PM warns Facebook feuders Suthep, Jatuporn

PM warns Facebook feuders Suthep, Jatuporn

EC wants students to engage with voters

Facebook battles: Suthep, Jatuporn take to social media, but Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warns they are on dangerous grounds. (File photos)
Facebook battles: Suthep, Jatuporn take to social media, but Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warns they are on dangerous grounds. (File photos)

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned rival political movement leaders, Suthep Thaugsuban and Jatuporn Prompan, over their Facebook live broadcasts expressing their views on the draft charter ahead of the Aug 7 referendum.

Gen Prayut said Monday that Mr Suthep, chairman of the Muan Maha Prachachon for Reforms Foundation, and Mr Jatuporn, chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), must take care not to break the law in voicing their opinions of the draft charter.

The referendum law prohibits anyone from speaking in a way that influences voter decisions or incites social or political unrest.

Asked if Mr Suthep and Mr Jatuporn should stop their live Facebook addresses, Gen Prayut said they must exercise their own discretion, adding his duty is to ensure the strict enforcement of the referendum law.

Gen Prayut said he was not particularly concerned that printed copies of an abridged version of the draft charter have not yet reached all voters.

He thought more people would be interested in reading the shorter version.

He also encouraged the media to help explain key elements of the draft charter, especially the parts concerning human rights, education and public health which critics were concerned might not fully cater to the needs of the people.

As for those conducting public opinion surveys aimed at predicting the results of the Aug 7 vote, Gen Prayut said authorities will enforce the referendum law against any pollsters who publish their surveys to mislead the public.

Gen Prayut said he wondered how many survey respondents truly understood the draft charter's content.

Also on Monday, the Election Commission (EC) and the Education Ministry kicked off a joint programme to educate teachers and high-school students about the referendum. Schools will be encouraged to spread word of the vote in their communities.

The programme aims to get the more than 11 million students to encourage their friends, families and neighbours to go to the polls on Aug 7, said election commissioner Pravich Rattanapian.

Copies of two manuals have been produced containing information about what voters can expect at the Aug 7 referendum.

The copies are being distributed to teachers and students so they know what the vote is all about and how to explain the process to others, said Mr Pravich.

The manual titled Six Weeks Before the Referendum provides guidelines of the programme, breaking it down into learning activities for teachers and students in the period leading up to the referendum.

The first week of the programme, starting on Sunday, will deal with preparing executives of educational institutions for the programme, distributing the manuals to teachers and preparing teachers to lead classes about the referendum and encourage voters to exercise their rights.

The second and third weeks will be devoted to learning about people's rights in the referendum. Teachers will produce communication materials and organise exhibitions to educate students and the public about the vote.

A simulation of the referendum will be carried out at the schools to demonstrate to the students how the real referendum will be carried out.

During the fourth week, knowledge learned at school will be transferred by the students to their communities. The fifth week will have schools survey the number of eligible voters in each community and interview them about their readiness for the coming referendum.

In the final week, students will remind their families to go to the polls while they themselves can help monitor the ballot count on Aug 7.

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