German party urges new election for the Kingdom
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Thailand should resolve its political conflict by holding a new election, Germany's Social Democrat Parliamentary Group has said in a statement to the German parliament.
The group said it followed the “crisis in Thailand with great concern”.
“It is our fundamental belief that political conflict needs to be resolved within the democratic constitutional order,” it said.
“Therefore, we call upon the relevant authorities to organise new elections in line with Thailand’s constitutional framework.
“As friends of the Thai people, we are profoundly sad-dened by the deaths and injuries over the past weeks. Violence is not an acceptable means of resolving political differences.
“We do not take sides in Thai politics. We believe in the power of dialogue to peacefully resolve differences. In the long run, social conflicts can only be resolved by social compromise between all sides.”
The group also stressed that democracy was more than elections. It said rule of law and democratic values and processes were an integral part of democracy.
“However, there cannot be democracy without elections. We stand by the principle of ‘one man, one vote’,” the group said.
The statement was made online at the group’s website (http://www.spdfraktion.de) on Thursday.
