Thai Junta organizes national reconciliation activities

BANGKOK, July 22 (TNA) - The army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is organizing activities in Bangkok and all other Thai provinces to promote national reconciliation. The reconciliation for people's happiness festival is set from July 22-27, beginning on Tuesday morning with an alms-giving ceremony for 99 Buddhist monks at the Sanam Luang ceremonial ground, the venue of the activities in Bangkok. Acting Thai Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Maha Rachamangalajan and Permanent Secretary for Defence General Surasak Kanchanarat jointly presided over the ceremony, in which representatives of ministries and 11 political parties, including the rival Pheu Thai Party and the Democrat Party, as well as political opponents participated. The acting supreme patriarch advised the participants to follow five basic Buddhist prescripts to ensure national reconciliation, saying that he will assign the National Office of Buddhism to promote the five basic prescripts nationwide. During the six-day event, there is a trade fair, including discount products, and there are a light and sound show, stage performances and outdoors movie screenings at Sanam Luang in the evenings. Such activities are also organized in all other Thai provinces, as the NCPO wants to return happiness to Thai people and encourage political groups with different ideological stands to meet and share activities in order to be reconciled. Lieutenant General Kampanart Ruddit, Director of the Center of Reconciliation for Reform (CRR), then told journalists that the nationwide festival is organized to show that all parties in the country are now ready to join forces for the sake of national progress. The CRR chief acknowledged that national reconciliation attempts are proceeding well and rival parties will discuss problems and solutions in a national reform council. According to the CRR director, information from people show that most of them want solutions to national economic problems first, followed by justice. Meanwhile, Bangkok's Criminal Court sentenced two red-shirt protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan and Nattawut Saikuar, to a two-year jail term but the legal punishment is suspended for two years in a case both were found guilty of playing back a phone conversation of former permanent secretary for the prime minister's office Police Major General Peerapan Premputi, former secretary of the Supreme Court Wirat Chinwinitkul and Appeal Court judge Pairote Nawanut on their campaign speech stage at Sanam Luang on June 22, 2007. Their confession convinced the court to commute the legal punishment from three years in jail and a fine of 60,000 baht to two-year imprisonment and a fine of 40,000 baht. One of the damaged persons told the court that he forgave both; so, their punishment is suspended for two years. Another defendant in the case, Jakrapob Penkair, who is a former minister attached to the prime minister's office, has escaped from the prosecution.(TNA)