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Suthep is not commenting on the latest reconciliation efforts, which is puzzling many Government spokesman Lt Gen Sansern ruffles feathers over South flood disaster Another delay in the election is not stopping political manoeuvring
It’s better to keep quiet
For mer
protest leader and one-time Democrat Party heavyweight Suthep Thaugsuban seldom appears in the mainstream media these says, even though many of his supporters are hoping he might share his wisdom on the national reconciliation efforts being spearheaded by the military government.
But they are constantly being disappointed. Mr Suthep, who has gone from government minister to monk to chairman of the Muan Maha Prachachon for Reform Foundation, has been approached in previous rounds of reconciliation talks to provide some input.
On these occasions, he has simply spoke of his willingness to cooperate in forging unity for the country which endured bitter social and political conflicts during the tumultuous period between the military coups of 2006 and 2014.
Many observers remain sceptical that reconciliation will materialise despite the government’s latest appointments to a panel tasked with mapping out a path to achieve ultimate unity.
These experts insist that talks between the major parties to the conflicts across the colour-coded divide have failed time and again.
They are under the impression that any solution to the most serious threat to the country’s future should not be left to a handful of “power brokers” and pressure groups to resolve.
Sharing their view is Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who reiterates the essence of harmony lies with inclusivity and not with inviting familiar faces to a talk-fest while putting a cordon around people in the wider community.
The Suthep-led People’s Democratic Reform Committee — which rallied tens of thousands to protest against the Yingluck Shinawatra administration that was eventually toppled in the 2014 coup — was accused by its critics of being the militant arm of the Democrats, something the party vehemently denied.
During his years as a deputy prime minister in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, Mr Suthep, as well as Mr Abhisit, encountered stiff resistance from those who accused them of forming a government “in the barracks” with the alleged blessing of people in uniform and with the aid of renegade MPs under influential former politician Newin Chidchob who voted in parliament for Mr Abhisit to become premier.
The resistance to this “yellow-shirt” movement came to a head in 2009 and 2010 and culminated in red-shirt mass protests.
Mr Suthep and Mr Abhisit were charged in court with ordering, in their capacities as the highest government officials, crackdowns on the protesters in the heart of Bangkok’s business district, causing scores of fatalities.
Mr Suthep rejects the idea of letting “bygones be bygones” in the name of restoring national unity. Individuals responsible for perpetrating violence on the streets as part of the aggravated political conflict need to be brought to justice.
He has said that justice must be allowed to take its course and be sustained by the rule of law.
The former deputy prime minister said he regularly attended the court hearings and deliberations of the trials he was subjected to.
However, Mr Suthep has of late pointedly avoided making comments about the government’s national reconciliation efforts.
That has observers reading between the lines to try to find out just what his silence implies. Some theorise Mr Suthep has lost faith in the latest reconciliation campaign or is less than happy with the appointees entrusted to work on the issue.
To try to quell conjecture and settle the record, Mr Suthep this week explained he would rather hold his peace to avoid the risk of having his comments misconstrued. Or worse, twisted by his opponents which could muddy the waters at a time when reconciliation requires smooth sailing.
Public relations nightmare
Several years ago, Sansern Kaewkamnerd was in a position of relative obscurity despite his role as a talking head for the military.
Almost overnight he became something of a celebrity as a result of nightly prime-time appearances on TV for the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) during the 2010 political turmoil.
Then a colonel, he “returned to the barracks” when the troubles ended and quietly worked his way through the ranks, even as political unrest festered below the surface.
When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) seized power in 2014, he was named a deputy spokesman of the junta government, and then chief of the government team of spokespeople after Yongyuth Mayalarp, a retired captain in the military, quit.
In doing his job as a government spokesman — whether for the CRES or the military government — Sansern, now promoted to lieutenant-general, has never been shy about ruffling feathers.
Early this month he dropped a bombshell when he accused some politicians in Songkhla of being behind a political move to stir up dissent against the government.
He was apparently referring to a gathering by 3,000 farmers to demand help related to the shortage of crop seeds brought on by recent heavy floods in the region.
The government spokesman was quoted as saying that the politicians, out of habit, were exploiting the situation for political gain, even if they were aware of the government’s efforts to provide assistance to the farmers.
