March 20, 201016 yr The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Abhisit Calls in Media to Slam Thaksin Published: 20/03/2010 Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has gone on the offensive to counter ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's daily video-link where he encourages people to join the red shirt rallies. The premier yesterday gave an interview with three well-known international news agencies and two local television channels to explain the political situation in the country. Mr Abhisit was interviewed by reporters from Al Jazeera, the BBC and CNN as well as local TV channels 9 and 5 in the same session yesterday. In response to Thaksin's repeated messages that prai, or proletariat, are oppressed by the elite and that Thaksin wanted to fight for the proletariat, Mr Abhisit dismissed Thaksin's remark. Thaksin and UDD leaders have often referred to the red shirts as prai while dubbing wealthy bureaucrats as amataya, or the elite. "Pol Lt Col Thaksin used to be an extremely rich prime minister. Is he an elite or one of the proletariat? This morning I saw a photograph in Matichon newspaper picturing where demonstrators were lying down and another photograph of Pol Col Thaksin and his children overseas. Do these represent the elite and the proletariat?" Mr Abhisit said. He suggested Thaksin should not speak in a way that could create hatred between the rich and poor. Society would be fine as long as people could do their jobs lawfully and had opportunities and rules that everyone respected. Mr Abhisit warned that attempts to divide society and incite people to topple the system were dangerous. He explained that in Thailand there was no longer the proletariat and the elite. All Thai people are equal in terms of freedom but they are unequal in opportunities and his government is trying and doing more than other governments to solve this inequality. He said his government was doing what other governments dared not do. On March 30, the cabinet will consider changes to land and asset taxes. Meanwhile, Thaksin said to his supporters via video-link last night that he did not want to use the prai word for the red shirts' campaign anymore. "I would like to tell the red shirt leaders that Bangkok people don't like the word prai so we should change our word to rasadon temkan [wholly-righteous citizen]," he said. Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the news agencies had sought an interview with Mr Abhisit for several weeks and the prime minister gave it yesterday as it was a good time to communicate with other countries.
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