Thai opposition figure will fight 'tooth and nail' for party's survival
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[February 27, 2024]
By Panu Wongcha-um
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's opposition leader and former prime
ministerial hopeful said on Tuesday his Move Forward Party will "fight
tooth and nail" for its future amid legal threats that could see the
pro-reform group dissolved and its leaders banned from politics.
With a platform appealing to young and urban voters, the party is seen
to threaten Thailand's status quo, colliding with the interests of
powerful conservatives and the royalist military that blocked its bid to
form a government last year.
Pita Limjaroenrat, who led the party to an election victory last May on
an anti-establishment platform but was unable to form a government, said
it could be the bridge to create a new political consensus.
"Instead of looking at us as a choice of the people and the enemy of the
parliament, use us as a bridge," he told Reuters in an interview.
However, the party could be disbanded and its leaders banned from
politics after the Constitutional Court last month said their plan to
change a law on insulting the monarchy undermined the crown, paving the
way for legal complaints.
"We'll fight tooth and nail to make sure that this worst-case scenario
doesn't happen," Pita said.
The party's liberal agenda targets issues and institutions long seen as
untouchable, with plans to tackle business monopolies, end army
conscription and keep the military out of politics.
Its boldest aim, which led to its current legal woes, is to change the
royal insult law or article 112 of the criminal code, used to charge
hundreds of people with insulting the monarchy, an offence that carries
jail terms of up to 15 years.
Move Forward's predecessor, Future Forward, had championed similar
policies and was disbanded in 2020 for violating campaign funding rules.
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Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat reacts on the day
Thailand's Constitutional Court delivers its verdict on his media
shareholding case, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 24, 2024. REUTERS/Athit
Perawongmetha
"I feel like it's a vicious cycle," said the 42-year-old leader. "We
keep going around in circles and we never move forward."
Pita said Move Forward's popularity stemmed from its call for social
change and it could work with other political forces in a democratic
way.
"I can never monopolize the change that I want to do, because I have
to do it through parliament," he added. "There's checks and
balances."
However, the establishment's response to the call for change had
displayed a "paranoia" that led to unreasonable decisions, he said.
"It's out of proportion."
Pita added, "What we're trying to do is to make sure that Thailand
stays a constitutional monarchy as long as possible."
He wanted to work towards an economy that worked for everyone
providing the kind of political space that allows diverse views and
a safe space to work out differences, he said.
The party has a succession plan with a pipeline of talent to
perpetuate its ideals even if it is dissolved, he said.
"They can never take away our legacy," Pita said, "They can never
take away our ideology."
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing
by Clarence Fernandez)
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