Don't repeat mistakes of the past, he says
WASSANA NANUAM
Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratkalin has issued a veiled warning to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra that his return could trigger more street protests if he repeats the mistakes he made before the coup. The Sept 19, 2006 coup leader and former chief of the Council for National Security (CNS) said Mr Thaksin should not do anything to make the people angry and force them to take to the streets again. Gen Sonthi did not go into detail.
Back in 2006, Gen Sonthi, then the army chief, overthrew Mr Thaksin's government amid allegations of abuse of administrative authority, corruption and lese majeste.
''If he makes the same mistakes, people will demonstrate against him in the streets again,'' Gen Sonthi said in an interview with the Bangkok Post.
Mr Thaksin has promised to stay clear of politics after he returns to the country and instead focus on fighting corruption charges against him. The former prime minister has spent most of his time in London since the coup, and plans to return to the country by mid-April.
Gen Sonthi said the People Power party would be wise to learn from the mistakes made by Mr Thaksin.
The Thaksin-backed PPP won the most seats in the Dec 23 general election and has now formed a six-party coalition government. Gen Sonthi conceded that the popularity of the PPP, which won more than 230 seats, surprised the CNS.
''We knew it would win because it had everything. But seeing the number of seats the party won, it was beyond our expectations,'' he said. However, the party should bear in mind that it does not have the support of most of the people as it won less than 50% of the 480 seats in the House, he added.
Gen Sonthi said he was confident that Mr Thaksin was not a vengeful man.
''I believe in Pol Lt-Col Thaksin's good character. But I am not quite so sure about other people,'' he said.
However, the deputy prime minister said he had no regrets about staging the coup and had never thought it was a mistake.
''The coup was unavoidable because of the divisions in the country, the interference in independent organisations, the lese majeste charges and the lack of confidence in the leadership.
''I had to do it. The seizure of power was not a waste of time,'' he said.
He did not rule himself out of politics, but the decision would depend on the situation after the PPP forms the government. If the same problems crop up under the PPP administration, he may decide to re-enter politics.
''I don't want politics to be seen as bad and dirty. If people think that way, the new generation will turn their backs on politics and good people will refuse to work for the country,'' he said.
Gen Sonthi was appointed a deputy prime minister after retiring as army commander in September last year.
He was placed in charge of national security and tasked with cracking down on vote buying in the Dec 23 election.
He plans to visit Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Dubai to promote relations with the Muslim world at the end of this month
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