Leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy hold a press conference yesterday to announce the group’s decision to postpone a mass rally that had been scheduled for tomorrow.

The anti-Thaksin grouping said it would hand a copy of letter containing its version of the ongoing political crisis to the two embassies.

The PAD said caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's recent letter to US President George W Bush was the main reason for its need to inform foreign states about what had been taking place in the country over the past few months.

It also cited His Majesty the King's recent injury in a fall as a reason for postponing the rally to an as yet unspecified date.

The PAD said Thaksin was distorting the facts in claiming to be a champion of democracy, when in fact he was undermining the rule of law and trying to reduce the King's authority to a mere symbol.

"I think the government should resign. It has been a caretaker administration for longer than 120 days [as stipulated by law] and whatever they do [during this period] is beyond their authority," said Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the PAD leaders.

"They act as if they're above the Constitution. The government has become a illegitimate regime," he said.

The PAD will tomorrow morning send representatives to deliver copies of its letter to the Chinese, Japanese, Russian and French embassies.

Then at 2pm the alliance will assemble, along with other demonstrators, to deliver copies of the same letter to the British Embassy, before moving on to the US Embassy at 3pm.

The grouping will then head to Lumpini Park for a political discussion in the evening.

Sondhi attacked Thaksin for his refusal to reveal the content of his letter to Bush, saying the caretaker prime minister's action was akin to "a homosexual hiding his real gender preference".

Pibhop Thongchai, another core leader of the PAD, said it was vital to visit various embassies because Thaksin had incorrectly painted himself as a protector of democratic rule.

Pibhop said that Thaksin was in fact undermining the democratic system through meddling with the media and attempting to turn the Kingdom's economy into a capitalist monopoly, over which he would have total control.

Meanwhile, Suriyasai Katasila, a PAD coordinator, declined to reveal whether an understanding had been reached with the Midnight University - a grouping of academics, intellectuals and activists based in Chiang Mai - about the university's increasingly vocal call for the PAD to stop citing the King as a reason to stage protests and rallies.

The PAD says it opposes the call out of fear it could be detrimental to the development of democracy and people's self-reliance in the long run.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation