On 9 July 2010, in response to media questions about the recent International Crisis Group (ICG)’s report “Bridging Thailand’s Deep Divide”, Mr. Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed his disappointment about the ICG’s report. While appreciating its concern, he said that he felt ICG failed to take into account many important facts about what had transpired, misinterpreted the roles of Thailand’s key institutions, particularly the monarchy, the Privy Council and the judiciary, and prejudged the Government’s on-going efforts to move forward with reconciliation and improve Thai people’s welfare.
As any other legitimate, democratic and responsible government, the Thai Government has the duty to uphold the rule of law and work for all Thai people. Mr. Chavanond said, “We recognise that most of those joining the protests were innocent and have genuine demands. It is a gross misunderstanding on ICG’s part to assume that the Government views the Red Shirts as terrorists.” The Prime Minister has made it abundantly clear that the majority of protesters have legitimate grievances, which the Government will address. But there are those few who committed illegal acts or were involved with violence to achieve their aims, and they must be held accountable. As for the charge of terrorism against certain individuals, this is in accordance with the Thai law, Mr. Chavanond explained, noting also that all cases will proceed in accordance with due process of law.
The Secretary to the Foreign Minister further said that the Government will be reaching out to everybody, including those who took part in the “Red Shirt” protests, as the reconciliation process proceeds as the objective is to address key factors that have caused problems and divisions in Thai society. Mechanisms to steer progress on key components of the reconciliation plan have all been set into motion, working independently from, but having the full support and cooperation of the Government.
These mechanisms include two reform committees working on gathering views from all sectors of society and formulating recommendations for resolving the grievances of all groups, not least those aired by the protesters, related to economic and social disparities or sense of injustices; the committee on political reform and constitutional amendments, which — among others — is working on election rules so that they will be acceptable to all sides; and the independent fact-finding commission that will work to uncover the truth about the violent incidents that occurred. The media reform process driven by media organisations in cooperation with leading academics is also underway to find ways to prevent the use of the media to incite violence or hatred.
“Some aspects of the reconciliation plan, particularly the reform on structural issues, will go beyond the term of the Government. Nevertheless, by the end of the year, we should see concrete outcomes,” Mr. Chavanond said.
As for the use of the Emergency Decree, Mr. Chavanond said that considering the gravity of what happened during the protests — with armed groups using military weapons hiding behind innocent protesters — and continued movements to instigate disturbances or threats against people’s lives, this remains necessary in some provinces. “Where it has been assessed that the law is no longer necessary, the Cabinet has decided to lift the Decree. But in any case, the Decree has not affected the ordinary people and their daily life or businesses.” The Thai Cabinet, on 6 July 2010, lifted the Emergency Decree in the five provinces of Si Sa Ket, Nan, Kalasin, Nakhon Pathom and Nakhon Swan.
Finally, asked about ICG’s view on elections, Mr. Chavanond recalled that the Prime Minister has not insisted on completing his term but circumstances should be right for free, fair and peaceful elections. On 3 May 2010, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, in proposing his reconciliation plan, offered to cut his term short by a year, but this was rejected by the protest leaders, he added. Given the current situation, for elections to be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner, certain conditions should be met, including having election rules that are acceptable to all political groups, and enabling an environment conducive for all political parties to campaign freely.
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