Rumours and smokescreens to divert attention

Whenever they come under pressure, ministers and red-shirt leaders come up with allegations about plots to topple the government

Thailand's political scene is awash with rumours, which have caused confusion for the public. Most of the time, these rumours originate with politicians to serve their political purposes. Almost all of them lack any substantiated evidence.

Again this week, rumours about alleged plots to topple the government swirled around. Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit, and red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan told reporters about an alleged plot to rock the government's stability. They said four groups of people had pooled money amounting to Bt3 billion and were plotting to overthrow the government. The Pheu Thai spokesman said these conspirators recently held a meeting at a safe house in the Buddhamonthon area. The report was dismissed by Defence Minister ACM Sukampol Suwannathat, who said the allegation was groundless. But some in the Pheu Thai camp, like Jatuporn, have not given up spreading the rumour.

While this plot, as claimed by Pheu Thai, lacks any evidence, it is interesting to consider the time context and the current political situation. The timing of this and other rumours coincides with political challenges the government is facing. For instance, in September last year, when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was trying to dodge questions regarding her brother Thaksin's role in her government, Jatuporn told reporters in front of the Parliament building that there was a conspiracy to topple the government. Jatuporn said the conspiracy was similar to earlier efforts to topple the administrations of Thaksin Shinawatra, Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat.

But when reporters asked Jatuporn who the alleged conspiritors were, Jatuporn replied ambiguously, "They are the same faces. You can search for their names on the Internet. My intelligence reports have never been wrong."

In October last year, Jatuporn went further by telling reporters he had received information from security officials that a group of people who had lost political power were again planning to topple the Yingluck government via a nine-step plan. The allegation managed to take headlines from the reshuffle at the police department.

Later in the same month, while many places in Thailand were inundated with water, Jatuporn again told reporters of a plot to incite demonstrators to topple the government. On November 20, he claimed he had learned of a conspiracy in which influential politicians with the initials "S" and "N" were meeting with a general with the initial "N" at a hotel in the Pratunam area to discuss the toppling of the government. That fresh conspiracy theory came as the government was under pressure because of its plan to issue an executive decree to pardon Thaksin.

In December last year, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung claimed that he knew the identity of perpetrators behind a bomb attack in front of the Government Lottery Office on December 6. He said that the person's name started with the letter "P". But so far, Chalerm has failed to pursue the case in spite of the lead he told reporters about. The allegation came just as the Foreign Ministry admitted it had re-issued Thaksin with a passport.

The latest rumour came last week. Jatuporn said that the four groups of alleged plotters comprised businessmen, academics, a group of military officers and some journalists. Anusorn Iamsa-ard, another red-shirt leader, backed up Jatuporn's allegation. This allegation came as the Yingluck government is defending its debt transfer plan.

In all of these cases, if politicians have even the slightest lead or information about a plan to topple the government, they should ask the police to pursue the case and make the result clear to the public. Allegations of plots to topple the government are serious, and if conspirators are real, they must be brought into the light. However, Jatuporn and Chalerm have left these allegations hanging. They have provided no answers in any instance. And they have started fresh rumours again.

At the same time, if these politicians are found to be spreading unfounded rumours to serve their own political purposes, without considering the impact upon the public, they must be held accountable and punished. These politicians use their political status to their advantage. Of course, few people, if anyone, would listen to such allegations if they came from ordinary people. But Prompong, Jatuporn and Chalerm's statements are backed by their status in Parliament.

Thai society is already confused and riven by rumour and speculation. Some of the rumours have been taken seriously by the foreign press, further tarnishing the country's reputation. Nonsense statements not only harm the reputation and credibility of the rumour-mongers themselves, they also erode the credibility of the parliamentary system.