In an address to Parliament outlining his second-term agenda, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also said he would invigorate “The next four years is a period of transforming Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai, or Thai Love Thai, party swept to victory in Feb 6 elections, claiming an unprecedented majority of 377 out of 500 seats in the lower house of Parliament. In his speech, Thaksin acknowledged the ongoing violence in the south, which has killed more than 700 people since January last year. Critics accuse his government of exacerbating the rebellion with hard-line tactics, but Thaksin on Wednesday showed little sign of relenting from those policies. “The government will resolve the problem in the southern provinces by mobilizing all necessary resources,” said Thaksin, without elaborating. A new military unit was recently established in the south to quash the insurgency, blamed on Muslim separatists. “Law enforcement will be strictly enforced to make it an area of peace and order for the safety of the lives and property of the people,” Thaksin added. The prime minister also vowed to stamp out poverty in six years. He proposed help for the poor in turning their assets and property into funds for capital investment and said he would continue a low-cost health care plan that charges just 30 baht (78 US cents) per hospital visit. Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, said his government will push for free trade deals and encourage more regional cooperation in “On foreign policy, this government will support Thai people to play major roles in the arena of the United Nations and international organizations and support Thai people in leading and participating in making regulations in those organizations,” he said. Thaksin has lobbied for former Foreign Minister and current Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to become the next UN secretary general after Kofi Annan's term ends next year. After Thaksin’s address, opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva blasted the government over its handling of the violence in the south. He also said the government has wasted public money on populist policies. |
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