Sulak issues warning

Sulak, meanwhile, said yesterday that arresting him unfairly would signal the downfall of this government, adding that this move was likely politically motivated. “I have praised [Prime Minister] Prayut [Chan-o-cha] for not having the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] summon me earlier. I believe he is patient,” Sulak said. 

“I understand that hawkish men in his contingent are now telling him to deal with me, much in the manner of slaughtering a chicken to set an example to the monkeys, by using the lese majeste law against me.” He was referring to the Thai idiom of punishing someone else to instil fear in others. 

“Never mind, I have two hands and one voice and will fight peacefully. If I am arrested, nothing will be easy for the NCPO,” he warned. Sulak had provided shelter to the 14 students in Bangkok for two nights before they were arrested last Friday for voicing their anti-coup sentiments. 

The police had issued letters dated June 26, summoning all speakers and moderator – with the exception of Sulak, who was one of the speakers – of a panel discussion on the 83 years since the end of absolute monarch, to act as witness next Thursday. The discussion was organised by Rangsit University’s Faculty of Economics and Heroes of Democracy Foundation.

Pol Lieutenant Pairat Nitithamjanya, the investigator who sent out the summonses, confirmed yesterday that the witnesses had been summoned in relation to the speech Sulak delivered on June 22 at Rangsit University.