On 9 April 2009 at 21.20 hrs., PM Abhisit gave a televised address regarding the current political situation in the country, the Government’s position and the steps the Government intends to take. Gist as follows:
On 8 April 2009, approximately 100,000 people attended the demonstration called by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The demonstrators made 3 main demands — for the resignation of the President of the Privy Council and certain Privy Council members, for the resignation of the Prime Minister, and for the amendment of the Constitution and political reform. They also drew a deadline for these demands to be met.
The Government maintains the principle that people have the right to assembly and hold demonstrations in accordance with the Constitution and the law. However, the demonstrators’ demands are confusing and will not lead to democracy or to political reform.
The demand for the resignation of certain members of the Privy Council is intended to expand the political conflict to people and institutions that are not involved. Such attempts could affect the security of the nation.
Regarding the second demand, now is not the right time to dissolve the House of Representatives. Such an act is the prerogative of the prime minister. But doing so now will not lead to greater democracy, as the present climate, marked by threats and intimidation, would not be conducive to free and fair elections, but instead may lead to chaos and violence, which would hurt Thailand’s international image even more.
The Government is now moving forward with addressing the economic challenges facing the country and with Thailand’s responsibilities as Chair of ASEAN. The ASEAN Summits with dialogue partners, to be held over the next few days, will help enhance international confidence in Thailand. If the House of Representatives were to be dissolved, this event would have to be halted.
Resignation of the prime minister would lead to the cancellation of the Summits in Pattaya. The House of Representatives would have to elect a new prime minister. As the present coalition parties have resolved to continue working together, they would choose to re-elect the present prime minister, leading back to the status quo ante. In this regard, neither the demand for the resignation of the prime minister nor that regarding the Privy Council is related to achieving a more perfect democracy.
Regarding the third demand, for democracy to develop further, there is no better way to achieve this than to open up the parliamentary process for all sides to participate in. The combination of demand no. 3, which is reasonable but lacking in detail, with the previous two is an attempt to create political confusion. The deadline imposed has no basis in reason.
Today (9 April), 70% of the demonstrators have decided to leave, showing that they were sincere in expressing their wish for democracy. The remaining 30% thus changed their approach to focus on rejection of this Government.
The demonstrators called on people not to respect the law, in spite of the fact that the Government has always acted in a democratic spirit and never resorted to any violence. The present Government came to office the same way and on the basis of the same Constitution as the previous ones, which the demonstrators had never had any problem with.
What the demonstrators did this afternoon was against the law and caused trouble to the public, including heavy traffic jams. No democrat would support this. Democracy must be based on the rule of law and respect for the rights of others.
The Government would like to apologize to the people for the inconvenience and trouble. It understood that the public was frustrated and even angry with the situation.
The Government believes that the intention of the demonstrators is to incite a chaotic situation and confrontation in order to persuade more people to join and cause a riot. They wish to prevent Thailand from moving forward as the Chair of ASEAN. They had earlier tried to call on ASEAN leaders not to attend the Summit. Nevertheless, ASEAN and its dialogue partners understood and recognized this Government and are ready to work with us.
The Government will continue with the approach of upholding the law and refraining from the use of force. It will start to enforce the law and asks people who had joined the demonstrations to consider the interests of the country, rightness and national security and stop.
The Government will proceed next as follows:
First, it will try to separate those who had been led astray from those with genuine ill intentions who deliberately broke the law. To facilitate the work of the authorities in this regard and ease traffic flow in the capital, the Cabinet today agreed to make 10 April a public holiday.
Second, the Government has asked TV Channel 11 to report on the situation continuously and honestly in order to keep the public informed of the situation and allow them to see what is really happening. The Government has also asked cooperation from other news channels to disseminate information that is useful to the public.
While the Government has tried its utmost to prevent confrontation or violence, it is assessed that certain demonstrators want to escalate the demonstration. The Prime Minister had consulted with all security authorities. The Government would employ personnel from the police, military and local authorities in order to protect public areas and prevent any violent incidents. For each government agency, the Government has asked the head of each agency to be in charge, especially in the next 24-48 hours. For the private sector, the Government would like ask business proprietors to help the Government in monitoring the situation and strengthen security measures. The Government also would like to ask the public to be vigilant and inform the authorities of any leads that could help prevent violent incidents.
The Government is confident that if demonstrators with honest intentions who do not want to see violence or act illegally can be separated from those who have other intentions, the Government will be able to enforce the law and bring the situation back to normal before too long. Then the Government will be able to continue discharging its responsibilities as host of the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya, which will contribute significantly to Thailand’s national interests and image.
In Pattaya, security measures have been strengthened. The leaders of all participating countries have confirmed their attendance. The Prime Minister reiterated the call on all Thai people to play host to this important event.
The decision the Government has taken is based not on the personal interests of the prime minister or any members of the Cabinet, but on those of the public and the need to maintain what is right and sustain the system in the long term. The Prime Minister insisted that the Government is not complacent and will act responsibly, and that its approach should lead to a sustainable resolution of the problem. He asks the public to work with the Government and exercise patience and care.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th