Thailands new Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has said that last months hijacking of Bangkok’s international airport was “a lot of fun.
The closure of Suvarnabhumi airport following the protests from ultraroyalist People’’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) left more than 350,0000 tourists stranded for three weeks.
Kasit was a regular speaker at the protests, which helped bring the pro-Thaksin Government down.
He has now formed a new coalition government.
Kasit told an audience of diplomats and foreign journalists that the protests were “a lot of fun”.
“The food was excellent, the music was excellent,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
“Look at it [the PAD protests] as pushing the process of democratisation forward,” he added.
The new Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has also promised to bring the PAD to justice.
“You should be happy that for the first time ordinary people came out in full force to oppose corruption. If society has to be changed it has a price.” said Piromya.
The PAD employed “security guards” armed with clubs, guns and explosives, but Kasit criticised foreigners for dwelling on the movement’’s violent tendencies.
“It can”t be denied that the PAD was instrumental in bringing the Democrats to government. So I think we are going to be disappointed with what this government will do about enforcing the rule of law with respect to the PAD and its activities,” said Dr. Pasuk Phongpaicit of Bangkok’’s Chulalongkorn University.
