Yellow shirts reject ICJ jurisdiction; submit letters to UN, army

Hundreds of members of the United Front of Patriotic Thais for the Protection of Thai Territory (UFPTP), led by Chaiwat Sinsuwong, gathered at the Royal Plaza at 11am and paid respect to King Rama V’s statue before forming a procession and marching to the Makkhawan Rangsang Bridge to submit a letter to the UN office.

Before the march, Chaiwat announced that his group invoked Articles 70 and 71 to protect the national interests by rejecting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.

Chaiwat said his group would like to tell the UN that Thais would never accept the ICJ jurisdiction and that Thais were against the government and politicians who “betrayed” the nation by handing over national interests to others.

Chaiwat submitted the UFPTP letter to Adnan Alini, an adviser to the UN office in Bangkok. The letter was accompanied by copies of 1.2 million signatures Chaiwat claimed his group had gathered in opposition to the ICJ ruling.

The UFPTP demonstrators then moved on the Army headquarters and submitted a letter to the Army chief via Lt Col Satit Wongsamlee, an officer on duty at the Army Secretariat.

The protesters marched on to the Supreme Court and submitted a letter to the Supreme Court president via a court official. Chaiwat read a statement in front of the court, demanding that the head of the judiciary balance the government’s power to stop it from giving the country’s sovereignty away.

The group dispersed at 2.30pm. Chaiwat said his group would rally on the Kood Island in Trat on February 2.

Meanwhile, Army CommanderinChief Gen Prayuth Chanocha said he hoped the UFPTP would not break the law in its demonstrations.

He said the Army and the government were waiting for a ruling of the ICJ before planning the next move.

The Army chief said he preferred bilateral talks with the Cambodian government on how to settle the dispute over the plot near the Preah Vihear Temple.