Round 10 at lumpini: will it be a knockout?
 The Nation
November 25 , 2005 - All eyes will be on “Muang Thai Rai Sapda” (Thailand Weekly) talk show at Lumpini Park today to see media tycoon and critic Sondhi Limthongkul’s rally against the prime minister.
The size of the crowd that gathers at Lumpini Park will be an indicator of the fate of both men.
Sondhi’s massive Friday rallies have grown bigger and bigger since his television programme was cancelled by Channel 9. The number of spectators has grown from hundreds to tens of thousands.
There are high expectations that Sondhi will disclose more government controversies today. And if he doesn’t, it would disappoint his fans and could erode soaring interest in what he’ll say.
Last Friday’s event was claimed to be the biggest anti-Thaksin rally in Bangkok since the PM came to power in 2001. Some reporters put the crowd at about 40,000 but the Manager website claimed 80,000. Wet weather may have kept many more from attending.
Today’s programme is the 10th and a big crowd is expected. Sondhi has been all out to boost his support by mobilising as big an audience as possible. He has claimed up to 200,000 could attend. Hundreds of thousands more are likely to watch a live broadcast via manager.co.th website and the ASTV1 cable channel broadcast via satellite.
The crowds attending the shows have shocked Thaksin. He is afraid of them – that’s why he has tried to silence Sondhi by all means.
Last Thursday, a lawyer for the prime minister won a court order to gag Sondhi. But the media tycoon was not intimidated. He made more disturbing revelations – that Thaksin’s younger sister Monthatip had been allowed to use a state aircraft to carry relatives and friends from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to attend a party to celebrate her birthday and inaugurate her new home.
Yesterday, there was a further move to try to block Sondhi from getting on stage. A senior Yasothon police officer asked a local court to approve an arrest warrant for Sondhi and his co-host Sarocha Pornudomsak after accusing both of them of lese majeste during their previous talk shows. But the court dismissed the request.
Several days ago there was talk of a coup d’etat being hatched and that Sondhi’s Friday gatherings were a rehearsal to oust Thaksin.
But it seems more likely that Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Wechayachai’s comments were simply aimed at stopping people attending Sondhi’s show. Such talk may have been designed to scare people away from an anti-government rally, by suggesting things may become violent.
Earlier in the week, top military officers moved to subdue Sondhi, which drew criticism as to whether such acts were appropriate.
Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond, a close associate of Thaksin’s cousin and former Supreme Commander Chaisit Shinawatra, gave a direct warning to Sondhi to stop invoking the monarchy – or he would face the wrath of the military.
This followed an open letter to Sondhi from Maj-General Pruen Suwannathat, commander of the Royal Guard’s 1st Infantry Division and a former classmate of the PM, who also called on the government critic to leave the monarchy out of his personal quarrel with Thaksin.
The irony is, the more the PM tries to subdue his opponent, the bigger his audiences get. People are curious about what Sondhi will say next. Many may have heard about some scandals but just enjoy a free debate on what it all means.
The premier may well be fearful of what other controversies his former friend will reveal. More wounds could be opened today. The most scary for the PM is what Sondhi might tell the public about his family – and that could prompt strong retaliation.
Your comments are welcome. Contact the Political Desk at poldesk@nationgroup.com.
Somroutai Sapsomboon,
Jintana Panyaarvudh
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