People oppose protests, warns govt on eve of big march
THE government believes that people do not want any more protests in the country because they do not wish to see a return to the past chaos, said Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd yesterday.
He was referring to a gathering on Saturday in the Ratchaprasong area in memory of the 2010 May political protest that ended in deaths following a military crackdown on protesters.
Sansern said he based his assertion on a recent survey by National Institute of Development Administration in which respondents were asked their opinions on the junta’s policies of returning happiness to the country in the past four years since it seized power.
Sansern said the survey found that what made the respondents happiest was the junta’s peacekeeping and lack of political disturbance.
“The results of the survey reflect that the society does not want to see a repeat of chaos,” he said.
Although the Saturday gathering ended without violence, Sansern said the government believed that no one – including local business operators – wanted to see the gathering as it reminded them of the old times.
Rachaprasong was the gathering place for protests by red shirts against the then-government of Abhisit Vejjajiva that ultimately saw a military crackdown that caused a number of fatalities including of foreign journalists.
Criticising a protest planned for tomorrow by those known as “People Who Want to Have an Election” in which organisers have said they would march on Government House tomorrow, Sansern said the protest may affect the traffic flow and cause trouble for other peoples.
“Many people are fed up with protests that happened in the country in the past 10 years and pushed the country backward. The planned gathering may cause risks of confrontation and violence.” There was no need to protest, he insisted.
