Thai Army Chief Anupong Paochinda on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Somchai Wonsawat to dissolve the parliament and the protesters of People's Alliance for Democracy ( PAD) to end rallies immediately, or will encounter the confrontations with "civil disobedience".
Anupong made the "suggestions" on Wednesday afternoon at a press conference after holding an urgent meeting among military and police top brass, business leaders and academics.
He said they agreed at this situation-monitoring panel meeting that the Somchai government should take the initiative to dissolve the House of Representatives to "return power to the people", while the PAD protesters should end their demonstrations and besiege at the Government House and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport in a way out of current political turmoil.
If the government would not take the advice, state agencies might resort to civil disobedience to stop implementing government orders.
If the PAD continues rallies after the dissolution of parliament, they will face social sanction.
Anupong, who was tasked by Somchai to chair the situation- monitoring panel, had insisted that the military would not intervene in the political confrontations between the government and the PAD by staging a coup, despite mounting pressure from both sides to urge the military to take sides in face of the escalating crisis.
On Wednesday's press conference, Anupong reiterated that the proposals were not meant as a threat of military intervention. And he declined to elaborate on the possible measures the military might take if the two sides failed to heed the proposals.
The PAD has insisted that they would not end their rallies until Somchai resigns.
(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)
