Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pridiyathorn
Devakul announced his resignation from the two posts Wednesday.
Pridiyathorn told a press conference at the Government House
that he submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Surayud
Chulanont in Bangkok Wednesday morning, and the Prime Minister
approved the resignation.
The resignation is effective from March 1.
Pridiyathorn cited differences with Surayud over the handling of
the Thai economy as one reason for his resignation.
Rumors about his possible resignation have been running in
Bangkok for some days. The former Bank of Thailand (BOT) governor,
who was appointed last October as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister of the post-coup interim government, has been under
pressure over some much-criticized monetary policies to curb
currency speculation, including the BOT's decision to impose 30-
percent reserve on foreign capital inflow since last December,
which caused a 15 percent loss at the local stock market in a
record one-day drop.
Surayud's recent decision to bring in Somkid Jatusripitak,
former finance minister of the ousted Thaksin administration and a
close aide to the deposed prime minister, as a special envoy to
explain Thailand's "sufficiency economy" policy to the
international community was also seen as a big blow to
Pridiyathorn.
At the press conference Wednesday, Pridiyathorn also voiced his
dissatisfaction over Somkid's appointment, saying that it was done
in a manner showing lack of transparency in the government.
Another reason was that he was not happy with "a certain
minister" who had acted in favor of a certain media disregarding
the fact that the move was against the law, Pridiyathorn said.
Although Pridiyathorn did not name the minister in question, it
was widely understood by political analysts that he was referring
to Prime Minister's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan.
Thirapat reportedly had approved the running of a TV talk show
program on the government-controlled TV 11 Channel, in which Sondhi
Limthongkul, a media businessman known for his sharp criticism and
demonstrations against the ousted premier Thaskin, has launched a
new round of attacks against the current government, Pridiyathorn
being the prime target.
Political sources said Pridiyathorn had been asking PM Surayud
to move to shut down the program, but Surayud has not yet made the
decision.
(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2007)
