Fears of political violence and a possible coup d'etat were somewhat reduced yesterday after the supposed plan to surround and dislodge the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters were denied by its architect, former deputy national police chief General Salang Bunnag. Also, there was an assurance from the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces General Songkitti Jakkabat that there will be no coup.
Songkitti told reporters yesterday that any talk of another coup is a "rumour" and insisted that the armed forces definitely have no such idea. Coup is not good for the country, Songkitti argued, and those who kept on talking about it are like old records repeating themselves. The armed forces' role is to protect national sovereignty.
Songkitti was asked what he thought of the scheduled phone-in talk from London by convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. He said it's still unclear what Thaksin wished to communicate. "He may just want to greet others, that's all," the supreme commander replied.
The supreme commander urged the media to be more reliable and responsible in reporting, citing Salang's denial yesterday that he had ever told the media that he would surround and dislodge PAD protesters from the Government House.