Senators blame MFP for campaign of abuse

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Advance party leader Pita Limjaroenrat raises his hand during the parliamentary session for the Prime Minister’s vote on July 13. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)

Senators have hit back at supporters of the Move Forward party (MFP) who launched a social media ‘witch hunt’ against them after its leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to garner enough support in parliament to become the new Prime Minister Thursday.

Of the 206 senators present to vote on the nomination of Mr. Pita as Prime Minister in parliament, 13 voted in favor, 34 against and 159 abstained while 43 other senators were absent.

After the vote, Mr Pita’s supporters took to social media to attack senators who voted against him or abstained, with the hashtag “Senator’s Business” on Twitter on Friday, with more than a million of tweets.

These supporters also targeted family members of senators and launched a campaign against companies run by senators.

They revealed which businesses belonged to the senators, including a market, an insurance company, a beauty clinic, a football team and a gas station.

A photo of a restaurant with a banner saying that senators who voted against Mr. Pita or abstained were not welcome, also appeared on social media.

Writing on Facebook on Saturday, Sen Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, who abstained, condemned MFP supporters who had harassed senators and their families as well as those who hold different opinions.

“After the vote, a campaign was launched using abusive language [against the senators],” she wrote.

Some had created a fake Facebook account claiming to belong to him, with a message attacking the MFP, which drew criticism from its supporters.

She said she raised the issue with the MFP representatives who were sent to solicit her support for Mr. Pita. “They said they didn’t agree either [with the actions of the supporters]but they said they don’t know how to handle them,” Khunying Porntip wrote.

“Bring it and I’ll capture [all the comments] and take legal action,” she wrote.

Ronwarit Pariyachattrakul, another senator who abstained in the vote, said he wanted to give moral support to his children who might encounter backlash from their friends who support Mr Pita.

Mr Ronwarit wrote that unless the MFP backs down from its attempt to amend Article 112 of the Penal Code, known as the lèse-majesté law, Mr Pita will never get his vote for his nomination to the post of Prime Minister.

“If your friends stand for the principles of democracy, they should accept and respect different opinions,” he wrote.

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