By Naya Kaikawang
The Nation
Published on April 13, 2010
Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh called yesterday for an immediate dissolution of Parliament and accused the prime minister of lacking the leadership to steer the country out of its political predicament.
"Abhisit Vejjajiva bears the sole responsibility for causing the clashes between the riot forces and the red shirts on Saturday," he said.
Chavalit compared Abhisit to the head of a household who had failed to heal the rift among fellow Thai citizens.
Despite repeated warnings about ruin, Abhisit chose to be "indifferent" to the red shirts instead of heeding their demands.
He said he was ashamed that Asean had cast doubts on the future of
Even though all sides saw the necessity for a snap election, the government had offered a nine-month road map, as if it was unwilling to address or see any urgency in the problem.
The veteran politician, who was PM from 1996 to 1997, said he repeatedly reminded the government that agitation would escalate into violence. He described the bloodshed as "unprecedented" and being caused by the government ignoring the voice of the people.
He lashed out at sending armed soldiers and police to crack down on the red mob.
Abhisit could not deny his involvement in the order to crack down and the "blunder" in carrying on the anti-riot operation into the night which led, in turn, to the attacks by a "third hand".
Crowd control was flawed and, based on evidence available, the public could almost identify the "third hand" that incited violence, he said, adding that wounded soldiers claimed their injuries were not caused by the red shirts.
"The situation may deteriorate further and unconditional dissolution of Parliament is the only way out."
He urged coalition parties to realise it would be futile to talk about a timetable, arguing it was nonsense to prolong an election for six or nine months in the face of public agitation.
He said he supported an investigation to uncover why the bloodshed happened- but this should take place under a new prime minister.
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I think this is just rubbish, that they think this guy’s words are worth anything. If he is anything to go by, he is a PM for a year, coming from a military background as defence minister before, and ousted because he made the Thai economy crash in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He was deputy prime minister again in 2008 but forced to resign because he used violence against the protesters (the yellow-shirts then) as well.
So why would anyone think there is any gold to his words?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavalit_Yongchaiyudh
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