POLITICIANS hope the government will finally ease the ban on political activities now that the plan to hold elections between February and May is starting to take shape and the junta’s road map to democracy is nearing an end.

Democrat Party’s deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said yesterday his party would not ask the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to lift the ban right away, as the council knows what it should do to lead the country to democracy.

He also said the NCPO should be responsible for any consequences.

Political activities and assemblies have been banned since the junta took over in 2014. The ban has been justified as a move to avoid political turmoil.

Meanwhile, the junta has said it would partially lift the ban next month so parties can prepare for the upcoming elections.

Full freedom, however, will not be restored until every electoral legislation goes into effect for security and peacekeeping purposes, the junta said.

Ongart, however, said he did not see any signs of unrest breaking out.

“Everybody wants the country to return to democracy. Polls show that people want to vote. Nobody wants disorder anymore,” he said.

“Parties and politicians have been preparing to get back to work under a democratic rule. I don’t think anybody would want to create conflict. It would just not be acceptable to the public.”

Kosol Patama, former Pheu Thai Party MP for Nakhon Ratchasima, said his party was waiting for the NCPO to lift the ban as soon as possible, adding that Pheu Thai’s movements were always being closely watched by the authorities.

Once assembly is allowed, the party will select new executives, including a leader who will be nominated as a candidate for the premier’s post, he said.

Meanwhile, Kosol said, the party was working on its policies, adding that Pheu Thai is confident it |will keep its seats and gain even more in its stronghold in the Northeast.

Senior government figures, including Prayut and Deputy Premier General Prawit Wongsuwan, have recently visited different areas of the country to kick off state-sponsored projects.

Those projects mainly are intended to benefit groups such as farmers, low-income people and rural residents.

The Cabinet on August 7 approved a three-year moratorium on farmers’ debts, continuing through July 2021. It covers debts owed to the state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

A budget of Bt2.7 billion was approved for debt-interest compensation to the BAAC due to the suspension of debt repayments.

General Prawit, who is also Defence minister, recently visited northeastern Khon Kaen and Udon Thani provinces to follow up on the government’s commitment to stem the illegal lending of money at high interest rates.

In Khon Kaen, Prawit returned land deeds worth Bt120 million to 135 people whose documents had been dishonestly seized by loan sharks. In Udon Thani, he returned land deeds to another 1,778 residents from different provinces in the region.

Altogether, land deeds and other assets such as vehicles were returned to 2,287 people throughout the country who were victims of loan sharks. The properties are worth collectively more than Bt3 billion.

At the Cabinet meeting on August 21, Prawit reported that 209,538 people had benefited from the project to help loan-shark victims. The Cabinet is also set to consider restructuring debt that farmers have owed to the BAAC since 2000. This project involves combined debt topping Bt6 billion and interest of Bt4 billion.

And the government has made it a policy to hand out money to needy people every month. In the second phase of this undertaking this year, monthly handouts increased from Bt300 to Bt500 for individuals earning less than Bt30,000 a year and from Bt200 to Bt300 for people on annual incomes of less than Bt100,000.

The Cabinet also gave the green light to an Interior Ministry scheme to help boost the rural economy by injecting Bt200,000 each into more than 82,000 communities throughout the country. There is also a Bt40-billion project to offer cheap loans to homebuyers on low incomes.

After starting their jobs last week, new members of the Election Commission said the general election would be held sometime between late February and early May.

That gives the post-coup government less than a year before the vote, and meanwhile observers see the junta attempting to retain power through General Prayut’s return as government chief after the election.

Prayut recently claimed to have the backing of many political parties to stay in politics, but said he had not yet made a decision to join any party. The junta leader said he would make his political future clear publicly next month.

POLITICIANS hope the government will finally ease the ban on political activities now that the plan to hold elections between February and May is starting to take shape and the junta’s road map to democracy is nearing an end.

Democrat Party’s deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon said yesterday his party would not ask the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to lift the ban right away, as the council knows what it should do to lead the country to democracy.

He also said the NCPO should be responsible for any consequences.

Political activities and assemblies have been banned since the junta took over in 2014. The ban has been justified as a move to avoid political turmoil.

Meanwhile, the junta has said it would partially lift the ban next month so parties can prepare for the upcoming elections.

Full freedom, however, will not be restored until every electoral legislation goes into effect for security and peacekeeping purposes, the junta said.

Ongart, however, said he did not see any signs of unrest breaking out.

“Everybody wants the country to return to democracy. Polls show that people want to vote. Nobody wants disorder anymore,” he said.

“Parties and politicians have been preparing to get back to work under a democratic rule. I don’t think anybody would want to create conflict. It would just not be acceptable to the public.”

