Democrat Party assets

Most political commentators consider that the Democrat Party possesses few political assets. However, the recent release of wealth declarations by Democrat Party leaders when in government shows they had plenty of economic assets. The Nation reports that the National Anti-Corruption Commission is required to collect assets data for former ministers, one year after they leave office.

The former members of the Democrat Party-dominated Cabinet are not short of a baht, dollar or Euro. And, as noted below, some (all?) of them are worth a heck of a lot more but have done deals with family to spread the wealth about while maintaining control over the assets of the family-cum-company. We won’t list them and just draw attention to a few.

Wealthiest is Korn Chatikavanij who declared personal assets with his wife of 865.909 million baht or about US$28.6 million, apparently a “Bt4.5 million decrease from the amount he declared when leaving office.” Korn’s supposed to be a sharp investor, so the drop in assets, when the market has been rising seems a bit odd.

Second richest is Chaovarat Chanweerakul of the Bhum Jai Thai Party, with declared assets 754.237 million baht. Chaovarat’s family is much wealthier than this. His son (อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล) and daughter-in-law Sanongnut (สนองนุช ชาญวีรกูล) are the major shareholders of the family firm Sino-Thai Engineering, and together hold shares just in this company valued at almost 4.8 billion baht and there are plenty of other family members listed as shareholders.

The third richest is former the deputy finance minister Pradit Pataraprasit, worth 681.258 million baht.

Former justice minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga also has a bit of loot, being worth 629.88 million baht. He’s the one with three flight simulators (F-18, F-16 and F-14 fighter jets) worth almost $2 million. Porntiva Nakasai, says she has assets worth 117.03 million baht. We wonder if that includes any of the massage parlor empire?

Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared assets worth 53.944 million baht while his former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban proves that debts may also be a measure of wealth as he declared outstanding debts of 347.578 million baht and assets of 210.95 million. When he left office, Suthep declared assets worth 95.64 million baht, up from 81.607 million when the military hoisted Abhisit’s government into power. It seems that his assets and debts have increased very substantially. Suthep said he owed 248.57 million baht to the Islamic Bank of Thailand. We wonder if his loan their followed The Islamic Bank of Thailand Act, B.E. 2545, which stipulates that the bank operates a financial business that are not related to interests
(riba) or against Islamic principles?

The other surprise is former defense minister General Prawit Wongsuwan who has assets worth 79.063 million baht, sharply up from the 9.39 million he declared a year ago. It never ceases to amaze that poorly paid generals can do so well. A 70 million gain in a year suggests Prawit is a financial genius who has found a second skill late in life (probably not).

Updated: Sex, football and Newin

Readers may have wondered what happened to Newin Chidchob after his Bhum Jai Thai Party did so poorly in the 2011 election. Even if readers didn’t wonder and dread the day – not too far off – when Thailand’s vote-buyer-in-chief is off suspension, PPT has some updates, and they all relate to sex and football.

Over the past week, there has been a flurry of news and blog posts damning politicians for semi-naked (lower half ) photos appearing on the parliamentary video screens inside the chamber and a Democrat Party politician for looking at erotic photos while attending a session of the parliament.

None of that seems to bother the provincial politician in Newin. Back in March it was revealed that he was about to bring famouse Japanese porn stars to his Buriram for Songkhran celebrations. There wasn’t much outrage expressed, even when Newin said that “the Japanese performers would not be any naughtier than local dancers…”. No outrage so he brought them in.

The Bangkok Post reports that the Tourism Authority of Thailand said the new year holiday generated about “4.5 billion baht of tourism revenue in 13 provinces” where it sponsored events. The report adds that the TAT said the celebration had been “very lively.”

A Bangkok Post photo

TAT didn’t sponsor the events in Buriram – that was left to the local boss – but it was particularly “lively” there.

In Buri Ram, XXX marked the spot, as seen in the photos, with the second depicting one of the most famous of Japanese performers in adult movies.

