111 in countdown mode
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Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will phone in during the celebrations on Wednesday to mark the lifting of the five-year ban on 111 former members of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party.
Meanwhile, the former politicians installed a digital display counting down the hours to Wednesday at the Parliament.
The lifting of the ban will be celebrated with an event called “Five Years as Courage for Real Democracy” at Bangkok’s Rama Gardens Hotel, where the former politicians will also release 111 doves and 111 white balloons to mark the occasion.
Thaksin’s scheduled phone-in follows his last one on Saturday, which seemed to cause disputes among red-shirt supporters.
Also yesterday, the former politicians, led by former MPs Tossaporn Serirak and Suporn Atthawong, installed an electronic display in middle of Parliament to mark the hours before their ban is officially lifted. They also put up a banner displaying their photographs. Tossaporn said the purpose for this was to point out the injustice that was done to them by corrupt judges under the military regime.
However, about an hour after the digital equipment was installed, Tossaporn was asked by the parliamentary police whether the Speaker had approved it. Later, according to the former MP, the display had to be pulled down because of technical problems. He added that it would be reinstalled soon. The banner remained in place.
Tossaporn also told reporters that the former politicians did not hold any grudges and were ready to forgive those who repent their actions that have brought disaster upon the country.
