buddha Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 This might be too political also.....Thaksin giving GWB a big 'fuck you' http://www.newsphp.com/2004pro/index.php?id=70 BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand's prime minister, a key American ally in the war on terror, has blasted Washington as a "useless friend" after a U.S. State Department report criticized his government's human rights record. "I am very upset and annoyed by the report," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters, reacting to the State Department's annual report on the state of human rights in the world during 2003. He said U.S. Ambassador Darryl Johnson will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry later Friday to hear an official complaint from the government. In its section on Thailand, the report said the human rights situation in Thailand was generally positive last year but that the government's record worsened on extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests. It cited the killings of drug suspects during confrontations with police during a war on drugs ordered by Thaksin between February and April last year. News reports and human rights groups said more than 2,000 people were killed in what they described as summary executions. "A report that takes its information from the media is unacceptable to me," Thaksin said. "What kind of friends are they? They are friends who damage the reputation of their friends every year. What would they do if Thailand issued the same report annually? These kind of friends are useless friends," he said. Thaksin won personal praise from U.S. President George W. Bush last year after Thai police arrested a top terrorist suspect, Hambali, in a central Thai city. Hambali, an Indonesian, has been described as al Qaeda's pointman in the region. He is now being held by the United States in an undisclosed location. Thaksin said his government had already explained to the United States last year its position that the drug deaths were caused by internecine fighting among drug barons. The drug killings caused a huge uproar among local and human rights organizations. The U.S. Embassy had also officially expressed concern about the killings. The government claims that out of a total of 2,598 homicide cases during the February-April, 2003 period, there were 1,383 narcotics-related deaths, of which just 42 people were shot by police, mostly in self-defense. The rest, it says, were killed by drug gang infighting. However, the State Department report said the Thai government "failed to investigate and prosecute vigorously those who committed such abuses, contributing to a climate of impunity." Thaksin did not comment on the overall tone of the report, which considered the general human rights situation in the country as positive. In a statement late Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said the Thai government is "deeply disappointed" with the report, which it said "contains a number of factual inaccuracies ... as was the case with the year 2002 and 2001 reports." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Hi buddha, Interesting news blip, but me thinks KS will have the last word on whether this thread is allowed. This deals in little more than politics, which makes my believe it is destined for the scrap heap. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 :sleeping: :sleeping: TH Is that better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 See what I mean! :: Flame wars starting from the very first post. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 TH, Please back off. Poster is simply posting a news clip. No need to flame him personaly. :onfire: HT (For reference to other mods, TH deleted flame towards original poster) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 every country in the world considers the US a "useless friend" well until they need something at least ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Why should it get binned ? It is merely a facsimile of publically available material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 It's a purely political issue. Read the rules. What is there not to understand? We have flaming, and country bashing, in the first very few posts. What more reasoning do you need? This is a sanuk board. Not a political platform. HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Just posting an article pertinent to Thailand on a board dealing with Thailand. Don't really care about the politics involved. Didn't state my opinion. Go shake your finger at someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Hi buddha, Number one, I'll shake my finger at whom I see fit. I'm a mod here. You don't like it, complain to the boss. Number two, I'm not shaking my finger towards you. I simply stated that KS will have to be the final arbitrater if this thread stands, or doesn't. Number 3, you DO need to care about the politics, if you want to post here. HT - Moderator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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