BANGKOK, 27 March 2014 Ex-Minister of Finance Tanong Pitaya has given some insight and overview of the current political situation — also explaining how he had advised Ms. Yingluck to resign from office, and how his comment had been disregarded.
Mr. Tanong made the statement following a rumor of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attempting to resolve the current political conflicts in the country by not having Ms. Yingluck run in the next general election.
Mr. Tanong stated that he had initially suggested Ms. Yingluck to dissolve Parliament and resign from office the very first day right after the Amnesty Bill did not pass parliament vote. He even advised her not to run for office again.
Mr. Tanong said that he suggested the ideas through Ms. Yingluck’s friend, but was denied and told he knew nothing about politics. With Ms. Yingluck’s recent announcement that she would not run in the coming election, Mr. Tanong stated that the situation has developed into a state where both sides are refusing to negotiate — adding that there are also a group of army officials who wish to have a coup.
The ex-Minister of Finance went on to say that a coup would tarnish the country even further; however, at this moment, there is only the army that can be the middleman and urge the 2 sides to negotiate and stage a new election together. He is hopeful and reckons that the entire process should take 3 months to carry out.