Sondhi says the show goes on
 The Nation
December 7 , 2005 - Sondhi Limthongkul vowed to hold his anti-government talk-show this Friday, despite Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dropping all six defamation lawsuits against the media tycoon, one of Sondhi’s lawyers said yesterday.
A government spokesman, meanwhile, hit out at people looking to attend the rally. Thai Rak Thai’s Sita Divari said the event would just be a repeat an old story and a further attempt to split national unity.
Sondhi’s lawyer Suwat Apaisak said the media tycoon had said he would continue doing his job as a government critic.
He insisted the talk-show would be held at Lumpini Park this Friday, dismissing a report that Sondhi would cancel because he had reached a compromise with Thaksin.
The PM’s lawyer Thana Benjathikul said yesterday Thaksin decided to drop all six lawsuits, which had sought some Bt2 billion, launched against Sondhi.
The backdown followed His Majesty the King’s speech on Sunday. The King asked the government to drop lawsuits against critics who referred to His Majesty’s royal status.
Thana said Thaksin was considering if other suits taken against the media should be dropped.
Suwat said that Sondhi would not sue Thaksin back, saying both sides agreed to stop such conflict for the sake of national unity.
And Sondhi would drop his suit against three MCOT executives who “illegally” cancelled his talk shows on Channel 9 if they apologised, Suwat said.
Government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee pledged that the government would be fair to all critics about their complaints. Dropping all lawsuits would prove that the government welcomed His Majesty’s advice to listen to any critics, he said.
From now on, the government would rather defend doubts and allegations through press conferences than lawsuits, Surapong said.
Although Thaksin refused to speak to the press throughout yesterday, he reportedly told the Cabinet that any cases, which state agencies or personnel have filed against Sondhi, should be dropped if there was no obvious evidence.
Revered monk Luangta Maha Bua said Thaksin made the right decision to withdraw the lawsuits. He also urged Sondhi to carry on criticising Thaksin and the government.
The monk, who supports Sondhi’s campaign, will address the public on Thursday. He is expected to speak about the current political troubles between Thaksin and Sondhi, a day before the rally in Lumpini Park.
Saneh Chamarik, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, praised Thaksin for dropping the lawsuits. He said the premier did the right thing to take leave His Majesty out of political disputes.
The legal backdown also lifts court orders that ban distribution of some video CDs of Sondhi’s shows. It means all 10 episodes will be legal from now.
However, TRT spokesman Sita Divari said Sondhi should be ashamed if he continues his talk-show after His Majesty’s appeal for all sides to stop quarrelling.
“The government will not get involved in any attempts to stop Sondhi’s talk show,” Sita said. “But if Sondhi is still a Thai citizen, he must stop it.”
If people wanted to listen to Sondhi despite His Majesty’s appeal, it would cast shame on them too, he claimed.
Meanwhile, PM’s Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva denied that the government would pressure MCOT executives to put Sondhi’s talk show back on Channel 9.
He said the government could only oversee the MCOT administration. The process to decide which programmes should be on air lay with the MCOT board, he said. Suranand believed that the recent political turmoil would eased following the King’s address. |
