Thaksin's 'red shirts' claim 5m signatures

`Red shirt` United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders ended their rally in Bangkok early on Saturday (August 1) morning, claiming that they had collected more than five million signatures on a petition to the King to pardon former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The petition takes Thailand`s deeply divisive political conflict to a new level.

The establishment has swiftly closed ranks. On Saturday, army chief Anupong Paochinda instructed his generals to have officers explain to the public why the petition violated procedure.

Reports have surfaced of at least one school where teachers allegedly instructed students to sign the petition.

Education minister Jurin Laksanawisit has reportedly called for schools in the northeast - Mr Thaksin`s power base - to be investigated in case some teachers there had done so as well.

"Teachers should know what is right or wrong because Privy Councillors have made it clear about this," he was quoted as saying.

Last month, as the signature campaign gathered pace, at least one Privy Councillor had called it inappropriate.

The government maintains that the normal practice is for a royal pardon to be sought by the jailed subject and his relatives. In this case, Thaksin has not served any jail time, but is overseas dodging his two-year sentence for corruption.

Nobody from his family has signed the petition.The petition also must be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, which will forward it to the palace. But the red shirts contend that it has been common - and a basic right - throughout history for Thais to directly petition the King. The government and several establishment figures say the petition will embarrass the monarchy by dragging the institution into politics. Most analysts see a pardon for Thaksin, at this stage at least, as a very remote possibility. But the petition puts the ruling establishment in the invidious position of having to dismiss or ignore the wishes of more than five million Thais.

By Nirmal GhoshThe Straits Times/Asia News Network