The true colors of the latest Thai PM

[WorldFun]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/09/opinion/opinion_30085519.php

 

A sad mess really, but at least now a bit of good news that the 9 PAD leaders heavy charged has been reduced & 2 arrested ones freed on bail, so perhaps there'll be a bit of soudo peace...

 

"

THAI TALK

As crisis manager, Somchai proves totally disastrous

By Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

Published on October 9, 2008

 

HE tried desperately to sell us his nice guy image. He even listed national reconciliation as a top priority item in his first speech. But when the real test came on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat proved he was not only ineffective, but also a cold-blooded, devil-may-care politician.

 

 

Faced with the critical decision on where to hold the parliamentary session to deliver his major policy speech, the premier held a late-night emergency Cabinet meeting. He was apparently unsure what to do in what must have been the worst crisis in his life.

 

Somchai's Cabinet was split. A few "hawks" insisted that the premier must put his foot down and give out orders,that no matter what happens he will enter the Parliament building the next morning to perform his first major task as the country's chief executive. He was told that his whole political dignity would hinge on that decision to go for broke.

 

But Deputy Premier Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, leading the soft-approach faction in the Cabinet urged the prime minister to avoid a confrontation with the protestors, which would make a bad situation much worse - and render the whole scenario totally unpredictable and even out of control.

 

Chavalit proposed holding the parliamentary meeting in another location in the capital while negotiating with the protestors to end their siege peacefully.

 

Incredibly enough, instead of following his own pronouncement that he would put harmony above all other considerations, Somchai put the issue up for a vote in the Cabinet. Not surprisingly, the hard-line Cabinet members won the day - and Chavalit lost.

 

A few hours later, a squad of apparently ill-trained policemen, under clear instruction to disperse the crowd at all costs and armed with tear-gas canisters, started firing into, instead of over, the heads of the protestors.

 

The ensuing melee that saw more than 400 protestors injured, several of them with mutilated legs, marked the beginning of the end of Somchai's tenure that began only two weeks earlier.

 

Gen Chavalit quit in disgust, citing the police's use of force as the main reason. The real reason, however, was that Chavalit felt betrayed by Somchai and, perhaps, London-based Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

Chavalit's role as the government's mediator with the People's Alliance for Democracy was clearly sabotaged by the police's move to take into custody two of PAD's core leaders - Chaiwat Sinsuwong last Friday and Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang on Monday. Tuesday morning's tear-gassing of the protestors in front of Parliament House was the last straw.

 

But wasn't Chavalit supposed to be former premier Thaksin's point-man - and possibly the man to head Thaksin's new party in case the People Power Party is disbanded? That, indeed, was the original plan. One of Chavalit's close aides admitted that Chavalit had in fact been asked by Thaksin to join Somchai's Cabinet to shore up the premier, Thaksin's brother-in-law, who is considered a novice in politics.

 

Once on board, Chavalit wasted no time in reaching out to the PAD's leadership. Thaksin, of course, wanted Chavalit to build a link to his worst political enemies - but only as a gesture with a political objective, not to the extent that Chavalit tried to portray to the public.

 

Premier Somchai was never expected to be a strong leader in a crisis in the first place. He came in handy only because Samak Sundaravej was, all too soon, disqualified as premier by the Constitutional Court. Thaksin chose Chavalit to be Somchai's strong second in command not because he trusted him; he thought he could exploit Chavalit's wide-ranging connections for his own benefit.

 

Chavalit was ready to do Thaksin's bidding only up to a point. When Thaksin sensed that Chavalit was not playing the game by his rules, he had to be reined in. Chavalit, on the other hand, felt that Thaksin and Somchai were giving orders, contrary to his, behind his back.

 

In the end, Somchai's loyalty lies with his brother-in-law, of course. He made no secret of his real conviction when he told a group of Chiang Mai residents that he would forever be grateful to Thaksin, without whom he wouldn't have been here today. Chavalit, on the other hand, was nothing more than a political tool that could be tossed away once it he was found to be useless at a particular juncture.

 

It is that same blind loyalty that proved disastrous on Tuesday morning when, with Thaksin's dark shadow hanging ominously over him, Somchai ordered police to break through the protestors' barricades so he could stand up in the House to deliver a policy speech that turned out to be a travesty of parliamentary democracy.

 

Somchai, his hands apparently shaking, read out the two-hour policy speech that included the phrase: "I will vigorously pursue national reconciliation without resort to violence."

 

Only a few metres away, innocent and unarmed protestors were frantically fleeing in all directions as the whole country heard the booming sounds of tear gas being fired in a wild orgy of violence.

 

(Police caught with hand grenades and not only tear gas, as claimed. Go to my blog at http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/ThaiTalk.)"