Why would Newin be up to these tricks, no pun intended? Certainly, he wants as much economic activity in Buriram as possible, and for him, porn stars and football seem to go together. It also further builds his nak leng reputation. Football and porn seem to be positioned as a kind of political alternative to the “populism” of the major political parties.

A Bangkok Post photo

In football, Newin has invested a fortune in his Buriram team, which has rocketed to the top of the Thai Premier League. That league has long been a corrupt organization, often under the wing of influential military men. But Newin has shaken it up.

In recent weeks, Newin has reportedly begun asking questions about “missing money” at the TPL. Remarkably, this leads The Nation to state: “the league needs a man like Newin, the politician-turned-football club owner who took the avatar of a whistleblower, to clean up and improve the league.”

The idea that Newin could clean up anything is remarkable. That he could clean up football suggests it’s pretty deeply flawed. But perhaps the important lesson is for Thaksin Shinawatra: if Newin can be rehabilitated time and again, Thaksin’s got to be thinking that his chances are also pretty good.

Enjoy this Sunday fun.

Updated: More Sunday fun as the Democrat Party defend their man of porn.

Further updated: True, CP and the Abhisit government

When the Democrat Party was the Army’s surrogate ruling political party it often alleged that business deals done by Thaksin Shinawatra and his various governments wreaked of cronyism. There was certainly some of that.

But of course, so does the Democrat Party smell on these things. Worse, it had an enormous credibility problem in its arranged marriage of coalition parties with yet another Army crony party,  Bhum Jai Thai. That party managed a range of crony relationships while in government. In order to stay in power, the Democrat Party was complicit in a range of cosy deals.

One that has recently come to light is reported at the Bangkok Post. In this report, Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap has intimated that:

True Corp’s 3G network deal with state-owned CAT Telecom has been found to have been tainted with irregularities which could result in the 6 billion baht agreement being scrapped….

The True-CAT network deal was signed during the Abhisit [Vejjajiva] administration, and through True’s purchase of  Hong Kong company Hutchison’s (Hutch) operations in Thailand, gave True the right to use the Hutch network and to aggressively market 3G wireless while “its major competitors _ Advanced Info Service (AIS) and Total Access Communication (Dtac) _ are still awaiting a decision on whether there will be a 3G licence auction this year.”

The ICT made “five points in its investigation of the True-CAT contract that raised questions about the legality and legitimacy of the deal” that were listed by Anudith:

First, the “panel found there had been an indirect political instruction on April 7, 2010″ when former ICT minister Ranongruk Suwunchwee under Abhisit “for CAT to buy Hutch’s network in 25 provinces in the Central region from Hutch. Under a later ICT minister for the Abhisit government, Juti Krairiksh, the CAT-Hutch deal collapsed. “The collapse of the CAT-Hutch deal enabled True and CAT to enter quickly into a deal under a new business model drawn up by True and the state firm.” The contracts were “rapidly signed” on 26 January 2011.

Second, “CAT had bypassed the cabinet and the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) in terminating the CDMA mobile service in 25 central provinces with Hutch and its affiliate to enter into the new deal with True.”

Third, “CAT had violated the ICT Ministry’s work procedures in going ahead with the deal with True.”

Fourth, CAT didn’t consult the NESDB and the Council of State as required following “the go-ahead for its request to enter into a business deal with True on Dec 28, 2010.”

Fifth, CAT “asked the ICT to scrap the state enterprise’s original CDMA investment plan, and it switched to a new rental equipment agreement with True worth 12 billion baht.” It is stated that “CAT had no authority to enter into the new agreement. It could also be a violation of the 1992 Public-Private Joint Venture Act, which requires scrutiny of any public-private venture worth more than 1 billion baht.”

Not unexpectedly, True has “denied any wrongdoing.” The company’s vice-chairman Athueck Asvanund, said “the ICT report did not identify any specific points in the contract that violated the law.” he added: “The issues raised are political…”.

