The rector told the media the scheduled April 2 snap election might not take place if the anti-Thaksin mass gathering this afternoon was large enough.

"I wouldn't be so quite sure there's going to be an election if many people show up," Suraphol said. He said the political crisis would continue despite the House dissolution because the problem of ethics and morality of the premier had not been and would not be resolved by a snap election.

"It's just postponing the conflict and turning it into a confrontation. Thai politics will continue to be destabilised ... The problem isn't really going away."

The rector said the problem included the widespread belief that Thaksin was involved in the Shin Corp sale even though as an elected politician he was not supposed to be. Concerns over the effect on national security of the sale will not disappear as Shin Corp had received concessions as a local firm in terms of satellite, television and low-cost airline operations.

"Does this fall into allowing foreigners to dominate [the industries] or not?" the rector asked, adding that the dubious tax-free sale left many questions unanswered about the premier's ethics and moral standards.

Suraphol praised peaceful anti-Thaksin demonstrators and the few remaining independent media for taking Thailand towards another level of political maturity.

"[Political] phenomena over the past three or four months have helped Thai society develop. First, they show that having majority government alone is no guarantee of political legitimacy. Second, political development over the past five to six months shows that political stability does not only rely on formal politics but reputable peaceful protesters and reputable mass media to act as foundations of liberty," he said.

Suraphol believes Thai society is more mature than during the May 1992 uprising, and he is not worried about violence. He even predicted a swing by government-controlled broadcast media to the pro-democracy side with the changing public mood.

Nearby, students of Thammasat and other universities continued their anti-Thaksin campaign and have collected more than 50,000 signatures in a bid to impeach Thaksin.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation