Opposition to target only Noppadon over temple

The primary impeachment target is Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama. PM's Office Minister Choosak Sirinin and Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej may be added later.

Abhisit said the impeachment provisions of the Constitution provided for the removal of individual ministers and did not touch on the entire Cabinet.

He said the Democrat Party was not engaging in a political ploy to spare the Cabinet in order to form new alliances and isolate the People Power Party.

"The Democrats are not aiming for a new coalition, but rather at holding ministers accountable for their unconstitutional actions," he said.

He said his party had drawn the conclusion that the intent of the Constitution was to punish individual ministers who intentionally acted unconstitutionally. It would be a futile exercise to try to impeach ministers not directly involved in the joint communique on Preah Vihear Temple.

Abhisit said certain Democrats might have speculated about a switching of alliances, but their views did not reflect the party's position.

He called for Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to pull the government out of the legal quagmire quickly, alluding to his earlier demand for a major revamp of the Cabinet, in order to restore confidence.

He said all of the legal hurdles presently confronting the government had been anticipated months ago but that the prime minister had chosen to let the problems fester instead of opting for a fresh start.

Ministers who have become excess baggage should show responsibility instead of clinging to office and dragging the government down with them, he said, adding that political volatility would persist as long as the government refused to address the issue of accountability.

Abhisit said opposition members would launch the impeachment proceedings and that senators were about to initiate criminal proceedings. This will not happen if the government takes a proactive decision to clean its own house.

He vowed to continue checking into pertinent issues related to Preah Vihear Temple, in order to safeguard the country's territory and sovereignty. Domestic debate on the matter will not harm bilateral relations with Cambodia.

The opposition leader said the government needed to review its stand on Preah Vihear. He, for one, found it unacceptable that the area adjoining the temple would be managed by a seven-nation panel even though it was located within Thai territory.

He urged the Foreign Affairs Ministry to notify the international community that the communique on the temple had been nullified after a judicial decision deemed it unconstitutional.

Democrat spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said the impeachment motion against Noppadon was in the process of collecting signatures for endorsement and was expected to be filed tomorrow.

At present, Noppadon is the sole target for removal from office, although the impeachment move may be enlarged later to cover additional targets. Ong-art said the government should not try to dodge responsibility by blaming the Constitution as problematic, because the Democrats, senators and many academics had repeatedly warned against rushing issues related to the temple.

Referring to speculation the prime minister may dissolve the House, he said the Democrats opposed this. A snap election would not serve the public but would help government leaders escape the legal wrangling, he said.