Keep the King out of rows: Surayud
 The Nation
November 29 , 2005 - General Surayud Chulanont, a member of the Privy Council, called yesterday for people in-volved in political disputes to stop referring to His Majesty the King to win public support. “Recent references to the monarchy were inappropriate. The institution should not be involved in politics. Political disputes should be solved in a political way,” Surayud said.
Privy Council chairman General Prem Tinsulanonda had also expressed concern to him about “inappropriate references to the institution we highly revere”, he said.
It was the first public reaction from one of the men closest to the King after weeks of tension be-tween Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his supporter-turned-critic Sondhi Limthongkul.
Sondhi, who runs the Manager media empire, has allied his anti-government campaign to what he describes as his loyalty towards the monarchy. He has often appeared publicly in a yellow jersey emblazoned with the message “We Will Fight for the King”.
A number of people attending Sondhi’s weekly anti-government tirades at Lumpini Park also wore yellow to show their support to the outspoken media mogul.
Then, on Saturday, the prime minister surprised many political observers by calling on people to wear yellow shirts when they join government celebrations of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne, which begins shortly. He also said he regarded the King as his commander, both legally and spiritually.
A political source said yesterday the Palace had become uncomfortable about the monarchy being referred to so regularly in political rows.
The source said it was viewed as improper for anybody to use the lese majeste charge as a political tool to serve his or her interest. In principle, the charge should not be used at anybody’s convenience.
The Yasothon provincial court rejected a police request last Thursday for arrest warrants against Sondhi and Sarocha Porn-udomsak, his co-host in the “Muang Thai Rai Sapda” (Thailand Weekly) political talk show, on a charge of lese majeste.
Surayud declined to comment yesterday on recent rumours about a coup d’etat, saying he served the King and thus should be politically neutral.
Some government figures said last week they could sense the smell of a rebellion against the administration.
Thammasat University law lecturer Kittisak Prokati claimed over the weekend that some officers in the military were considering staging a coup and had been meeting with law experts over the past two months about possible legal repercussions if a coup were to take place.
Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond yesterday dismissed the academic’s claim, saying he did not think any soldier would consult with academics about staging a coup.
He insisted there would be no more military coups in Thailand.
Six senators held a press conference at Parliament yesterday to call on the government to investigate and take legal action against the academic. They claimed it was illegal to make such a remark publicly.
The senators were Somkuan Jitsaeng, Wittaya Masayna, Kriengkrai Poomlaojaeng, Sappakit Preechachanapai, Chatchawan Boonmee and Piyachanok Limpaphan.
The PM called a meeting of high-ranking military and police officers at Government House yesterday to discuss purchases of new weapons as part of a plan to modernise the armed forces.
The meeting took place in the wake of rumours of a military coup, which led to a stock market slump last week.
Meanwhile, respected social critic Prawase Wasi yesterday warned the prime minister to be aware before speaking and to ease controls on the press - before society turns against him.
Prawase said he had told Thaksin several times to be cautious about his words.
“What the PM says always creates anger on all sides,” he said. “Thaksin likes to demonstrate his use of power as a solution to all problems, which is not easy because they are so complicated.”
Thaksin had made so many enemies during his administration, Prawase said. The anti-Thaksin movement now has support because the premier has clamped down on press freedom, which meant he has shut down the intellectual arenas for the people to take part in solving the national crises, he said.
Meanwhile, PM’s Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva denied he ordered radio stations that criticised the government to be censored. Suranand said he only looked at stations reported to have referred to HM the King in on-air political debates, because it was prohibited.
Panya Thiewsangwan |
