TRT to lodge raft of suits next week
The Thai Rak Thai Party will on Tuesday lodge a series of criminal and civil lawsuits relating to an alleged smear campaign against the ruling party and its leader Thaksin Shinawatra in relation to the so-called Finland Declaration.
Potential defendants include anti-Thaksin campaigner and People's Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul, caretaker Senator Chirmsak Pinthong and two academics, Chai-anan Samudvanija and Pramote Nakornthap. "The allegations against Thaksin and the ruling party are groundless but certain individuals have gone out of their way to fabricate a story," Thai Rak Thai's deputy spokesman Chatuporn Phromphan alleged yesterday. Chatuporn said the potential defendants in the upcoming lawsuits kept up their "smear campaign" even after they were proven wrong by factual evidence. Sondhi, Chai-anan and Promote spoke about the alleged "Finland Declaration" at a forum at Thammasat University on Wednesday. Chatuporn said they PM's opponents had tried to convince the public of the existence of a 'plot'. "Even though Thaksin and his aides took a vacation in Finland in 1997, only a gang of shysters could twist the holiday into a smear," the spokesman said. The ruling party had designated lawyer Thana Benjathikul to handle the lawsuits, he said. The so-called declaration outlines an action plan for the ruling party to gain and cling to power, including a scheme seen as offensive to the monarchy.
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