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THAILAND is the land of compromise, King Maha Vajiralongkorn told reporters.
The king made the brief remarks on Britain’s Channel 4 and CNN Sunday night during a public appearance after the costume change ceremony at Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, in the district Phra Nakhon from Bangkok.
In response to a question from a CNN reporter about what he would say to pro-democracy protesters who have been on the streets calling for reform of the monarchy for more than four months, the king said: “No comment,” before adding: We love them all equally. “
When asked if there was any scope for compromise with protesters demanding curb their powers, he said: “Thailand is the land of compromise.”
These were the 68-year-old monarch’s first comments to foreign media since 1979 when he was crown prince.
The king was accompanied by Queen Suthida and her two daughters, Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebayavadi and Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya.
The royals were greeted by more than 12,000 people waiting on Na Phra Lan Road and Rajdamnoen Avenue, wearing yellow T-shirts and holding Thai national and royal flags.
Sirivannavari told CNN that Thailand is a peaceful country, adding: “We love the Thai people no matter what.”
The CNN journalist stayed close to former monk Phra Buddha Isara, a former leader of the yellow shirt protesters that had shut down Bangkok and led to the 2014 military coup that toppled the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
The reporter apparently expected the king to come to greet Isara Buddha and saw an opportunity to ask the monarch a question, according to a report shared on social media.
Buda Isara was expelled from office due to criminal charges.
He was also received by the king at a meeting on October 23, Chulalongkorn Day.
The incident had sparked controversy as many felt that the king was on the side of the royalists, contradicting the neutral role prescribed for the monarch in the Constitution. – The Nation / ANN
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