By Xinhua,
Bangkok : Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Sunday that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-government civil group, does not support the constitutional amendments because the group is afraid that it would not be able to hold rallies again, should Article 63 be amended.
At the Prime Minister’s weekly Sunday talk show on TV, Samak said the PAD is not concerned that the government will amend Articles 237, 190 and 309 to aid ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as claimed.
Meanwhile, according to Article 63, individuals have the right to form political parties to conduct activities in accordance with their political intentions. The anti-government group fears that amending this article would disallow them from organizing demonstrations, said Samak.
However, the premier did not say whether the government will amend the Article 63 or not.
He said the PAD groups in different provinces are trying to instigate violence in their areas by enclosing the provincial city halls, aimed at toppling the government. He said the government and the army are trying to maintain peace in the country.
Just on Saturday, the PAD continued their protest by marching to the Democracy Monument in Bangkok. It threatened to lay siege on Parliament if the government went ahead to amend the Constitution.
A week ago, the PAD and a pro-government group clashed during a rally in a northeastern province, leaving two dozens of demonstrators injured.
The daily protests which staged in Thailand now could easily recall the memories of 2006. Since January 2006, the PAD organized more than a dozen of mass rallies across the country to press the then government of Thaksin Shinawatra and the protests later triggered a House dissolution in February and a military coup in September.