Thai Minister Resigns in Bid to Defuse Political Crisis

A minister in the Thai prime minister’s office resigned on Friday under pressure from army and air force chiefs, who said his departure was necessary for the country’s political stability.

The Prime Minister’s Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair faces lese majeste charges for remarks he made in a speech to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in August 2007. Jakrapob is alleged to have challenged Thailand’s royal institution, but he strongly denies the accusation.

Jakrapob Penkair, Thailand's Minister to the Prime Minister's Office, announces his resignation at a news conference at Government House in Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)

Air Force chief Chalit Phukphasuk accused Jakrapob of being a factor in political rifts that have given rise to rumors that another military coup is likely.

Chalit said Jakrapob was one of three problems that needed solving in order to establish political stability. The other two problems were an attempt by the government to rewrite the constitution and economic difficulties facing Thailand.

The supreme commander of Thailand’s armed forces, Gen Boonsrang Niempradit, also gave his support for demands for Jakrapob’s resignation, while the opposition Democrat Party called on Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to sack Jakrapob before the political standoff got out of control.

Announcing his resignation on Friday, Jakrapob said he had decided to leave office in order to save Samak and the government.

The political struggle in Thailand is also being fought on the Internet, with both the government and the opposition Democrats accusing a number of web sites of carrying material guilty of lese majeste.

One Democrat Party member, Theptai Senpong, claimed 29 web sites were carrying such material, but he was challenged by several civic media groups, who warned him not to threaten the right to freedom of expression.

Interior Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said this week that legal action would be taken against the operators of web sites carrying material judged to be guilty of lese majeste.

Twenty seven had so far been traced and told that the material their sites were carrying were guilty of lese majeste, Chalerm said.

Rights groups put a statement on the Internet saying lese majeste should not be used as a pretext to block free expression. “This action uses the royal institute as a political tool and creates disunity in the country,” the statement said.