TRT 'will bring millions to city'
Former Thai Rak Thai MPs threatened yesterday that many people in the Northeast are prepared to come to Bangkok to "protect" caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra if the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) holds demonstrations against him.
Ex Udon Thani MP Wichai Chaijitvanitkul said that if the PAD thinks a clash will create peace in the country, he is ready to fight. He said people from the Northeast were preparing to travel to Bangkok if the PAD holds a rally to oust the premier - to encourage Thaksin and defend democracy. "We tried to be quiet, but it seems the PAD doesn't want this." Moreover, members of PAD were attempting to attack Thaksin by accusing the government of "setting up" the car-bomb incident, Wichai said. He couldn't predict how many people might travel to the capital, but claimed more than 200,000 Udon Thani people were prepared to make the journey. "However many people Sondhi [Limthongkul] can bring, I will bring more," he said. Former Nakhon Ratchasima MP Suporn Atthawong said people from the Northeast want to visit Bangkok to encourage Thaksin, but former MPs have warned them to avoid a conflict. "I and other [Thai Rak Thai members] told people in each constituency that we have to keep cool." However, Suporn said that if Thaksin was still pressed by Sondhi and the PAD, perhaps more than 10 million people could go to Bangkok. "They don't want to make a fight with Sondhi. They want to protect the premier and to keep democracy," he said.
Sucheera Pinijparakarn The Nation
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