The ruling party yesterday threatened to take legal action against people spreading what it described as "groundless allegations" about the so-called Finland Declaration.

"The Thai Rak Thai Party will definitely sue people who have spread rumours about the matter. The allegations are groundless and untrue," government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said, in his capacity as a Thai Rak Thai executive member.

Surapong said he had never heard about the so-called Finland Declaration and did not think it existed.

Some newspaper columnists wrote last week that a political party held a gathering in 1999 of senior figures in Finland, where they agreed on strategies to turn Thailand into a country dominated by one party, with a political system modelled on Western republics and democracies, with minimal involvement by royalty.

Some speakers at Saturday's broadcast from Lumpini Park of the Muang Thai Rai Sapda programme also mentioned what they called "evil plans" behind the so-called Finland Declaration.

Prommin Lertsuridej, deputy secretary-general of the Thai Rak Thai, insisted yesterday there was no such thing as the Finland Declaration as far as the ruling party was concerned.

He called on those who made the allegations to produce evidence "otherwise our society would be turned into one obsessed with ignorance and groundless accusations".

Prommin said the secret behind Thai Rak Thai's success was its platforms were distinctively different from those of other political parties.