Ex-PM is 'being urged' to prevent violent protests
Several people in the public and private sectors have talked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bid to prevent an escalation of violence in the country after Saturday night's protest by his supporters, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said yesterday.
"We must talk because if we do not, things may escalate into violence, but I will not be the negotiator," he said. Surayud said government officials and people in the private sector were talking to Thaksin and also the protest leaders. He said it was not yet necessary to impose a state of emergency because there had not been any violence. "If there is violence, we have laws in place," he said. Surayud was responding to questions on the government's preparations for possible clashes in the coming mass demonstration on June 16, the deadline Thaksin's supporters have set for the Council for National Security (CNS) to resign. The premier said the protesters would be allowed to hold protests if they did not cause public damage or resort to violence. Surayud met CNS chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and Defence Minister General Boonrawd Somtas and heads of security agencies for an hour yesterday. Meanwhile, the Campaign for Human Rights issued a statement calling on the government and the protesters not to use members of the public as "political bait" for their own gains. "The CNS and Thai Rak Thai Party supporters should especially not use violence in the protests because it could escalate into a civil war," the statement said.
Piyanart Srivalo The Nation
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