Thai opposition skeptical over assassination plot claim

By Max Constant

BANGKOK

Thai opposition figures have expressed skepticism about the junta chief-cum-prime minister's claim to have foiled a plot by his opponents to assassinate him and incite an uprising.

A leader of the United Front for Democracy and Against Dictatorship (UDD) -- or Red Shirts – said Friday that he doubted that the recent arrest of two men in relation to the case had saved Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha from a conspiracy.

“There is no need for anyone to do anything. The government is already collapsing,” Jatuporn Promphan told the Bangkok Post.

“Nothing can cover up the Ratchapakdi corruption,” he added, alluding to the case of a military-run historic park embroiled in a major corruption scandal.

Weng Tojirakarn, another leader of the movement, whose members support ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, told Khaosod that “the Red Shirts don’t know anything about this."

“Personally, I feel there is something fishy in defense minister General Pravit Wongsuwan’s remark that there would be a popular uprising in the northeast and there would be unrest during the Bike for Dad event," he added. "I think this is a farce.”

Earlier this week, Khaosod had reported Police Chief Chakthip Chaijinda as saying that the assassination plan targeted “important figures in the government.” According to Chaijinda, the two men “were hatching a plot to stir unrest in the city [Bangkok],” particularly during Bike for Dad, a cycling event planned for Dec. 11 in honor of the Thai King, and new year celebrations.

But on Thursday, Deputy Police Chief Sriwarah Rangsipramkul was less specific.

“They have targets, but we cannot confirm what those targets are,” he told Khaosod, adding that he believed the group could have aimed to “seize army barracks in the northeast” as a starting point for the alleged uprising.

Prathin Chanket, a former police sergeant, and Nattapol Nawanle -- both from the kingdom’s northeast, a Red Shirt stronghold -- were arrested last week and face lese-majeste charges.

Police did not explain why men accused of aiming to kill top leaders would be charged with lese-majeste.

Arrest warrants have been issued for seven other suspects in the case.

On Thursday, Chan-ocha claimed he was among the targets.

“Which group do they belong to? They call themselves the UDD, don’t they?” he told reporters at Government House.

Chan-ocha linked the two accused to a Red Shirt network called the “Khon Kaen model”, whose members were arrested last year after being accused of plotting an insurrection against the military regime.

He added that he was undeterred by the threat.

“I can visit any area. I am already risking my life these days anyway. Don’t you think I am risking my life now?” he added.

The two arrested suspects had been placed under custody last year as alleged members of the network, before being released on bail.

If the alleged plot is confirmed, it would be the most high profile assassination plot since 2006, when a car bomb was found near the residence of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother, a few months before he was overthrown in a coup.