April 4th, 2006, 00:55
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In TV interview Thaksin vows to resign – well sort of
By ThaiDay 3 April 2006 23:37
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said last night that he would step down if his departure would put an end to the country’s protracted political crisis and create “national reconciliation.”
“I’m prepared to quit right away if the opposition parties and the protest leaders give their assurances that they will end their protest,” Thaksin said in an hour-long television interview on state-run Channel 11.
Voicing concern that tourism and general investments have been adversely affected by the political crisis that has gripped the country for the past three months, Thaksin claimed that he was prepared to quit so that the country could move forward.
However, the embattled premier made it clear that he would step down from politics on his own terms and would not give in to calls by the opposition parties and the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for him to be replaced by a royally-conferred interim prime minister under Article 7 of the Constitution.
Thaksin asserted that any solution involving his departure from politics would have to follow constitutional channels. He reiterated his previous promises that as soon as the new Parliament convenes, action would be taken to start the process of political reforms through constitutional amendments.
He confirmed widespread speculation since Sunday’s election that he was considering a suitable candidate from among the Thai Rak Thai Party leadership to succeed him if he steps down.
Two of the four candidates under his consideration were former Parliament president and public-law expert Pokin Pollakul and caretaker deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs Somkid Chatusripitak. The identity of the two other candidates were not revealed.
As of last night, many expert observers speculated that Thaksin would resign to pave the way for the new acting prime minister to supervise the process of amending the Constitution and hold new elections within one year.
Asked whether he would quit politics temporarily and return to power a year from now, Thaksin declined to give a definite answer, saying that it was a personal matter on which he can decide later.
Throughout the interview, Thaksin emphasized the importance of creating “national reconciliation,” which he defined as an end to opposition parties’ boycott of future elections plus an end to the PAD’s protests.
In order to achieve this end, he proposed establishing a neutral committee comprising three representatives each from among the [surviving] former prime ministers, former parliamentary presidents, former supreme court chief justices and retired state-university rectors.
According to Thaksin, this proposed body would gauge the various opinions of the opposition parties plus the PAD leadership and work towards ending the political conflict.
He claimed that the estimated 10 million “No Vote” ballots were comprised mainly of those votes that would have otherwise gone to the opposition parties that boycotted this election.
He also claimed a mandate from the estimated 14 million votes cast for TRT which amounted to more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast. The embattled premier had pledged before the election that he would not accept the premiership if his party returned less than 50 per cent of all the votes.
“I’ve said that we would let the people decide. They have now decided – 60 percent supported us while the other 40 per cent didn’t,” Thaksin said.
He also pleaded to the audience many times during the interview that he would be happy to leave office if his departure would make the country better. “Give me some good reasons [for me to leave office] so I can explain it to the 16 million people who voted for TRT,” he said.
– ThaiDay
In TV interview Thaksin vows to resign – well sort of
By ThaiDay 3 April 2006 23:37
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said last night that he would step down if his departure would put an end to the country’s protracted political crisis and create “national reconciliation.”
“I’m prepared to quit right away if the opposition parties and the protest leaders give their assurances that they will end their protest,” Thaksin said in an hour-long television interview on state-run Channel 11.
Voicing concern that tourism and general investments have been adversely affected by the political crisis that has gripped the country for the past three months, Thaksin claimed that he was prepared to quit so that the country could move forward.
However, the embattled premier made it clear that he would step down from politics on his own terms and would not give in to calls by the opposition parties and the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for him to be replaced by a royally-conferred interim prime minister under Article 7 of the Constitution.
Thaksin asserted that any solution involving his departure from politics would have to follow constitutional channels. He reiterated his previous promises that as soon as the new Parliament convenes, action would be taken to start the process of political reforms through constitutional amendments.
He confirmed widespread speculation since Sunday’s election that he was considering a suitable candidate from among the Thai Rak Thai Party leadership to succeed him if he steps down.
Two of the four candidates under his consideration were former Parliament president and public-law expert Pokin Pollakul and caretaker deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs Somkid Chatusripitak. The identity of the two other candidates were not revealed.
As of last night, many expert observers speculated that Thaksin would resign to pave the way for the new acting prime minister to supervise the process of amending the Constitution and hold new elections within one year.
Asked whether he would quit politics temporarily and return to power a year from now, Thaksin declined to give a definite answer, saying that it was a personal matter on which he can decide later.
Throughout the interview, Thaksin emphasized the importance of creating “national reconciliation,” which he defined as an end to opposition parties’ boycott of future elections plus an end to the PAD’s protests.
In order to achieve this end, he proposed establishing a neutral committee comprising three representatives each from among the [surviving] former prime ministers, former parliamentary presidents, former supreme court chief justices and retired state-university rectors.
According to Thaksin, this proposed body would gauge the various opinions of the opposition parties plus the PAD leadership and work towards ending the political conflict.
He claimed that the estimated 10 million “No Vote” ballots were comprised mainly of those votes that would have otherwise gone to the opposition parties that boycotted this election.
He also claimed a mandate from the estimated 14 million votes cast for TRT which amounted to more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast. The embattled premier had pledged before the election that he would not accept the premiership if his party returned less than 50 per cent of all the votes.
“I’ve said that we would let the people decide. They have now decided – 60 percent supported us while the other 40 per cent didn’t,” Thaksin said.
He also pleaded to the audience many times during the interview that he would be happy to leave office if his departure would make the country better. “Give me some good reasons [for me to leave office] so I can explain it to the 16 million people who voted for TRT,” he said.
– ThaiDay