Petition countdown begins

After all, who wants to verify 5 million signatures? What mechanism does it have to accomplish that job in a short period of time?

One thing is certain: there will be no millions of phone calls by the government asking people if they did sign the petition or visits by state officials to the households said to have supported a royal pardon for Thaksin.

The Justice Ministry will have two choices: declare the petition good for royal submission or kill it right there.

To declare the petition null and void is technically easy. Thaksin Shinawatra has never served a day of his sentence (although the petition alludes to "dictatorial" ways of convicting him), and this can always be used to reject the petition. Moreover, if no close relatives of Thaksin have signed it, the petition could also become invalid.

Politically, throwing away a petition endorsed by millions, no matter how many questionable signatures there are, is extremely provocative. And the best way to deal politically with the petition would be to let it pass the scrutinising process.

The red-shirt movement has fervently declared it will absolutely respect His Majesty the King's judgement, so letting the petition pass would in fact put pressure on the Thaksin supporters to own up to that promise.

There will be a big gathering on Monday. The government's accusations that some signatures were not genuine or given with consent have played into the hands of those who don't want the petition submission to be a solemn and low-key event.

Now, a perfect excuse for as many signatories as possible to show up has been found.

Meanwhile, the anti-petition movement has cited several reasons why the red-shirt campaign should be rejected. However, apart from saying the petition would inflame national divisions and put the His Majesty under pressure, the movement seems to be arguing against a pardon rather than the red shirts' right to submit a petition.

Saying Thaksin has shown no remorse and hurt his own country is one thing; telling millions they have no right to seek his pardon is another.

In the end, it's the sincerity of the red shirts that should determine the petition's fate. There will be two contrasting highlights on the big day: they will end by singing the royal anthem; but during the day, they will parade 75 big national flags to symbolise the year when absolute monarchy turned into constitutional monarchy (BE 2475).