By Xinhua,
Bangkok : Thailand’s Air Force Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk said Sunday that the military would not get involved in the political dispute between the government and protesters, claiming it is the duty of the police and the government to resolve the problem.
Chalit, one of the key military leaders who staged the coup against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006, was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying that the military would observe the current political situation but would not get involved.
He said the military would only carry out orders given by the government on issues which are “legitimate only” and they would “side with the righteous party”.
During the past two weeks, PAD members and their supporters have been protesting at the office compound of U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
The anti-government movement held street protests in 2006 which opened the way for a military willingness to conduct a coup, which subsequently resulted in the downfall of the Thaksin administration by coup d’etat.
Meanwhile, Chalit said a go-between should be appointed to settle the dispute between the coalition government and the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which has been holding a noisy protest in central Bangkok for more than two weeks.
“I’ve said earlier that if two parties clash against each other, a referee should be appointed because each party would think they’re right,” Chalit said. However, he declined to say who should be appointed to the arbitrator’s role to end the political crisis.