Don't be fooled, PM warns

By WICHIT CHAITRONG,
NARIN VIBOONCHART
THE NATION


Vested interests are desperate to bring down the government and might resort to violence, says Abhisit

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last night urged people not to fall prey to the propaganda of certain vested interests who want to instigate violence during the March 12-14 protests.



The premier also suggested that attempts were being made to create chaos so that there could be untoward political changes.

Speaking at the Thai Journalists Association seminar on how to rebuild confidence amid the ongoing crisis, the premier said Thailand's domestic political rifts remained a major risk for investors despite the current economic recovery.

The March 12-14 anti-government rallies planned by the red shirts are worrisome for all, he said, largely because there have been frequent public threats of violence.

Citing his two-decade experience in national politics, Abhisit said speaking the truth was the only way to restore public confidence in the middle of a crisis.

In his opinion, the people will have to learn to accept differences in political ideologies and yet live together as a homogenous society regardless of whether you are yellow- or red-shirted, or neutral.

Over the past year, he said his administration had done its best to avoid using any violent and drastic means to address the problems resulting from domestic political rifts.

He cited the April 2009 riots as an example in which his government did not take any extreme measures against demonstrators.

Yet, his government also rejected any political compromise on issues of integrity when there were attempts to right the wrongs.

The premier, however, lamented that some people still wrongly believed that he had issued an order to kill innocent demonstrators during last April's rioting.

The latest misinformation is that the government has blacklisted some monks who had been critical, he said. He rejected the rumours as completely groundless.

On the Map Ta Phut crisis, the premier said his policy is not to please every investor but to ensure that their investments meet the country's long-term objectives.

Former premier Anand Panyarachun, who chairs a four-party panel tasked with resolving the crisis, said honesty and transparency were the keys to resolving the dispute between industries and local residents.

In a speech on industrial investment and environmental problems at a seminar held by the Thai Journalists Association, Anand said the Map Ta Phut and other industrial and environmental issues could not be solved permanently if state and local officials were corrupt.

For example, problems in Map Ta Phut - situated in Rayong province - became critical because some local officials were negligent and allowed private firms to encroach upon forest areas, which were supposed to be the buffer zones between residential and industrial areas.

Anand said the Eastern Seaboard development programme, which includes Map Ta Phut, as the place for petrochemical and other heavy industries was designed more than 20 years ago with proper zoning for green areas but implementation was lax, resulting in today's problems.

The government is preparing to submit a bill to Parliament for setting up an independent body to approve health-impact assessment and environmental-impact assessment regulations in compliance with Article 67 of the Constitution.

Source: The Nation