Junta, Govt urged to patch up differences
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has called on the junta and its government to patch up their reported differences in order to return democracy - even an "imperfect" one - to the people as soon as possible.
In an article on the party's website, and also distributed to the media, Abhisit appeared to reflect the public's growing weariness and suspicion, and said if interim leaders occupied themselves with "how to get off the tiger's back safely", it would, ironically, doom them and put the nation in jeopardy."To the Thai people, the only hope now is that all parties would just help the country scrape through until we can hold a general election, after which our problems can be gradually solved," he wrote. "[The people] do not expect a better constitution [than the 1997 charter]. We just want one good enough for a return to democracy and to pave the way for appropriate solutions to the country's troubles later. "And, the people do not expect much policy-wise, either. The country just needs a functioning economy, and law and order. In short, no more problems than at present. "Even of the proclaimed agenda of the [coup leaders] announced when the September 19 coup was staged, many Thais have resigned themselves to the fact that things won't turn out as they expected," Abhisit said. The Democrat leader noted it would be easier for the Thai public to lower their expectations than for those in power to ease concerns about their own political future. "If the powers-that-be look to the future and think about only one thing - how to get off the tiger's back safely - it will be a very big mistake. Even more so if they now are thinking they have to find a way to hold on to power, one way or another," he said. "It will be a big mistake not just for themselves, because the country will be put on a risky and confrontational path, and the crisis will intensify. And, ironically, it will make their departure from the country's helm a lot more dangerous." Abhisit said the final six months in power for military leaders and their government should see continuous and serious efforts to fulfil the coup agenda. In addition there should be the laying of groundwork for a general election, protection of media freedom, setting up a bureaucratic system to prevent state officials becoming "tools of corruption" and a national campaign to promote political ethics and morality. "Most importantly, the interim leaders must stay away from corruption themselves. They must counter accumulating allegations or the people would lose hope and become convinced that change of power can never solve the problem of abuse of power and would serve only to change the beneficiaries of abuse of power," he said. The Nation
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