Military calls off ‘talk’ with Pheu Thai’s Pichai after move attracts media attention
The military called off a meeting with the Pheu Thai Party’s Pichai Naripthaphan, which had been scheduled for this morning, after the invitation to attend “a talk” attracted media attention, the politician said.
Pichai said he had received a phone call from the military earlier in the morning to inform him he would be picked up at 9.15am and taken to the 2nd Cavalry Division to discuss some “news and information giving”.
However, he added that after the move came to the attention of the press, an officer of colonel rank had called to cancel the meeting.
“They told me they had concerns that I did not understand the government’s work clearly because I’d said it was a failure and had achieved no concrete accomplishments,” he said.
“So they said they would send me a video and I could then ask them if there were any questions I had,” he added.
The former energy minister said he had, however, insisted on sticking to his earlier remarks about the lower level of investment in the country.
He said he had met with officials from the Japanese Embassy and been informed why the Japanese were holding off on investment in the Kingdom.
He added that this was a serious problem and asked the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to discuss the matter with him if it considered his remarks to be incorrect.
The politician said the military had also complained that because he was in the media spotlight, it was difficult to reach a mutual understanding with him.
His invitation to a discussion at the military barracks had come across as a “threat”, he added.
However, it was up to the public to decide how they interpreted the move, he stressed.
The officer who telephoned to call off the meeting had asked him to give out correct information as well as not to mention his name, Pichai added.
The former minister also said he was thankful that the media had been kind to him, and emphasised the importance of press freedom to ensure that the public was fed well-rounded information and reliable truth.
The Pheu Thai Party Pichai politician speaks on economic issues and is outspoken in his criticism of the NCPO’s economic performance.
Since the coup in May 2014, he has been invited several times to have a “talk” with the military at a barracks location.