A tale of two newspapers: Anand’s comments

Posted on July 20, 2005 by admin
A tale of two newspapers: Anand's comments - July 20, 2005
The Post says Anand 'called on the government' and is 'concerned.' The Nation says Anand 'slammed' the government and 'warned' them. The Post says "They may exercise the power under the executive decree intentionally or unintentionally in ways that could aggravate the crisis" while The Nation interprets this 'quote' as : "So, giving them broader power may lead to increased violence and eventually a real crisis." The Nation omits a call from Prawase Wasi not to oppose the decree and adds a quote by Chamlong Srimuang supporting it.
Anand: Don't use decree in haste - Officials `not ready' to wield sweeping power - Bangkok Post, July 19, 2005
Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, now chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) for the restive deep South, yesterday called on the government to delay application of the executive decree on administrative rule in emergency situations.
Mr Anand said officials at the action level are not yet ready to exercise the decree and quick but wrong applications could aggravate the southern unrest.
..."So far the government mechanisms have failed to arrest any culprits and do not know who are responsible (for the on-going unrest). Government officials are inefficient ... If government officials cannot bring in the culprits for punishment and continue to create hatred and mistrust against themselves, there will be serious concern when more sweeping powers are given to the officials. They may exercise the power under the executive decree intentionally or unintentionally in ways that could aggravate the crisis,'' he said.
..."They (new measures) should not be announced in haste like the decree. Please be calm. Do not announce them. The biggest concern is that the decree can lead to another crisis. If there is no efficiency, there will be considerable chances for mistakes. If there is a mistake, the prime minister cannot deny responsibility,'' he warned.
...NRC vice-chairman Prawase Wasi yesterday urged the government to apply the executive decree very carefully to guarantee justice for the people.
Unfair application of the decree would compound violence in the deep South, Dr Prawase warned.
DR Prawase warned critics not to oppose the executive decree, saying the government would otherwise have an excuse for failing to quell violence in the deep South. He suggested that opponents campaign for fair application of the decree instead. With the decree in force, if the government still failed to solve the unrest, it would have to take responsibility, he said...

EMERGENCY DECREES: Anand slams govt as editors up in arms - The Nation, July 19, 2005
Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun yesterday slammed the government for "hastily" issuing an executive decree to give the prime minister broad emergency powers to stamp out unrest in the deep South.
Anand, as chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), warned that the State of Emergency Decree would only lead to more violence and possibly a "real crisis" as the authorities' main problem was a lack of efficiency, and not lack of power.
"The authorities have worked inefficiently. They have arrested innocent people instead of the real culprits, leading to mistrust among locals. So, giving them broader power may lead to increased violence and eventually a real crisis," said Anand after emerging from a meeting of an NRC working group last night at Government House.
Prawase Wasi, a member of the NRC, urged the government to employ its emergency powers with caution in order to avoid causing injustice and even further violence in the deep South.
"The government should tread carefully. If there is a mistake, I believe the violence will worsen," he said...
Chamlong Srimuang, a former deputy prime minister, yesterday expressed support for the emergency decree. He said it was needed as violence was growing in the Muslim-majority border provinces...