He also made clear that three million baht donated by the public to help flood victims was spent on the purchase of crop seeds for farmers.
His accusation badly upset former Democrat Party MP for Songkhla Thaworn Senneam who took to Facebook to refute the government spokesman’s claim.
According to the Democrat, the politicians in those southern areas were trying to ensure that flood victims were getting the help they needed as quickly as possible, and that they had to step in because the government had provided no channel for those affected to voice their grievances.
“They [the flood-affected residents] came to us after they went to all the authorities concerned, but were unable to make any progress. Don’t see us as an enemy because we’re helping the government to solve the problem.
“You can stay in power as long as you want, but let me ask if you’re doing what you should be doing,” the Democrat was quoted as saying.
Mr Thaworn was joined by another former Democrat MP for Songkhla Wirat Kalayasiri who clarified that the politicians stepped in to speed up assistance and had no intention of inciting any public disturbances.
Political observers are dumbstruck by Lt Gen Sansern’s remark. Some suspect it might have something to do with local news reports on the politicians’ role in rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the recent flooding.
According to the observers, Lt Gen Sansern is perhaps to blame if the public is unaware of the government’s work and efforts to help them. He is not only the government’s principal spokesman, but also chief of the Public Relations Department (PRD).
The premier exercised his power under Section 44 of the interim constitution to appoint Lt Gen Sansern to concurrently serve as the PRD’s acting director-general because he was frustrated about the media’s failure to report positive messages about his government’s work.
So it seems the PRD, under Lt Gen Sansern’s watch, still has work to do to fulfil what is expected of it, according to observers.
Politicians are getting testy
Now that the chance of a general election being held at the end of this year is looking pretty dim, many Thais would be tempted to think that politics in the constituencies continues to be relatively uneventful, just as it has been since the 2014 coup.
But underneath that apparent calm surface, the water is stirring. Signs are emerging of early preparations being made by some politicians — notably from the Pheu Thai Party — to reach out to voters. Pheu Thai, incidentally, is about to get a new “boss”, according to a political source.
After Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Meechai Ruchupan let slip that the organic bills under the referendum-approved charter might not be ready this year, it was wildly interpreted that the country’s leading law expert was basically telling everyone to get ready for another election delay.
Some are now expecting the poll to be held sometime in April next year at the latest. Even then, the timing is anything but certain, said the source.
The reason the poll is difficult to slot in this year is because of public mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the country being preoccupied with arranging the royal funeral in the latter half of the year.
Yet on the political front, nothing is as idle as it seems.
For Pheu Thai, changes to its hierarchy appear imminent.
Many political observers have been speculating for some time that the chief’s seat could pass to former deputy leader of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan.
A party source said de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra appears to favour Khunying Sudarat for the job.
However, that would mean pushing aside some party heavyweights who have been keeping the party bubbling along.
The source said the popular belief now is that if these major figures are prised away from Thaksin’s grip, the command structure of Pheu Thai would need a complete reshuffle, with the leadership going to Khunying Sudarat, and the power to rule the party from behind the curtain being centralised around Thaksin’s ex-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra.
Away from the media spotlight, Khunying Sudarat is actively working with a team of close aides, including former Bangkok MP Anudit Nakhonthap and former MP for Nonthaburi Udomdet Rattanapien, to brainstorm electioneering strategies well in advance of the next poll.
The preparations are said to be pressing ahead despite the sweeping changes in the political landscape during the military junta’s domination of the country’s highest seats of government.
The election rules have also been rewritten, prompting expert analysis that it will not be so easy for a political party to keep hold of its traditional electoral bastions.
The dead certain constituencies that provided a base for some parties might be a thing of the past.
However, the Pheu Thai source said some core members have formulated comprehensive plans to visit the party’s strongholds in the near term, even though it is clear that the election is a year away.
These party members exude confidence that they still enjoy the kind of dynamic forces that give them the upper hand when it comes to wooing voters.
The party’s line-up of potential candidates to contest the next poll may include former military top brass aligned to Thaksin who have no background in politics, according to the source.
The lure of being a member of parliament is still a powerful magnet to many political neophytes despite waves of negative publicity sweeping over politicians, accusing them of being agents of divisiveness who have forced national reconciliation efforts by the junta to bring them into line, observers say.