Phuket Rajabhat students protest UDD actions

PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Rajabhat University student organization has released a statement condemning the actions of “certain individuals and groups” which it claims are violating the sanctity of the institution of the Thai monarchy.

Though the statement does not mention any names, it clearly refers to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his red-shirted supporters in the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

The Student Council is asking students at the university to sign the statement, which it intends to deliver to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop.

The statement said that there were groups disseminating false and one-sided information in order to stir up popular dissent and cause division in Thai society.

These actions were seriously damaging to the country’s economy, society, politics and Thailand’s credibility in the eyes of foreigners. Demands by the UDD that General Prem Tinsulanonda resign from his position as president of the Privy Council represented an attack on HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s power, the statement read.

The statement claimed that the government was not doing its duty in protecting the royal institution, and should take firm action to stop attacks against Gen Prem, who is HM The King’s most senior advisor and also a close friend.