Thai PM insists on promoting national reconciliation, rule of laws

BANGKOK, November 8 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has promised to listen to people, adhere to the rule of laws and continue to promote national reconciliation until true democracy happens in Thailand. Addressing the Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday morning, Yingluck said that the rule of laws is the basis for democracy, economic and political stability, and social order, noting that the rule of laws also protects people’s rights and liberty, makes people confident in national systems, promotes peaceful solutions and creates rooms for political negotiations and participation. Yingluck suggested that the best way to protect democracy is to let people participate in democratic processes, acknowledging that, with the participation, people will feel ownership and realize the democratic value, but if democracy was violated, there might be a popular uprising like what happened in Thailand in 2010 and caused damage. Yingluck vowed to prevent such the political unrest from recurring in the country and confirmed that her government will keep promoting national reconciliation in accordance with the principle of human rights until true democracy happens in Thailand. According to the prime minister, the Thai government has also implemented people-centered policies, ranging from a minimum wage rise nationwide to the expansion of universal health care, as well as the establishment of a fund for the promotion of women’s roles, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the distribution of tablet computers to young students to facilitate their learning and the development of national human resources. The Thai premier is visiting neighbouring Indonesia, starting from November 7, to attend the Bali Democracy Forum, the fifth of its kind, on the Bali Island. Before her return to Thailand on Thursday evening, the prime minister is scheduled to have bilateral talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (TNA)