Legal Action Promised Over Anti-Government Slogans

A “Seek the truth” anti-government slogan may not have the intended consequences that former Future Forward party members were looking for as The Ministry of Defense has now promised to take legal action against its creators.

Kongcheep Tantravanich, defense spokesperson, said the campaign is designed to divide the nation.

But Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan states, however, that he is not certain whether the acts have broken any laws.

“I personally believe it is inappropriate. It can incite disunity and mistrust among the public, which is not beneficial to the current situation the country is facing. If one wants to seek for the truth, they can find it from the court cases where justice is delivered. I see this as a politically-motivated act seeking to cause misunderstandings to institutions and organisations. Security officials are working to find the perpetrators, which should not be difficult for them,” said Prawit.

The slogan was branded onto popular Bangkok landmarks including on the Ministry of Defense, Democracy Monument, Victory Monument’s BTS station, and on the Wat Pathum Wanaram temple.

The acts last weekend targeted commemorating the anniversary of a governmental attack, which brought 3 months of capital protests to a close in 2010. Those protests featured over 100,000 people in support of a national election and of Thailand’s former PM Thaksin Shinawatra (aligned with the redshirt party).

A large fire was also projected on the walls of the Defense Ministry of Thailand on Sunday evening in the Central World shopping center during the government raid. The movement went virally via social media, with the hashtag Seek The Truth (in Thai) on Twitter on Monday as the leading hashtag.

The Progressive Movement, comprised of former members of the Future Forward Party, took credit for the Sunday’s acts and warned that this is just the beginning. The organization says it plans to release more information about the government’s role in ending the 2010 protests.

SOURCE: Khaosod English

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