Anupong reiterates Army’s neutrality, meets Prem to brief him on the situation
Written by Writer on Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Anupong reiterates Army’s neutrality, meets Prem to brief him on the situation
By The Nation
General Anupong Paochinda, the powerful Army chief, reiterated yesterday that the military was taking a neutral position in the conflict between the government and the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
“I don’t care which government is in power because we’re not involved in politics. If this government is gone, a new administration will come in.
“However, the military has to remain neutral and defend the country as we don’t want people to kill one another,” he was quoted as saying during a meeting of top government officials in the aftermath of Tuesday’s bloody unrest.
In his capacity as chairman of the government committee monitoring unrest, Anupong was told that some PAD elements had allegedly thrown firebombs into the Education Ministry’s compound on Tuesday night.
Charueyporn Toranin, permanent secretary for education, reportedly told the meeting that several firebombs had been thrown into the compound with a view to starting a blaze and causing damage to public property. This was seen as a tactic to convince the military to stage another coup, the meeting was told.
In response to the Education Ministry’s report, Anupong said no more attempts should be made to worsen the situation by pressuring the military to take action.
The Army chief also met General Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, yesterday to discuss the latest developments.
Meanwhile, non-partisan senators as well as civic and academic groups condemned the government’s use of force and urged Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to take responsibility for the bloody unrest by either quitting or dissolving the House.
Two persons were killed and more than 440 people injured, some of them police officers, during the clashes. However, life in the vicinity of Bangkok’s Parliament complex appeared to have returned to normal yesterday as city workers quickly cleaned up the area.
Respected social critic Prawase Wasi repeated his call for the prime minister to resign and make way for a national unity government to heal the social rift.
“I have sympathy for Khun Somchai, but it’s time for him to quit. He should take responsibility now that there have been deaths,” he said.
The society of writers of the 2007 Constitution also said the PM should either quit or dissolve the House.
About 30 university rectors or their representatives met at Thammasat University to air their concerns over the possibility of further violence in the wake of Tuesday’s bloodshed. The group issued a statement calling on Somchai to dissolve the House as a democratic solution to the current crisis.
“This call does not mean we want the prime minister to take the responsibility,” the statement read.
A group of 40 senators also issued a statement expressing condolences to people who suffered from the death or injury of loved ones. They called on the government to set up a committee to investigate Tuesday’s violence.
The National Economic and Social Advisory Council called on both the PAD and the government to take responsibility for the violence.
