He was speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, which invited him and the MP of the dissolved Future Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, to speak on: “After Future Forward: What now for the opposition in Thailand?”

He said that the movement is not an organisation but a network of people who shared the same opinion that they would not surrender to dictatorship and they want to see a more equal society.

He said the group had three main missions. The first one is related to the upcoming local administration election, which he said has been dominated by a few influential and wealthy families.

He added that the group will leverage its strong will, its stance of anti-vote buying, and technology to bring “something fresh” to this domain of local politics.

The second mission is to charge forward at full steam in pursuing his party’s campaigns for reform via all platforms, offline, online, on air or on ground. He believes that a creative idea can conquer guns, and vote ballots will triumph over bullets. The group will bring hope to fight fear, democracy against authoritariansim and future against the past. Once it can win the battle of ideas, it can win other wars and by that time true change will come.

The third mission is to establish a people’s network in all 77 provinces across Thailand. It will be a network of people who stand ready to fight for democracy and human rights. Thailand needs this network of people which must be strong enough to stand against the military-backed government.

Thanathorn said the disbanded Future Forward Party was like a vehicle for people who stand ready to fight.

He said that as he is not involved in the management of any political parties, he has no authority to participate in making laws. But, he added, the good thing was he could now move freer as he was free from any rules or constraints governing political parties.

Thanathorn announced the formation of the Future Forward Movement after the Constitutional Court on February 21 dissolved his party, ruling that loans granted by him to the party were a violation of the related law. The court also banned its executives from politics for 10 years.

She is accused of violating Section 14 (2) of the Computer Crime Act, which prohibits the publication of false information that could affect national security.

The accusation stems from a 2013 Facebook post about “the national institution”, a common euphemism for the monarchy.

Pannika was summoned to division headquarters on Wednesday but asked for the meeting to be postponed to Friday, a more convenient date for her.

The name was chosen after a vote at a seminar of the former executives held in Nakhon Nayok province from February 28 to March 1.

The name was expected to be officially announced on Friday (March 6). The direction of the new party would be different from Future Forward with focus more on job creation and less on conflicts with the government.

Some 55 former MPs of Future Forward were expected to register for the new party on March 8 and the party would officially be established on the same day.

General people will also be allowed to register as members on March 8. The party is planning to have a big meeting with a new logo unveiled in April.

The dissolution of Future Forward Party by the Constitutional Court’s ruling has led to several protests from Thai students throughout the country, political activities outside the House of Representatives and the defection of Future Forward MPs who joined Bhumjaithai Party.

After rumours of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle started spreading, the premier addressed the issue after the Cabinet meeting on March 3.

“There is no change and I can’t answer anything on that matter,” Prayut said. “It doesn’t mean that there is no possibility of a reshuffle but I don’t want anyone to interpret it. I will make a decision by myself when the right time comes.”

It was rumoured that the positions of Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Minister of University, Science, Research and Innovations Suwit Mesinsee, and Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam might be changed if the PM carried out the reshuffle but all the ministers had denied the speculation.

The EC stated on March 3 that Thanathorn’s shareholding in V-Luck media violated Section 151 of the election law, which stipulates that a person who was knowingly not qualified shall be fined Bt20,000 to Bt200,000 or face one to 10 years of imprisonment if he applied to become a member of Parliament.

An investigation into the shareholding case has been completed and the evidence will be presented to a meeting of the EC. An update was expected next week.

Regarding the case of Thanathorn extending loans of Bt191.2-million to Future Forward, the EC is scrutinising the ruling of the Constitutional Court that resulted in the dissolution of the party.

He said the representatives should listen to the opinions of students to solve people’s problems.

“I completely agreed with it and the problems had better be discussed in the House,” Supachai said.

The deputy president also believed that House Speaker Chuan Leekpai would agree to use the House as a platform to solve the national issues.

Recently, Chulalongkorn University students formed a group called “CU Wisdom” and replaced a national flag at the university building with a black flag leading to lot of criticism.

The government has to realise this fact and tackle the “legitimacy” issue very carefully “or they will head faster to the bottom because a failed economic administration that has affected Thai people has not been solved”. Moreover, the coronavirus outbreak has worsened the situation, the columnist said.

The ministers have to handle the crisis of fear more professionally and with an integrated approach, allowing ministries to collaborate, while Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha must have men of brain to deal with the situation, not men with power, or the government will not survive it.

Erawan also said the government cannot neglect political rallies by students and it has to face the truth that people are not pleased with their government and find solutions to resolve the conflict.

“And if they still deeply believe those students are just red shirt activists and Future Forward Party supporters, they might have to rethink it because they might get lost in the political conflict of the kind seen many years ago,” Erawan added.

This downhill situation is reflected in rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle while the overall status is not stable, showing that some parties in the coalition government have just tried to recruit more MPs from the dissolved Future Forward Party in order to bargain for more for ministerial posts.

These actions demonstrate a vicious cycle of the political landscape, in which politicians are often shortsighted, Erawan said.

Suriya said that he had not been told officially about the reshuffle.

He said that at the moment his duty as Industry Minister was to handle the drought crisis. He also said that he was not likely to be suitable for the position of Power Minister.

A source has leaked that several ministers were likely to lose their current portfolios in the Cabinet reshuffle.

Another minister rumoured to be affected by the proposed reshuffle was Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam but he has denied the rumour..

He said on Monday that Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has governed Thailand for six years and failed on economy, society and foreign affairs resulting in resentment among the young generation.

He added that even in the eyes of the world, Prayut had lost credibility a long time ago as he did not follow up on promises to global leaders who had urged him to organise an election after he had seized power in a coup.

Prayut did not heed the desire of the Thai people to end corruption and sow the seeds of reconciliation. He even so shaped national regulations that they support his loyalists to maintain his power.

“The last straw was the dictatorship in disguise of democracy,” Chavalit said. “The only solution is the resignation of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.”

Related Story: Parliament urged to give students a voice

He said it would be a good opportunity to exchange ideas as it was Palang Pracharath Party’s intention to ease conflicts.

Democrat Party MP Issara Sereewatthanawut filed a letter with Chuan Leekpai, National Assembly President and House of Representatives Speaker, on February 27 proposing a motion to establish an extraordinary commission to give students the opportunity to directly participate in Parliament “to adjust injustice” in society.

He said at least one representative from each academic institution should participate in Parliament. This approach would result in a less negative effect on the government and more political tranquility.

Until now, students at 36 academic institutions have gathered in political protests, defying the pro-military government.