PM Paetongtarn reacts to problem by yellow-shirt opposition veteran Sondhi Limthongkul
PUBLISHED: 11 Dec 2024 at 18: 55
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stated on Wednesday that no public forum will be held on the contentious 2001 memorandum of understanding ( MoU) with Cambodia regarding maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand.
She stated that the government welcomes comments from the general public, and that interested parties can make tips through the existing channels.
She also addressed the government issue center to hear the complaint that original yellow-shirt protest head Sondhi Limthongkul filed this week.
” We take all into account because we are aware that every plea has its own unique viewpoints.” But we don’t plan to hold a common platform like that”, said the prime minister.
When questioned if that implied that the state would carry on the anticipated conversations with Cambodia under the 2001 deal, Ms. Paetongtarn stated that the government is reviewing the information that was provided to it.
She claimed that the Joint Technical Committee (JTC ) to handle the negotiations has not yet been established.
Phumtham Wechayachai, the minister of defense, announced on Wednesday that he had not yet seen all of Mr. Sondhi’s demands.
” We had listen to one’s thoughts. Mr Sondhi’s see is just one tone. I believe there are many others who think differently”, he said.
Mr Phumtham brushed off Mr Sondhi’s threat to keep city demonstrations, saying people have the right to peaceful assembly under the law.
Mr Sondhi, 77, led the now-defunct People’s Alliance for Democracy ( PAD ) against the former Thaksin Shinawatra administration. submitted his complaint on Monday urging the state to renounce the MoU, which was signed while Thaksin was in power.
He said the agreement created an overlapping claims area ( OCA ) covering 26, 000 square kilometres, mainly benefiting Cambodia. The region is thought to have a lot of fossil fuel resources.
He gave the government a 15-day response deadline and demanded that the Constitutional Court decide whether the 2001 arrangement was legal.
The maritime boundary separation and shared creation must be carried out as an “indivisible package,” with a JTC set up to examine it under the MoU.