[WorldFun]

Another related 'sweet one' Nation opinion piece:

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/09/opinion/opinion_30085525.php

 

"

TELL IT AS IT IS

When winning is the only thing, the country is casualty

By Pornpimol Kanchanalak

Published on October 9, 2008

 

WHEN this column goes to print, a coup-de-grace may or may not have been dealt to end the riots in the streets of Bangkok. Sooner or later, everything comes to an end, but to what end? When all sides of the conflict declare themselves a winner, it is bad news. That means they are likely to go at it again.

 

 

Since when have we as a nation and people become more Vince Lombardi than Vince Lombardi, whose famous mantra was, "Winning is not everything, it is the only thing"?

 

How many more tear gas canisters must be thrown directly into crowds of protesters, and not into the air above the crowd, in order to achieve a sustainable victory for the government? How many limbs have to be shattered, severed or amputated to make the People's Alliance for Democracy realise that its campaign against the government has lost its lustre? How many more lives have to be lost to make all parties to the conflict come to a mature conclusion that winning is not the only thing?

 

We used to pride ourselves as being a nation of compassionate people. It is not that we have never faced crises among ourselves, but we have settled them the "Thai way". All can be forgiven, if not forgotten.

 

Now, with the prolonged and winding protests and ill-conceived counter measures that have plagued the national political landscape and have brought about a deep, internal divide, we have became a nation that is suffering from compassion fatigue. By choice, as a way to cope, we have become detached and disconnected from the political reality.

 

The street clashes and the government's action have been splashed across the front pages of many international publications. As usual, the majority of them describe, disapprovingly, the protesters as being in the front line of the Thai "elites" and "royalists" who are unhappy with a democratically elected government they see as a continuation of Thaksin's populist regime. But this time round the international press did not praise the measures that the Thai government used to quell the street protests. Photos of bloody, unarmed civilians hit at the very core of Western values and sentiment. But why don't they mean anything to us? Since when has our skin been so thick that we cannot feel the suffering of our compatriots without making judgements?

 

I listened to the prime minister reading his policies. There was a section on equal opportunity in education for autistic children. With the political heat reaching boiling point outside Parliament at the time this policy was delivered, the message seemed surreal and so out of sync. And if anybody had looked, they might have seen tears coming out of the statue of King Rama V that stood amid the tear gas and fallen protesters.

 

More than a hundred years ago King Rama V abolished slavery in Thailand. His action was compassionate, magnanimous and wise, and not a single drop of blood was spilled. One hundred and three years on, his people are caged by a different kind of slavery - our own ill-conceived notion of righteousness and personal gain.

 

While not placing blame or pointing the finger, it is reasonable to question the prime minister on what he meant when he said he would take full responsibility for what transpired. General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has showed us a good example of someone who takes responsibility for the outbreak of violence: he quit.

 

Why have we not seen other Thai politicians quit to show responsibility and accountability?

 

"No resignations" and "No House dissolution" have been the two mantras repeated over and over, with genuine pride, as if they are the true measure of political strength and backbone.

 

If people in high position do not know how to show responsibility and accountability and tolerance, how can we teach our children about these values?

 

Negotiation from a position of strength is a winning formula in talks to end conflicts. But do we see any parties to, and having stakes in, our current political conflict offering a real and workable comprehensive game plan?

 

There is no question that the Thai public has lost its appetite for street protests, as well as the hope to place faith in the people we elected to run the country. Such apathy is one of our worst enemies. We are devoid of trust. The term seems to have lost its place in our current political DNA. To make matters worse is the fact that democracy never flourishes in, and because of, economic paucity.

 

The unfathomable depth and breadth of the financial meltdown around the globe is horrifying enough. The fact that the government has no real programmes or measures to resist the domino effect is even more petrifying. With a global recession looming large, and with Thailand's economic outlook already bleak, what does this entail for our democracy that has suffered setback after setback and a people no longer care?

 

Our house is on fire, and we willingly do not want to lift a finger. Something is very wrong with this picture.

 

National reconciliation is the only way out of our political mess. Reconciliation cannot be achieved if all parties to the discord insist on winning. Holding on to the seat of power at any price is not going achieve reconciliation. Preconditions are not going to end the tension. The country is being hit by a four-by-two on a daily basis. Damage has been done. It is time for everybody to hold the interests of the country first and sacrosanct, and to put aside differences and do the right thing. At stake is our future."

[Flashermac]

<< started firing into, instead of over, the heads of the protestors. >>

 

 

I noticed that immediately in the photos. Not sure about the grenade launchers they were using, but the US made M-79 "bloop gun" fires a 40mm projectile at 250 feet per second. Imagine getting hit with that at close range. I saw a fellow who'd accidentally been shot in the mouth with one. Tore off his lips, took out his front teeth and broke his jaw in several places. It also shattered the lenses in the glasses on his face. He was trembling in shock when we loaded him up for a medivac.

 

 

p.s. Interesting that Chawalit is turning out to be a good guy. He's from Isaan and hardly from a wealthy Chinese-Thai family like the rest.