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Thai PM confident hecan defeat oppo



Thai PM confident he can defeat opposition motion 
07:52 a.m. Mar 17, 1998 Eastern 
By Sutin Wannabovorn 

BANGKOK, March 17 (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said on
Tuesday he was confident his administration would defeat an opposition-led
no-confidence motion during two days of debate from Wednesday. 

He said he was sure of the unity and stability of his four-month-old,
seven-party coalition government despite its slim majority in the lower
house of representatives. 

The government controls 208 of the 391 seats. 

``I am confident in the unity and stability of my coalition and hope that
all ministers will be able to clear themselves from any charges,'' Chuan
told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. 

The opposition, led by the main New Aspiration Party (NAP) of former premier
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, whose government resigned last November, has lodged a
censure motion accusing the government of condoning corruption and
incompetence. 

Chuan, who returned on Tuesday from a visit to the United States last week
where he managed to secure U.S. financial assistance worth $1.7 billion, has
been praised by the media and the markets for winning Washington's support
for his country. 

Political analysts generally believe Chuan's government will weather the
debate because the opposition has limited scope for challenges against the
young government. 

After the debate, analysts said they expected the administration to continue
with its programme of pulling the country out of its worst economic crisis
in decades. They said it would be hard for the opposition to fault Chuan's
government on its handling of the crisis so far. 

``The government is ready to answer all questions. Actually, I had urged
ministers concerned to prepare and get ready (for the debate) two weeks
ago,'' Chuan said. 

He denied speculation that he might woo the second largest opposition party,
the Chart Pattana Party, to help his administration remain in power till
November 2000, when his government's term ends. 

``I have never thought of bringing an additional party into the ruling
coalition because we have never thought we would stay for the full term,''
Chuan said. 

The NAP boasted on Tuesday that the public would be stunned by some of the
exposes planned by the opposition. 

``The public will be stunned by the secret information that we have in hand.
I promise that there will be a hot and tough debate, and the public will not
disappointed,'' Premsak Peiryura, the NAP spokesman, told reporters. 

Another NAP member said: ``The opposition does not mean to topple the
government but merely wants to expose some irregularities in this government
to the public.'' 

Analysts said an illegal logging scandal involving civil servants,
politicians and security personnel was expected to be used by the opposition. 

Chuan said that investigations into the logging scandal so far had revealed
42 people were under suspicion of being involved in illegal logging in the
Salween National Park on the western Thai border with Myanmar (Burma). But
further inquiries needed to be made. ^REUTERS@