- Photo: The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: Sondhi Limthongkul, former leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, played a historic clip of Thailand’s 11th Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat during a protest at Bangkok’s Victory Monument on Saturday (June 28).
The footage showed Sarit delivering an impassioned speech after Thailand lost the Preah Vihear Temple case to Cambodia at the International Court of Justice in 1962. He declared:
“My tears are those of a man. Let the blood of rage and lifelong resentment — in this life and the next — flow. One day, dear Thai brothers and sisters, we must reclaim Preah Vihear Temple for our nation.”
Following the clip, Sondhi responded to Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen’s recent claim that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would insult King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great while drunk on wine.
“I won’t argue — I’ve known for a long time,” he said.
- Photo: The Nation/ANN
Sondhi also criticised Hun Sen’s admission that he owed a political debt to Thaksin. “Today, Thais are in debt to banks across the country,” he said, adding that in the coming years, many could face bankruptcy and risk having their assets seized.
He blamed the crisis on what he called “banks charging exorbitant interest rates” and accused the government’s plan to purchase bad debt of benefitting only the wealthy and well-connected.
Sondhi denied calling for a coup but added, “If it happens, so be it — if the political crisis can’t be solved. But I have only one request: don’t bring another general to run the country. Let the people be part of the solution.”
Commenting on the protest turnout, he dismissed police estimates of 30,000, claiming the real figure was double that — around 60,000 to 70,000.
“I never imagined that 20 years ago I would take to the stage to call for Thaksin’s ousting — and now, two decades later, fate would have it that I must do the same for his daughter. What rotten luck,” Sondhi said.
He ended by warning that this protest would not be the last. “If necessary, we will return to the streets. Will you stand with me when the time comes?” - The Nation/ANN
