Thaksin, EC again told to quit
‘Fighting evil’, the Democrat Party’s special newspaper on the latest political happenings, will be distributed to skytrain passengers today.
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The Opposition and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) yesterday called on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra not to seek re-election in the next poll and urged the remaining Election Commission members to quit.
The calls were made following Thaksin's weekly radio address on Saturday during which he urged national conciliation to end the political stalemate. PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said he suspected Thaksin's move for reconciliation was merely a ploy. "We know the truth that ivory does not come from a dog's mouth and democracy is not derived from dictatorships. We do not believe a leader who is violence-prone and dictatorial will achieve reconciliation,'' he said. He cited the formation of the National Reconciliation Com-mittee by the government as example of a tactic to reduce social pressure and questioned its sincerity. "The only way the country can achieve reconciliation is for Thaksin to quit and wash his hands of politics unconditionally,'' he said. Democrat Party deputy spokesman Sathit Pitutecha said if Thaksin was sincere about national unity he must ask the three remaining election commissioners to resign as three courts had given this recommendation. Chat Thai Party deputy leader Somsak Prissanananthakul said if Thaksin really wanted reconciliation, he should make the commissioners step down and announce he would not accept the post of prime minister after the next election. "If he is still in power, the same old problems will return. We ask the PM to make a sacrifice for the country. If he still pushes for a snap election when a political cloud hovers above, the country cannot break the deadlock,'' he said. Thai Rak Thai Party deputy leader Sudarat Keyuraphan refused to back a move calling for the party to pressure the commissioners to resign. She said either way, the party stood to lose on the matter. "If we commit ourselves [to force the resignations] and the EC commissioners finally resign, it can be translated that the party can control the EC. If the EC commissioners do not resign, the party will also be negatively affected,'' she said. The party would play by the rules and push for the general election and end all political wrangling, she said.
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