Most people responding to a nationwide survey thought all political protests should be brought to an end to bring peace to the country, Suan Dusit Poll said on Wednesday.
The pollsters at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University based the finding on interviews with 1,284 people nationwide between Nov 11 and 13.
Asked what they thought the anti-amnesty protesters should do once the bill had been rejected by the Senate, 69.67% of the respondents said they should stop rallying because the coalition parties had agreed not to deliberate the bill again, and they did not want to see any further turbulence, Suan Dusit Poll reported.
They thought peace talks should be held to end the political dispute instead, to prevent people and businesses being hurt by the protests.
Nearly one-third, 30.33%, felt otherwise. They said the rallies should be continued because they did not trust the government to scrap the blanket amnesty bill as promised.
Asked what they thought protesters should do following the International Court of Justice's ruling on the disputed land near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, 85.82% of those polled said they should end their protests and accept the court's judgement.
This group of people did not want the situation to escalate. A protest would do no good for any party and would only damage the country’s image. They were also concerned about the safety of people living along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
A minority 14.18% said the protests should be continued because they were unhappy with the court ruling and the government's efforts in this matter. They thought Thailand had not received justice from the court.
Questioned whether they thought there should be protests aimed at toppling the government at this time, 59.62% said no, it is not the right way the solve the problems and peace talks are a better solution.
They were worried that the protests would damage the country’s image, affect the economy and halt investment, and that there would be no peace in the country and social divisions would continue.
The rest, 40.38%, disagreed, agreeing the government is not capable of running the country and resolving the country’s pressing problems. They said the government just looked for power for self-interest and to help its political allies.
Asked about the best way out of the current political turmoil, 30.84% of respondents said all sides should stop attacking each other, particularly by rallies and counter rallies, 27.10% urged all parties to think of what is in the best interests of the country rather than self-interest.
A total of 24.30% said all sides should turn to talks and listen to each other, 12.15% said refrain from playing political games as it would worsen the situation, and 5.61% said respect the rule of law and end corruption, and the government and the opposition, and all other parties, should instead put their utmost effort into properly performing their duties.