Kosol Patama, former Pheu Thai Party MP for Nakhon Ratchasima, said his party was waiting for the NCPO to lift the ban as soon as possible, adding that Pheu Thai’s movements were always being closely watched by the authorities.

Once assembly is allowed, the party will select new executives, including a leader who will be nominated as a candidate for the premier’s post, he said.

Meanwhile, Kosol said, the party was working on its policies, adding that Pheu Thai is confident it |will keep its seats and gain even more in its stronghold in the Northeast.

Despite his years, Prem appeared to be in good health, and was able to walk without assistance. He made merit by providing a meal and alms to the Supreme Patriarch and other monks at the temple. Also present at the ceremony were his relatives, close aides and former senior commanders.

Prem was dressed in a traditional shirt in light orange colour, representing Thursday – the day he was born.

Before leaving the temple, a reporter asked if he had any comments about the country. However, Prem only responded with a smile before walking away.

The statesman, a former premier, is seen as a powerful figure in Thai politics though he holds no political positions.

Previously, it was a tradition for senior government officials and military commanders to call on Prem on his birthday at his Sisao Thewet residence.

However, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s request to visit the privy councillor this year was turned down by his doctor, who said it would be too risky for Prem to stand for a long time to greet his well-wishers.

Prem was born on August 26, 1920, in Songkhla province.

A former commander-in-chief at the Royal Thai Army, he served as prime minister from March 1980 to August 1988. Prem was credited with ending a Communist insurgency and presiding over rapid economic growth.

His temporary release, due to be at 8pm on Friday, will be on a condition that Arisman must not travel outside Thailand unless permitted by the court.

It was a second and successful bail attempt by Arisman’s relatives, who submitted a bankbook with Bt5 million savings on Friday.

They proposed Bt3 million cash on Thursday but it was rejected.

Arisman’s lawyer affirmed that the ex-MP has no intention of fleeing and will be present at court on October 5, when he is expected to provide testimony.

“He did not hold any political title at the time and was not involved with Watana [Muangsook],” said his lawyer Kanpat Singthong.

The case, dating back to the Thaksin Shinawatra administration, has proceeded against Watana, the then social development and human security minister, and eight other people.

Arisman and four others, who represent private companies involved in the project, are also in a separate lawsuit.

The 54-year-old, red-shirt politician is accused of encouraging Watana to abuse his power and for Mana Wongpiwat, ex-head of the National Housing Authority, to accept the bribes.

Despite over 12 years of legal battles, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders only accepted the lawsuits for the trial last week.

Surasak Pianwet said parts of the new compound would be ready for use in June next year.

The meeting rooms of House and Senate standing committees and offices of officials were due to be completed first, he said.

Surasak said the Cabinet has allocated Bt4.861 billion for the finishing work at the compound on top of the building construction.

He said Bt3.515 billion would be for IT installation, Bt802 million for water and power connections and Bt143 million for an IT adviser.

He said the House secretariat would speed up the process of selection of a contractor to install the IT system.

But General Prayut Chan-o-cha said this was not an attempt to censor or intimidate the media.

“Don’t accuse me of blocking democracy. I am trying to steer the country towards a full democracy as best as possible,” he said. “I have never censored or restricted the media.”

The PM added that if he had fully exercised his power as head of the ruling junta, there would have been no such media attacks against him.

Prayut, who also heads the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said certain media outlets faced legal action because “they did too much distortion”. But he added: “Most people don’t want to have a problem with the media.”

He said it was time for him to take legal action against the media outlets he deemed to have attacked him unfairly.

“Just like when [the media] is sued by people over defamation, state agencies also need to protect their dignity. They have the right to protect themselves against untrue allegations,” he said.

“The media have to be careful. I am not threatening the media. You need to be accountable for what you do. There are good media and I have to thank them.”

Sawai Thong-om, who was shot during the crackdown, leaving his left hand permanently disabled, had lost his lawsuit against the Army. The Appeal Court and the Supreme Court ruled that the bullet which injured Sawai could not be proved as belonging to the Army.

Sawai had won the case in Civil Court, which ruled that the authority was responsible for the damage caused by the crackdown and ordered the Army to pay Bt1.2-million compensation to Sawai.

After winning the case, the Army sued Sawai for Bt212,114 compensation for court and legal expenses. As a consequence, his 8 rai of land was seized to be sold in an auction as part of the compensation.

Sawai went to the Defence Ministry on Thursday with some political activists to “ask for justice”, as he filed his petition with Deputy PM and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan.

