No letup on Thaksin, says PAD
The People's Alliance for Democ-racy (PAD) will continue to push for the ouster of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the aftermath of Sunday's election, PAD spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said yesterday.
But he said if Thaksin took a break from politics, the climate would cool and the rallies would instead become seminars. "Our aim [getting rid of Thaksin] is still there, although with Thaksin out of politics, we would have to campaign against Thaksin's system of government, which he developed as prime minister," he said. Thammasat University lecturer Prinya Thewanaruemitkul said whether the rallies continued or not depended on Thaksin. If Thaksin was ready to take a break, the lecturer said, people who protested against him might switch to arranging seminars to better inform people about their political system. He said he would wait for the official declaration of the election results, slated for tomorrow. Prinya said if Thaksin decided to stay on in politics, the protests would continue until he stepped down. Another PAD leader, Chamlong Srimuang, said the majority of the people no longer wanted Thaksin Shinawatra as their prime minister. Chamlong said the percentage of abstention votes made it clear Thaksin was not fit to serve, because his Thai Rak Thai Party was politically bankrupt. Chamlong said Thaksin should quit politics for good, noting that his flawed leadership had ushered in one of the darkest chapters of modern Thai political history. Speaking hours before Thaksin outlined his political stand, aired by Channel 11 last night, he said the ruling party's call for reconciliation was nothing more than a pretext to allow Thaksin to cling to power. "Just picture this - a thief breaks into your home then asks you to remain idle for the sake of reconciliation. This is unacceptable," he said. Chamlong said Thaksin should pay the Bt2.2-billion election bill with his own money. He said Bt2.2 billion was a trivial figure when compared with the Bt73-billion Thaksin had earned from selling Shin Corp. "This is a way of compromise that we must call for because Thailand does not have enough money to hold several rounds of elections," Chamlong said. The PAD will convene a meeting today to map out new measures to confront the Thai Rak Thai Party.
Sucheera Pinijparakarn, Piyamart Songklin The Nation
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