Trouble brews on [Thailand's] eastern front

Suthep: Clashes with PAD

Ultra-nationalist PAD plans rally to warn of Cambodian encroachment on Thai soil

4/12/2010
Bangkok Post

The People's Alliance for Democracy is all set for yet another gathering on Jan 25 to alert the country to what it claims is an impending territorial invasion by Cambodia.

The ultra-nationalist alliance has turned on the government it holds culpable for what it has called the loss of Thailand's territory on the eastern front.

The PAD's friendly relations with the ruling Democrat Party soured after the party played along with its coalition partners' demands for a charter rewrite. The alliance slammed the proposed amendments as blatant self-interest.

Its ties with the Democrats took a turn for the worse when Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, speaking to Democrat supporters in the South, chided the PAD for attacking him.

Mr Suthep also went where he had never gone before: he insisted Sondhi Limthongkul, an influential co-leader of the PAD, was ''no lesser evil'' than ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

His remarks, however, took Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva aback. In a verbal warning, he said his deputy should learn to hold his tongue so as not to needlessly invite hostility.

The PAD has shaken off its Democrat-leaning image and is pressing ahead with its planned rally on Jan 25 in Bangkok. But the government has reminded the alliance that the emergency decree remains firmly in place in the capital and any threat to security will be met with swift prosecution.

The alliance originally planned to hold the rally on Dec 11. But its key figures figured that since December is a month of joyous occasions, most notably His Majesty the King's birthday tomorrow, the gathering should be deferred until Jan 25.

The PAD, nonetheless, has maintained it is fully justified in organising a gathering. It says the country must wake up to the expanding Cambodian occupation of border areas in Si Sa Ket province.

A reliable source in the alliance said Chamlong Srimuang, another PAD co-leader, is leading a band of disciples of the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect to the rally. The sect is headquartered in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and its centre is only a stone's throw from the border.

Standing in the centre's backyard, one can see the enlarging settlement of Cam bodian villagers who allegedly encroach on Thai soil, the source said.

The 2nd Army, which has jurisdiction over the Northeast, has also claimed there are startling discoveries that support the alleged expanding territorial encroachment, the source added. However, no details were given.

A senior military officer belonging to the PAD said new evidence has come to light that reinforced the belief that Thailand has lost land to Cambodia.

''We need to rally to let people know how serious this problem is. We'll bring forth compelling evidence [of alleged territorial loss] and demand the return of the land,'' the source said.

The border dispute, the source added, is a highly nationalistic issue that will attract a large rally turnout and provide impetus to the PAD gathering.