“I filed the case [against the Army] with pure intention. I believe I saw the bullets fired on the protesters came from the Army side,” said Sawai, recalling the bloody day in April 2009 at the Din Daeng intersection.

“It’s painful enough that I can’t find anyone responsible for causing my disability. It’s even worse that my lands, which I use for my livelihood, are about to be seized,” he said.

Political activist Somyot Preuksakasemsuk said Sawai should not be forced to compensate the Army, as it had not suffered any financial damage and it had only used state prosecutors to fight the case against Sawai.

“If this case ends with Sawai’s lands being seized, I’m worried if anyone would dare to enter the legal process to seek justice anymore,” Somyot said.

The military was involved in crackdowns on anti-government protesters in 2009 and 2010 following the worsening political conflict between Thaksin Shinawatra’s supporters and the then-Democrat-led government of Abhisit Vejjajiva.

More than 120 people, including Sawai, were injured in the 2009 crackdown while there have been conflicting reports on the number of deaths.

The crackdown on protesters in May 2010 caused more than 90 deaths and left more than 2,000 people injured.

While the military was largely viewed as responsible for the casualties, little legal progress has been made against the perpetrators up till now.

Some high-ranking military commanders of the time, including Prawit who was also defence minister back then, and then-Army chief General Anupong Paochinda, have remained in power and become prominent figures in the current ruling junta.

The president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, said the agency was dealing with the case against Suthep in accordance with the facts available.

Suthep is accused of malfeasance in connection with a Bt5.8-billion project to build police stations and flats for Royal Thai Police personnel. The project was under Suthep’s responsibility while he was serving as a deputy prime minister in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government.

Last week, Suthep accused an NACC subcommittee of being biased against him for pursing the case, saying that it refused to consider the “complete filings of evidence” he had presented to them. The veteran politician made his accusation during a live broadcast through his Facebook account.

“If the NACC subcommittee had no bias, they would have ended this matter after seeing all the evidence,” he said.

Suthep told his audience he would disclose the relevant information about the project in future Facebook broadcasts.

While meeting in-person with NACC members on Tuesday, Suthep insisted on his innocence, saying there had been no corruption on his part regarding the project. The veteran politician said that if he was found guilty by the court, his life could be taken. He demanded a public apology from the NACC if he was found innocent.

Watcharapol said on Thursday that the NACC did not regard Suthep’s accusation as an attempt to discredit the agency. Also, it would not attempt to prevent Suthep from making further Facebook broadcasts. “He has the right to do so,” Watcharapol said.

The NACC chief said the case against Suthep was “in its final stage” and was expected to be completed before the year’s end.

NACC secretary-general Worawit Sukboon said on Thursday that Suthep is not the only politician facing cases by the anti-graft agency.

“So I don’t want Suthep to think that the NACC is biased,” he said.

Worawit also said he did not think Suthep was trying to discredit the NACC. He said Suthep could testify before the NACC until the end of this month, before the investigation into his case would be concluded and the anti-graft commissioners then decided whether to indict Suthep.

Meanwhile, the Pheu Thai Party called for the complete lifting of all the political restrictions as the general election promised by the junta is just six months away.

Wissanu, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, said that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) was considering a relaxation of political restrictions imposed after the 2014 coup.

These include allowing political parties to convene their general meetings to recruit new members, holding primary voting to select their candidates and setting up a party committee to select candidates.

“But political parties will not be able to do election campaigning” immediately after they get their candidates following primary voting, Wissanu said.

He explained that election campaigning could start only after a decree is issued on the election date.

When asked if political parties can meet their supporters after holding primary voting, Wissanu said: “You have to ask the Election Commission.”

The deputy PM said that a new NCPO order issued under Article 44 of the interim charter is required to amend the earlier orders, such as a ban on political gatherings of five and more and restriction on activities by political parties.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai on Thursday issued a statement calling for “complete unlocking of the political bans”. The previous governing party said the easing of political restrictions was required to ensure a free and fair election for the benefit of the people and the country as a whole.

Pheu Thai said the NCPO could no longer use possible unrest as an excuse to keep postponing the next election, as the junta often claimed it succeeded in having maintained peace in the country.

The party also noted that the junta has been in power for more than four years – longer than any elected government.

It called for the lifting of all the NCPO orders that restrict political activities. “The restrictions must be entirely and completely lifted. And it should not be just ‘easing’ of the restrictions, as suggested by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam,” Pheu Thai’s statement said.

Pheu Thai said the complete lifting of the restrictions would allow political parties to start their preparations for the next election, as required by the law.

“We are not calling for the benefit of politicians. There is a need to build confidence for the country and to make the election free, fair and credible,” the party said.