As veteran actor Sombat Methanee and actress Siriam Pakdeedamrongrit (pictured above) are reported to have joined or be on the verge of joining the Peua Thai Party (see ASTV-Manager and Thai Rath - both links are in Thai), I wonder whether they are aware of the potential consequence of doing so.

According to Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, anyone who dares join the Peua Thai Party risks being called a ‘traitor to the nation’. Yes, becoming a PTP member is now considered a treacherous act. You do not have to kill anyone. You do not have to sell the country’s secrets to our enemies. All you have to do to be a traitor nowadays is to side with ‘the evil one’.

Sombat and Siriam are not the only names expected to be added to General Prem’s list of ‘traitors’, however. The elder statesman must have been fuming when General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh came out of hiatus and re-joined the Thaksin side three weeks ago, an event that provoked Prem to come up with the word ‘traitor’ in the first place. Furthermore, the PTP welcomed around 50 retired military men and former classmates of Thaksin into the party earlier this week. The PTP spokesman even boasted that some Democrat Party MPs are considering switching sides as well.

At this point one question needs to be asked: has Prem ever accuse the generals who took away people’s democratic rights in 2006 of being traitors to the Thai constitution?

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