Defiant PTV owners vow bigger protest tomorrow
Operators of the banned PTV cable TV station yesterday challenged the authorities to declare a state of emergency in a bid to block their public rally scheduled for tomorrow.
The organisers said they expected a strong turn out, with a larger number of participants than last week's rally at Sanam Luang. The PTV rally last Friday managed to attract about 1,200 people. Jatuporn Prompan, a PTV executive, said yesterday that the authorities' move to declare a state of emergency in the city indicated they were "panicking". "At the moment, all rallies take place without any fighting and violence, so there's no reason for the CNS to bring such a strict measure like declaring a state of emergency in Bangkok," said Jatuporn, referring to the Council for National Security. "This strict measure is usually used when the city is at war or in an emergency situation. This implies the CNS now is afraid that their authority is challenged," he said. "We just want to show our opinions peacefully, and at this time Thailand is looked down on by many countries. If you dare to do it, it will be absolutely the end for the CNS and the Cabinet," he said. "I expect more people will join the rally this Friday and I insist we are going to hold further rallies," Jatuporn added. PTV co-founder Veera Musiga-pong also insisted yesterday that PTV will hold a rally at Sanam Luang tomorrow, and that it would be peaceful. "We just want to inform the Thai people of what is really going on and issue a call to have our liberty back, but we never got fairness like the others got, so we have to gather and talk about it," Veera said. He said he knew the CNS, the Cabinet and some people were worried about PTV's activities, but it was because they had never listened to PTV. "They should all consider PTV from our perspective and the details we give on the rally stage," Veera said. "I talked about politics, the economy and also the problems of the South, but General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said that what I said is 'nonsense', so should I talk about his double marriage, which is illegal? "I don't want to talk about his private life, but I will at the next rally if the general talks about me."
Pasara Puthamat The Nation
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