Sukampol: No war room against coup
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Defence Minister Gen Sukampol Suwannathat on Monday denied that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had ordered the establishment of a war room to counter any coup attempt.
Sukampol said Yingluck did not order him to set up a war room to direct red-shirt mass rallies against coups.
Sukampol added that had he been given a secret order to set up a war room, the Asia Times would not have learnt about the order.
Quoting military sources familiar with the situation, Asia Times Online reported that “Sukampon Suwannathat is quietly planning to activate a new war room to direct mass pro-government ‘red-shirt’ demonstrations planned for the coming months.
“The war room, created at the direction of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, will become operational by June.”
While Sukampol denied that he had received the order from Yingluck, the Asia Times quoted the same military sources as saying that Thaksin ordered Yingluck be kept in the dark about the war room’s creation so that she could honestly deny its existence if questioned by the press.
“I’ve not met the prime minister for days and I believe there will be no coup,” Sukampol said.
Sukampol said he did not have to talk to military leaders about the coup speculation because he and the military leaders did not mistrust each other.
“Please stop talking about coup because it does not bode well for the country. This kind of reporting must stop so that the country can move forward,” Sukmapol said.
