Noppadon defends Thaksin | Bangkok Post: news

Noppadon defends Thaksin

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has never used the red-shirts as a political tool but viewed them as holding to the same ideology he does, with the aim to push the country forward to a true democracy, Noppadon Pattama said on Monday.

Mr Noppadon, Thaksin's close aide and legal adviser, was responding to Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut's remark that Thaksin - in calling for the red shirts to put aside their anger and feelings of injustice for the sake of reconciiation - was appeared to be abandoning the red-shirts after having used them.

Thaksin made his comment during a phone-in to the red-shirt rally on Saturday.

Mr Noppadon said he was not surprised the Democrat Party was trying to drive a wedge between Thaksin and the red-shirts.

This tactic had been used before by the Democrat Party but had not borne fruit because Thaksin, like the red-shirts, was a victim of a coup and a violation of the rule of law in Thailand, Mr Noppadon said.

On the Democrat Party's allegation that Thaksin and his supporters had infringed on the monarchy, Mr Noppadon said he was fed up with the party's continued use of the high institution as a weapon to destroy its political opponents