Sondhi broadcasts show from temple after ‘threat on his life’
 The Nation
November 26 , 2005 - An hour before Sondhi Limthongkul’s weekly anti-government tirade was scheduled to begin yesterday evening, people were already massing at Lumpini Park. Most of them did not know that, unlike during previous talk shows, the outspoken critic would not appear in person.
Yet that did not deter a crowd of more than 50,000 from staying and listening to his “Muang Thai Rai Sapda” (Thailand Weekly) political show – beamed from Wat Pa Ban Tat in Udon Thani.
Many people who spoke to The Nation said they did not mind that Sondhi was broadcasting his show from afar, saying they wanted to offer moral support anyway to the senior journalist and his co-host Sarocha Porn-udomsak.
Sondhi told yesterday’s audience that there had been a threat on his life and speculated that people in power had been behind it. He said this was why he was holding his talk show from the well-guarded temple.
“They are following me and a team of assassins has been set up,” he said from the temple run by revered senior monk Luangta Maha Bua, who is sympathetic to Sondhi. “There’s an ongoing attempt to eliminate me. They think if I’m gone, the movement will lose a leader.”
To stress his point, Sondhi showed footage of Luangta Maha Bua, the temple’s abbot, saying that Sondhi and Sarocha were in danger.
At the temple, only those with entry cards were allowed inside and more than 100 journalists covering Sondhi’s show were prohibited from entering. A source said that the security precautions during the show had been ordered by Luangta Maha Bua. The temple’s gates were sealed off and the premises were guarded by more than 20 policemen.
Security measures were equally tough at Lumpini Park. People entering the compound were randomly searched and police and city officials used metal detectors to screen entrants. More than 1,000 police officers were dispatched to keep order during the talk show.
The huge crowd in the Bangkok park watched a live telecast of the show on large screens. But many people in the audience complained about the poor quality of the sound.
Sondhi told his audience in the park that next Friday’s show would be cancelled because a parade would be held at the Royal Plaza in honour of His Majesty the King ahead of his birthday on December 5.
He said his show would resume on December 9. He called for half a million participants. “Brothers and sisters, it’s time to rise up! It’s time to show this government that they no longer have any mandate to rule.”
Pravit Rojanaphruk,
Dusadee Ngamlua |
