Thaksin in No Rush to Mend Fences with Rebel Sanoh

East Asia / Pacific - Thailand
10 Jun 2005 - Bangkok Post

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Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says he could seek to mend fences with Sanoh Thienthong _ or he may opt to end their relationship the hard way.

''We may patch up our differences or we may each go our own ways,'' Mr Thaksin said yesterday.

Mr Thaksin flatly denied that Mr Sanoh's bitter outburst during Wednesday's parliamentary debate on the charter amendment indicated the Thai Rak Thai party chief adviser had already had enough of him and that management of the party was flawed.

Mr Sanoh raised a hue and cry about the ruling party's decision to amend only the section of the constitution relating to the nomination of members of the National Counter Corruption Commission but not other points, including a requirement that election candidates must be members of a political party for at least 90 days to be qualified to run.

Mr Sanoh also compared Thai Rak Thai to a prison where freedom of expression was limited. He said he might be endangering his political career, but was ready to be expelled from Thai Rak Thai and might return to the Chart Thai party.

Mr Thaksin said he did not need to review the way the party was being run. He was already certain it was doing ''more than the right things''.

He had heard what Mr Sanoh said in parliament. ''I listened to him. I felt nothing,'' Mr Thaksin said.

Anyway, he would be busy until early next month so he could not talk to Mr Sanoh right now.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva said Mr Sanoh should have kept his comments for the party room.

The chief adviser had missed party meetings lately and was not there when it was agreed to amend only a single point of the charter.

Suporn Atthawong, a Thai Rak Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima, said some members had agreed to ask the party's executive board to take action against Mr Sanoh.

He did not want the veteran politician expelled, but he believed Mr Sanoh should have to make it clear if he still wanted to be a member of Thai Rak Thai.

''But judging from what he said, he no longer wants to stay with us. He said he wants to be with Chart Thai leader Banharn Silpa-archa,'' Mr Suporn said.

Government chief whip Pongthep Thepkanchana denied there was a move to drive Mr Sanoh out of the party.

Mr Sanoh's comments during the parliamentary debate had not breached party resolutions, he said.

Mr Banharn said he did not know if Mr Sanoh would intentionally break a party resolution to force his expulsion and then join Chart Thai.

Mr Banharn did not want to say whether he would accept Mr Sanoh back in the party if he was actually ousted from Thai Rak Thai.

The Chart Thai leader, however, said Thai Rak Thai, with control of 377 House seats, would not be affected if Mr Sanoh led his Wang Nam Yen faction members out of Thai Rak Thai and then joined another party.

Thai Rak Thai list MP Pramual Rujanseri, also a key figure in the Wang Nam Yen faction, said he would never abandon Mr Sanoh.

Another faction member, Sombat Rattano, said Thai Rak Thai MPs should remember the day in 2000 when Mr Thaksin asked Mr Sanoh to help build the party.

With Mr Sanoh's help, Thai Rak Thai had become a party so strong it was now a one-party government, Mr Sombat said.

''All faction members will always stand by Mr Sanoh's side, no matter how the party punishes him,'' he said.

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