Protest could be led by any one of the hundreds of candidates: Abhisit
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Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva might possibly become the leader of the anti-government protest were Suthep Thaugsuban arrested, he said on Friday.
Asked if he was ready to lead protest against the “Thaksin regime” should his former deputy be arrested. Abhisit said that anything could happen. “I think there would be hundreds of people who could become protest leaders. As far as I know, Suthep doesn’t have a political heir. However, he has raised public awareness about doing the right thing for Thailand and this wouldn’t change even if he were no longer able to lead and we had someone who isn’t well known leading the protest,” he said.
Abhisit denied that Suthep and Democrat MP Korn Chatikavanij were in conflict over the latter’s criticism of the protest leadership. Suthep, he added, was doing a major job for the country while Korn was focusing on the future of Thailand.
The opposition leader also said that he was not worried about a dissolution the Democrat party. A member of the ruling Pheu Thai member coalition earlier filed a petition seeking the dissolution of the party with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for violating article 68 of the Constitution by organising the protests to oust the government. He said Democrat MPs would join the “Battle Day” rallies on November 29 to 30, to encourage and protect the people.
He said that Democrat MPs could not resign en masse now because their mission to seek impeachment of 312 MPs and senators, who proposed the unconstitutional charter amendment bill, was not yet complete. They also needed to keep a close eye on the ruling Pheu Thai Party in case it put forward an amendment of Article 68 of the charter.
