Date – September 8, 2010
The new round of Puea Thai’s version of the ‘reconciliation plan’ was revealed in a peculiar manner when the party deputy leader Plodprasop Suraswadi rushed to reveal the peace offer without his party’s approval first.
The statements given out from involving parties towards the peace plan, meanwhile, caused confusion to the public.
It is said that key Puea Thai figures involving in the move include “Big Jew” Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Mr Plodprasop, former justice minister Pongthep Thepkanchana, and Jaturon Chaisaeng, former acting leader of the defunct Thai Rak Thai Party along with key Democrat figures like Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Democrat spokesperson Buranut Samutharuk and list MP Kraisak Choonhavan.
The pivotal discussion were said to have participated by representatives from the Arm Forces, the private sector, a group of academics, the UN officials, and foreign envoys who came together as witnesses of the plan.
A source from Puea Thai reports that Gen Chavalit is the one who spearheads the party’s reconciliation move while Mr Plodprasop promised to put forward the move to gain all the credit in the end after receiving a permission from Master Thaksin towards the matter.
Mr Thaksin is said to have given the green light to the plan after he had a chance to chat with MR Sukhumbhand once about the reconciliation plan right after the April-May bloody incidents involved the red shirt demonstrations. However, the attempt to have peace talks between the two failed to progress.
At the moment, the two rival Puea Thai and Democrat Parties are, reportedly, the only parties that spearhead and back the plan while small political parties sitting back and watch, with the comment of Mr Banharn that he sees little hope for the peace bid.
Many also noted that there is a chance for the country to see a government of national unity given that the democrats have to face the Court’s dissolution order. There could be a win-win situation for both the Democrat-led government and Thaksin if the government chose to distance itself from Mr Newin and turned to “Mr Thaksin” instead.