More on opposition to the pardon campaign

PPT has been observing the increasingly panicked responses by the palace and government as the red shirt “royal pardon” petition for Thaksin Shinawatra  has gathered pace (see here and here).

Now the Interior Minister Chavarat Charnveerakul of the Bhum Jai Thai Party is reported in the Bangkok Post (31 July 2009: “No opposition, says Chavarat”) as claiming that there is “no opposition” from “village headman or kamnan had opposed the order to arrange tables at provincial halls and district offices nationwide for people who want to withdraw their names from the petition for a royal pardon…”.

This denial should probably be seen as confirmation that there is opposition to Chavarat’s order.

In a related development, The Nation (31 July 2009: “Military ordered to monitor the pardon petition”) reports that “Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Thursday instructed the armed forces to monitor the signature campaign to endorse the petition seeking a royal pardon…”.

Prawit “said the armed forces are obligated to uphold the monarchy and that the pardon petition is a sensitive issue impacting on the country’s revered institution. He ordered the military leaders to ensure social peace and safeguard the monarchy.”

This panic from the government is looking increasingly like another royalist battle cry.

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