THAI POLITICAL TURMOIL TO REMAIN, SAYS FORMER DPM

By D. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Whether Samak Sundaravej returns as prime minister or is replaced, Thailand's political turmoil will remain as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will not budge until its new political system and non-elected premier becomes reality, a former deputy premier said.

Chaturon Chaisang said the fact that PAD wanted to remain in Government
House and demanded that the entire Cabinet go after Samak was disqualified
Tuesday by the Constitution Court clearly showed their true intention.

"Whether Samak is elected again, or someone else takes over, they won't
last
long and they cannot stop the crisis. Whether Samak is qualified or not is not a
big deal as the problem is far beyond that," Chaturon said during a talk on the
Thai political situation at the Foreign Correspondents' Club here Tuesday night.


Chaturon, who was education minister under ousted prime minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, said PAD leaders would not simply pack and leave Government House
that they seized on Aug 26 as there are warrants of arrest for them for various
offences that could land them in jail for a very long time.

"So, what is their way out. Sondhi Limthongkhul (a PAD leader) even said he
wants to become a monk. Is it before or after his jail sentence. So they need
amnesty, new politics, non-elected prime minister and all this can't take place
without a coup," he said.

As such, Chaturon said, PAD leaders want to see more damage and more
turmoil
that could lead to a coup.

On Tuesday, Samak, 73, was stripped of his post by the Constitution Court
for hosting cooking programmes while still in office. But the People Power Party
(PPP) said they would nominate him again for the post.

Chaturon took over the leadership of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party after
the
Sept 19 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin. When the party and 111 top executives
were banned for five years for election fraud, PPP was formed and won the
December 2007 election. Asked who were backing PAD, Chaturon said they are
closely linked with the 2006 coup makers, elite groups in society and those who
don't believe in democracy or elected governments.

Chaturon said Thailand was facing a deep crisis as the rule of law and its
enforcement were not functioning, citing Samak who was sacked for a lame charge
while PAD leaders could continue occupying the Prime Minister's Office despite
clearly breaking the law.

With the military taking a neutral stand and police unable to enforce law
for fear of being accused of creating violence, Chaturon said there were no
quick solutions to the conflict.

"There is already a perception that any violence is because of government,"
he said.

Furthermore, Chaturon said, conflicts are not new to the country as it had
been in the same situation for the past 76 years, with 18 coups and 18
constitutions since 1932.

Chaturon, who spent five years in the jungle with the Communist Party of
Thailand after the military crackdown on student activists in October 1976, said
the conflict was worsening due to the pro-PAD view of academicians and media
favouring the movement.

"Most of the academicians cannot differentiate between a bloodshed coup and
a peaceful intervention. The media, on the other hand, only gives coverage to
pro-PAD opinions," he said.

The conflict, he said, could only ease if the majority of the people openly
condemn PAD's activities and more efforts were carried out to educate the larger
population that whatever PAD was doing would do more harm to the country in the
future.

"The PAD already set the basic condition for violence by seizing Government
House, the NBT TV station and airports," he said.
-- BERNAMA