Reds plan across border [i.e. Cambodia] Thaksin celebrations, says Jatuporn

March 26, 2012
The Nation

Thousands of red shirts will celebrate Songkran with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Laos and Cambodia, Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said yesterday.

"Thaksin is not coming back to Thailand at this time but will stay close in order to allay the feelings of those who miss him," he said.

Jatuporn said Thaksin will be in Vientiane on April 12-to-13 to meet his red supporters from Udon Thani and Nong Khai.

Thaksin's next stop is Siem Reap on April 14-to-15, he said, revealing he will lead the red shirts to join Thaksin in a grand celebration.

Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen might take part in the event, he said. At present, a Cambodian aide was looking for a suitable venue to welcome tens of thousands of red shirts, he added.

Commenting on a recent Thaksin phone-in at Surin, he said he expected Thaksin to come home after receiving a just settlement.

The injustice of the 2006 power seizure was that the Asset Examination Committee made an unprecedented move in targeting only Thaksin.

In regard to the controversial report on reconciliation measures by the King Prajadhipok's Institute, Jatuporn said Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva had gone overboard in his critique of the report.

The report alone could not bring about or derail reconciliation, he said. Fence mending would succeed if all sides agreed to work together, or fail if they worked against one another, he said.

He said from his point of view, the Democrats seemed to always oppose reconciliation because they feared turning out losers in the deal.

"The Democrats keep picking on Thaksin because they have no achievements to boast about," he said.

He went on to remind all sides not to get trapped in the past, saying he was willing to forgive the 2006 coup in order to allow the country to advance.

As coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin was trying to rectify his past mistakes by pushing for reconciliation. Society should give him a chance.

Jatuporn said he disagreed that Chart Thai Pattana MP Sanan Kachornprasart should try to corner Sonthi to reveal coup secrets.

"I don't think there will be additional information about the coup," he said.

He said the opposing sides already had their facts and should move toward forgiveness instead of confrontation which can trigger a civil war.

Over the past five years, the red shirts had waged an anti-coup struggle based on facts presented at each point in time, he said, conceding he wanted to let bygones be bygones rather than arguing about who was the real mastermind of the coup.

In a related development, Abhisit issued his third open letter urging the KPI to withdraw its report.

The House committee on reconciliation was acting suspiciously - as if it planned to misuse the KPI report to draw a lopsided conclusion, Abhisit said.

He said reconciliation would not materialise from a majority vote in Parliament, urging the government to take an active role in mending fences.

Abhisit said he was worried about Thaksin's phone-in message which claimed to be lobbying judges to grant bail for red shirts involved in the political disturbances. Thaksin was speaking as if he could intervene and sway the judiciary, he said.

Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said Thaksin had never paid for the defence expenses incurred by the red shirts.

He said the red shirts should see through Thaksin - that he did not really care about their grievances. Thaksin preyed on the red shirts to secure his amnesty and safeguard his wealth, he said.