Red shirts threaten to initiate impeachment move against PM

The red-shirt movement has threatened to launch a signature campaign to seek the impeachment of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who it says has allowed rampant government corruption.

The group held a mock censure debate yesterday at Big C's Lat Phrao branch during which key speakers, many of them former pro-red MPs, attacked the government on a range of issues, particularly the Bt800-billion economic stimulus package.

The speakers claimed corruption had infested the stimulus programme, but the government was getting a constitutional reprieve because the opposition would not be able to initiate a censure motion until early next year.

"By that time it will be too late, not least because this government won't last that long anyway," said Nattawut Saikua, a leader of the red shirts.

Apart from attacking the government for alleged corruption, the red shirts yesterday said Abhisit had violated key rules when he became a Democrat MP for the first time in the 1990s.

The group claimed it could prove that Abhisit was not even a Democrat member when he was elected an MP at that time.

"We have strong grounds to initiate an impeachment move against the prime minister," said Nattawut.

"We are in the process of considering which constitutional articles we can base our move on. After that, we will start gathering signatures."

Another press conference will be held next week to inform the public of the movement's impeachment decision, he added.