Call to evict 'corrupt regime'

PROTEST LEADER Suthep Thaugsuban last night called for social sanction and public boycott as part of a campaign to “get rid of the Thaksin regime from Thailand”.
Speaking before thousands of protesters at Democracy Monument, Suthep said that products and services relating to businesses run by the Shinawatra family and their cronies should be boycotted. These include mobile service, real estate and satellite TV.
Suthep said that in order to ensure a full democracy under constitutional monarchy for Thailand, the regime that he described as corrupt and authoritarian needed to be eradicated.
“Within this month, the Thaksin regime must be removed from Thailand. The victory will belong to the people,” said Suthep, a senior politician in the opposition Democrat Party. He also blew his whistle to signal “the start of the fight”.
As part of the stepped-up measures to achieve the goal, Suthep said there would be a campaign to collect signatures for impeachment of the 310 coalition MPs who had voted in support of the bill for blanket amnesty.
The campaign would start today for impeachment of the “slave MPs”, in the hope of “paralysing the Thaksin regime”, Suthep said.
Another measure would be to use means of social sanctions against senior public officials described by Suthep as “lackeys” of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He urged the public not to talk to those people and to blow whistles in their presence.
Suthep also called for a boycott of products and services relating to the Shinawatra family, in order to “cut off the funding for the regime”.
He asked more people to join the protest on Rajdamnoen Avenue so that a million people would gather from the Royal Plaza to Prachan Pier.
“There must be no more fear. If we don’t fight, we will be their slaves forever,” Suthep said, and pointed to “people’s revolutions” in such countries as Indonesia and the Philippines that successfully overthrew dictatorial regimes.
In another blow to the government, the opposition Democrat Party yesterday submitted an impeachment motion against the prime minister, Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi and Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan.
The motion, sponsored by 146 Democrat MPs, was submitted to the Senate via Deputy Senate Speaker Surachai Liangboonlertchai. It alleged that the three ministers abused their authority and failed to comply with the law.
Chief opposition whip Jurin Laksanavisit led the Democrat MPs to submit the motion. He said the impeachment move would precede the opposition’s censure motion against Yingluck and her ministers.
The Democrats yesterday submitted a no-confidence motion with House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranont against the PM and the interior minister for alleged mismanagement and abuse of power.
The motion alleged the ministers “are inefficient, incompetent, immoral, irresponsible, hypocrites, lack intelligence and leadership and condone cronyism”.
Government Spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi said Yingluck’s schedule for an overseas trip late this month would remain unchanged. “The prime minister will certainly attend the House debate,” he said.