Somkid” tells “Sonthi” to prepare to incite mobs as normal, not worried, ready to talk with reason and logic, slams “Jatuporn” for talking nonsense, creating only rhetoric to destroy the country, insists no one sells the country.
Mr. Somkid Chuekong, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, talked about the case of Mr. Sonthi Limthongkul, the leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, who announced that he would rally and walk for the last time in his life, taking to the streets to oust the government early next year. How is the government preparing to handle this? He said that there is no need to prepare for this because the government that came from the election understands. At least, the government has never blocked political expression, starting from the Pheu Thai government led by Mr. Settha Thavisin, the former prime minister, until the era of Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the prime minister. There is probably no need to prepare anything because it is normal. But if you
want to demand something, you can submit it in a letter. We have to talk with reason and logic about what is needed and what the government can do. He emphasized that the government is not preparing and is not worried about anything.
When asked if the Prime Minister said he was ready to open up the opportunity for discussions, whether Mr. Sonthi had coordinated with the government, Mr. Somkid said that there was no coordination at the moment. He asked for the process to proceed first. If Mr. Sonthi coordinated, he and the government would be happy, whether it was a discussion, which the Prime Minister could assign to the Deputy Prime Minister or other people in the government to coordinate. Therefore, this matter is normal. He confirmed that the government is ready to listen.
When asked about the case where Mr. Jatuporn Promphan, a lecturer at the People’s Fusion Group, came out to state that the government’s current policies are policies that sell the nation, Mr. Somkid asked back, “Where is it selling? Mr
. Jatuporn just keeps talking. No one sells the nation. There’s only the matter of who did wrong and who did right. If someone did wrong, just say what they did wrong. There’s no way that everything is wrong. It’s impossible. But the government is acting according to the wishes of the majority of the people. It can’t make 67 million people get what they want. But we have to accept each other’s reasons. Don’t come and criticize that it’s selling the nation like this. It’s a rhetoric that doesn’t create anything.”
When asked if Mr. Jatuporn came out to state that the policy of renting land for 99 years is beyond a generation, which may cause mistakes and be seen as selling the nation, Mr. Somkid said that there is none yet, it has not even started to become a concept. Everything is a concept, and the government is trying to do whatever method to generate income for the country, but there is no such thing as selling the nation, selling the land, and no government would do it.
When asked if creating a protest m
ovement would be a flash in the pan, Mr. Somkid said that the public must also be aware that some people who come out to move only speak for themselves and do not speak the truth. If they speak the truth, the problem will not arise. Everyone can have different opinions, but do not create rhetoric that destroys the country.
When asked about the popularity of Ms. Paethongtarn, which may come from the influence of Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, Mr. Somkid stated that the popularity is with the people. As a government, if the people like it, we must thank them, but if they don’t, we must make them popular. It is the government’s duty. It is impossible for many people to see things in the same direction. Popularity is normal. Today it is popular, tomorrow it may not be popular. It depends mainly on the government’s performance.
Source: Thai News Agency