Bangkok, August 22: Thailand’s widely revered king warned that the country could collapse if its feuding political factions do not unite, as the government braced for fresh street protests, reports said on Saturday.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, made a rare speech to an audience at his seaside palace late yesterday that was later broadcast on national television and radio and reported by Thai-language newspapers.
“Recently I feel that our country could fail, because nobody is working in harmony. They are competing with each other and no one understands what the other is doing,” the king said.
“I want to assure you that if everybody who is competent and has good intentions works together then we can make our country truly prosperous. So I ask all of you to cooperate, because if you don’t our country will fall,” he said.
“Our country will not collapse if everybody works together, especially all knowledgeable people,” he said.
They were the king’s first public comments since making a similar call for unity while swearing in Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in December. He failed to make his traditional birthday eve speech the same month, citing poor health.
His speech came less than a week after Thailand’s so-called “Red Shirt” submitted a 3.5-million-name petition seeking a royal pardon for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
–Agencies