the actual aim of the
anti-government protesters, saying they appeared to be calling for an
early dissolution of the House.
Meanwhile, the Assembly of the Poor yesterday issued a
statement dismissing as groundless a government claim that some of the
protesters' demands could not be met because doing so would break the law.
The statement said the protesters did not demand retrospective
compensation, nor did they make any demand that would require the law to
be violated.
Luan Srisupho, a leader of the Assembly of the Poor,
described as untrue recent remarks by Interior Minister Banyat Bantadtan
that some of the protesters' demands would not be lawful.
Vanida Tantiwithayapitak, a protest leader, said
yesterday the protest at Sanam Luang was aimed at forcing the government
to quit soon because the government had lost its legitimacy to rule.
She said there was nothing wrong with former MPs from
the New Aspiration Party (NAP) giving anti-government addresses at the
rally.
NAP leader Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said yesterday that his
party supported the cause of the protesters and was willing to offer
advice to ensure that the demonstration was "justified and
peaceful".
"We are a political party of the poor," he
added.
Chavalit also called on the government to quit as soon
as possible.
The opposition party held a rally yesterday in the
Wongwien Yai area of Bangkok, which attracted about 1,000 people. Some key
NAP members, such as deputy NAP leader Chalerm Yoobamrung, addressed the
audience.
Most of the MPs from the party, including Chavalit, quit
their House seats in June in the hope of forcing an early general
election, in which they were unsuccessful.
In a related development protesters against the Pak Mool
Dam in Ubon Ratchathani province yesterday welcomed the government's
decision to order the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to open
the dam's gates.
However, protest leader Somkiat Ponpai said more needed
to be done both in the short and long terms, including amending various
laws that prevented the government from meeting the protesters' demands.
He said the government's excuses for being unable to help the people were
unacceptable. |
