Officials to pursue those behind anti-NCPO leaflets
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MAJORITY IN POLL DISAPPROVE OF ACTIONS BY KHON KAEN STUDENTS
DEPUTY DEFENCE Minister and Army chief Udomdej Sitabut said he has instructed intelligence officials to locate those behind the distribution of leaflets attacking the National Council for Peace and Order because the junta did not want protests to worsen.
“Whoever is involved will be tracked down and action will be taken,” he said.
NCPO spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari criticised the people behind the distribution of anti-NCPO leaflets at Democracy Monument early yesterday morning as littering and distorting the truth.
“The distribution of the leaflets is not a constructive act and the message in the leaflets is a distortion of the truth and discrimination,” he said.
He said most people wanted the country to move forward and those who had different views should use legitimate channels to express their beliefs and thoughts.
“Their action does not benefit society and it shows that whoever did this does not understand the circumstances surrounding the country,” he said. Udomdej urged teachers and parents to ensure that students understand the NCPO and the country’s circumstances, as they might be too young to grasp the complicated situation facing the country.
“We are working step by step to get the country moving forward to finally we will have an elected government,’’ he said.
He asked people who are planning to stage protests if they want the country to go back to square one and cannot stand among the international community.
“We have been trying to restore peace and have been able to normalise the country’s situation. Why do you want to disturb the peace?’’ he said.
Most people surveyed by Dusit Poll disapproved of the five Khon Kaen University students’ anti-coup protest before Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week, according to poll results released yesterday.
Of 1,302 respondents, 79 per cent believed the students should not have staged the protest because the country’s political situation was not totally calm, while 66 per cent said they should have expressed their opinion through other channels and 58 per cent said the students had the right to express their opinion.
Around 56 per cent of respondents believed the government could keep the situation from |getting out of control and 43 per cent said the protest might prompt other anti-coup people to stage protests.
About 50 per cent believed the students’ protest would not adversely affect the country’s political situation because people were fed up with political turmoil, 28 per cent said it would cause political temperatures to rise as more |protester would come out and 21 per cent said the situation would remain calm due to martial law.
Asked about what could be learnt from the protest, 71 per cent said the military must give a more detailed explanation as to why it staged the coup, 70 per cent said although the students had the right to express their opinion, they must abide by the law and 62 per cent said politics still caused division in society.
