Gen Prawit faces down ouster push

Change.org cuts his petition supporters

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon is still committed to serving as a core pillar in taking care of the country’s security, a ministry spokesman says, in a remark signifying the regime’s No.2 man will not consider stepping down anytime soon.

Gen Prawit has come under a barrage of criticism over his watch scandal. Pressure is building on him to resign, particularly among netizens, some of whom are proceeding with online polls to sound out whether the deputy premier should make good on his word to quit if the people want it.

Defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich yesterday insisted Gen Prawit’s morale is still good and his health is fine. He said Gen Prawit is still keen to dedicate himself to his duties and help safeguard security.

Lt Gen Kongcheep said that in a democratic society, people have a right to express their views and be heeded without biased attitudes. He insisted the armed forces remain united and will work to ensure security for the country.

The spokesman said Gen Prawit yesterday travelled to Singapore where he is attending the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting retreat to discuss cooperation in regional security.

The deputy premier is scheduled to return to Thailand tomorrow.

Gen Prawit will meet Gen Joseph F Dunford Jr, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the United States, at the Defence Ministry later the same day to discuss security issues in the Asia Pacific and cooperation between the Thai and US militaries.

A petition in support of Gen Prawit was posted on Change.org on Sunday, which quickly gained more than 16,000 supporters.

However, the website later drastically reduced the number of supporters to around 250 after complaining of a coordinated campaign intended to deceive the public.

Explaining the cut, CSI LA Facebook page, which originally exposed pictures of the 25 luxury watches worn by Gen Prawit, none of which he has declared in his asset statements, said it was shameful that Change.org had detected that many of the petition’s supporters were signing up from the same IP addresses.

This finding led the website to reduce the estimate of those who registered to support Gen Prawit, according to CSI LA.

Lt Gen Kongcheep earlier denied a report the ministry had instructed military units to vote in favour of Gen Prawit in online polls to support him remaining in office.

Meanwhile, political activist Ekachai Hongkangwan is taunting Gen Prawit over the watch scandal. He turned up at the ministry yesterday to hand over an online poll which demands Gen Prawit resign. He was whisked away by plainclothes officers to a coffee shop next to the ministry.

All related documents were later given to the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence.

Meanwhile, one of Gen Prawit’s supporters, who protested in front of the ministry on Thursday, turned himself in to Phra Ratchawang police station yesterday.

Adul Thamjit, a 54-year-old taxi driver, faced charges of violating the regime’s order banning political gatherings of five or more people and the public assembly law. Police said around 30 people taking part in the event would be identified through CCTV footage before summonses are issued against them.

Mr Adul was later sent to Dusit District Court, where he pleaded guilty. The court later fined him 3,000 baht, commuted from a fine of 6,000 baht earlier handed down, after he confessed.

Meanwhile, army commander-inchief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisad insisted the political situation is still under control.

Gen Chalermchai, who chaired a meeting of the National Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO) Secretariat Office yesterday, said while some groups are staging activities against the government, they are still in line with democratic methods.

Speaking during a mobile cabinet tour in Trat yesterday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government needs some time to ensure the country is in order.

“The government has fought various issues over the past three years. We have done it for all people. Today the country is not yet in order, so I may ask for some time. If it is not yet in order, everything will be in chaos,” said Gen Prayut.

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) has warned the government against underestimating the anti-regime movements online.

Referring to netizens organising a turnout of the New Democracy Movement for this Saturday, UDD spokesman Thanawut Wichaidit said he had seen a lot of activity under way on social media.

Rip up the constitution? If the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is more powerful than the charter, what is the point of having the highest law? The person who suggested the constitution is rubbish is Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon. When asked about growing anti-military protests, the deputy premier said people can rally as long as they conform to the law and the NCPO’s order.

“We are the sovereign authority. What is the problem now?” Gen Prawit declared.

The problems are many. If sovereignty does belong to the military regime as the DPM embroiled in a luxury watches scandal seems to have understood, what use is the 2017 charter?

It took two years for this supreme law to be drafted, at the behest of the military regime itself. The charter was also put to a national referendum, in which it was approved by more than 15 million votes — 61% out of a 59% turnout.

The charter was promulgated last April. Though it maintained Section 44 of the provisional charter, which gives the NCPO power to overrule the legislative, executive and judicial branches, the highest law does not stipulate that the regime, which ousted the democratically elected Pheu Thai government by force, is the sovereign authority.

If DPM Gen Prawit were a little more careful — had he studied the constitution or learnt from his past loose-tongued mistakes — he could have avoided making yet another painful gaffe.

But, of course, the DPM does not seem to have time to do so despite his many watches. That’s why he keeps generating a long string of controversies that are now threatening his status as the regime’s second-in-command.

Gen Prawit’s latest remark, arrogant and out of place as it is, added a heap of disdain on top of the criticism he has received for his unclear explanation about the 25 luxury watches he has been seen wearing but failed to declare to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

A thin-skinned politician would have bowed out under such enormous pressure. But not the “Rolex General”. Apparently feeling unappreciated for his “50 years of dedication to the country”, the DPM made it known during a gettogether with military-beat reporters last week that he would be willing to resign if the public no longer want his service.

It was not his day, and has not been lately. Right after his plea, online outlets set up unofficial polls asking netizens whether they wanted Gen Prawit to remain in the government. So far, responses have been overwhelmingly against, with more than 90% of people saying the embattled DPM should resign.

At the same time, a petition for Gen Prawit’s resignation on the online platform change.org attracted more than 40,000 signatures.

At this point, whether Gen Prawit will leave the government or try to hang on until the bitter end does not mean much. The DPM has been so damaged there is no prospect for him in the future except disgrace.

What could end up as the greatest irony is that his “sovereignty” remark, which was surely meant to intimidate pro-election protesters, could end up empowering them.

Probably blinded by the regime’s increasing tendency to resort to dictatorial rule, DPM Gen Prawit fails to understand why the charter was needed in the first place. It is a social contract to ensure the peaceful coexistence between the governor and governed. It’s an agreement that guarantees his government will not be treated as a tyrant.

And if Gen Prawit cared to study the highest law, he would have realised it stipulates in Section 3 in clear, unequivocal fashion: Sovereignty belongs to the Thai people.

If the Rolex General had time to look up from his expensive watches, he might have seen in the next section that human dignity, rights, liberty and equality are also protected.

Or he could just read the preamble. It states that the charter has been written to establish strict mechanisms to prevent, verify and eradicate corruption and malpractice to ensure that a government that lacks morality, ethics and good governance will not attain administrative power or use it by whim.

A luxury watch may carry the moniker “Perpetual” but that is never the case with dictatorial power. Gen Prawit might feel comfortable borrowing expensive timepieces from friends but he cannot claim ownership over something like “sovereignty” which belongs to all Thais.

Or else he must rip up the constitution, again.