The two leading activists of the 1973 student uprising, Seksan Prasertkul and Thirayuth Boonmee, have emerged to more or less dissociate themselves from the Nitirat Group, especially on the lese majeste law amendments.
Seksan's name was on the list of supporters of the 112 amendment spearheaded by the Nitirat Group. He said in a statement yesterday that he had agreed to let his name used in that context at the request of a respected senior person. "I also saw the proposed change as part of a general legal reform with a humanist touch. Besides, the important point was that the proposals were to protect the country's major institutions," he wrote.
Seksan said he was in no way a key member of the movement. "I considered it an expression of opinion. Society will decide whether to take it up ornot. Besides, I had no idea of pursuing it as a political move. I feel tired from the country's conflicts and would like to spend my senior years in solitude," he said.
Seksan insisted that he was in no way related to the Nitirat Group and has nothing to do with the other proposals enunciated by the group.
"I was briefed on the 112 amendment by a group of senior scholars who were not part of Nitirat Group and was approached on this particular issue only," he wrote.
Thirayuth, meanwhile, came out in public on the same day to suggest that the proposed 112 amendment could worsen the conflict in Thai society. He warned that neither side should claim exclusive loyalty to the monarch. All sides, he said, should shed their bias to reach reconciliation.
It was clear that Thirayuth, who said he had not offered any political opinion in the past two years because of ill health, wanted to avoid being seen to associate himself with the Nitirat Group as well.
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