While PPT knows little about all the technical material, since the True representative raises “politics,” it is probably worth looking at this a little more.  At True’s website, the company describes itself in this manner:

Backed by Asia’s largest agro-conglomerate, the Charoen Pokphand Group (“CP”), with a shareholding of 30.02% as of December 2007, True has expanded its business from being a fixed-line provider to a total communications solutions provider, offering consumers, small and medium enterprises, and corporations a full range of voice, video and data services in solutions customized to meet their needs.  We are Thailand’s largest provider of Internet, consumer broadband Internet and pay-TV services, as well as the largest fixed-line service provider in the BMA, a leading online game provider and the number three mobile phone operator in Thailand.

True’s board, apart from being dominated by the Chearavanont family and a swathe of directors with long links to CP, includes some significant family names: Vejjajiva, Tulanonda and Srisa-an.

The Vejjajiva link is interesting, especially as Vitthaya Vejjajiva has a link to the Bangkok Post and projects like this one that brings together major royalist groups:

The project is advised by Visanu Krue-ngam (chairman), Borwornsak Uwanno, Tongthong Chandrangsu and Vitthaya Vejjajiva. It is sponsored by Bangkok Bank, the Central Group, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Jim Thompson, PTT, the Crown Property Bureau, Ch Karnchang Plc, Bangkok Expressway Plc and Thai Tap Water Plc.

True is part of the sprawling, patriarchal giant of a conglomerate known as CP, which at its website states it has:

businesses and affiliates operating within the agribusiness, retail and telecommunications markets, we currently employ over 250,000 people whom conduct our investments, operations and trading at factories and offices worldwide. Our sales at the end of 2010 were USD30 billion.

CP has three companies listed at the Stock Exchange of Thailand: True, Charoen Pokphand Foods and CP ALL. Directors at the latter two companies add to the significant names: Asa Sarasin is probably the most notable, as the king’s Principal Private Secretary, and mentioned in several Wikileaks cables around the time of the 2006 coup. Another is Police General Kowit Wattana, a Puea Thai big shot associated with the royalist Village Scout movement, who stepped down from CP when he became Deputy Prime Minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government.

The point is that CP is very well connected. Most of its links, Kowit not withstanding, are with the royal establishment. In line with this, one website notes this for Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, saying he:

… has served as a director and advisor for numerous large Thai companies. In early 2007, he resigned as chief adviser of the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group in order to distance himself from a junta-led corruption investigation. The investigation concerned alleged bid rigging in a para rubber saplings supply contract granted during the Thaksin government when Prem had still held his position in the Group.

The resignation refers to the case – eventually dismissed – that involved Thaksin Shinawatra minister Newin Chidchob, who had flipped his support to the Democrat Party in 2008.

In this political context, was the deal done by the Abhisit government an example of cronyism?

Update 1: A regular reader has sent us two links that seem highly relevant for this post- see here and here. That the king receives Dhanin Chearavanont and other CP executives who are handing over money to be used at the royal pleasure is significant the task of gathering the money is usually assigned to other members of the family. The recognition that Dhanin deserves an audience with the king is exceptional and carries great meaning. The royal news at ASTV is also worth watching as it is something of a record at almost 37 minutes and after the king, features the women of the court on royal travel and others doing their local duties.

In addition, that reader points out another potential link to our post in the recent Democrat Party attacks on Minister Anudith, seeking to have him investigated for “unusual wealth.” Is this a pre-emptive strike against the minister?

Update 2: Another regular reader points out that in listing the Vejjajiva connection with CP, we should have pointed out that Abhisit’s father, Athasit, is a board member at CP Foods (see link above).

Updated: Newin, Japanese porn and Buriram politics

Some time ago, PPT took to posting funny, odd or quirky posts related to politics on weekends. We haven’t done that for some time, but can’t resist it today.

The Wall Street Journal carries a rather odd story about Buriram’s political chameleon and champion vote buyer-cum-royalist-cum-football promoter Newin Chidchob. First some background and serious stuff.

Newin and Abhisit with their kit on

Newin is the politician who left the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra fold to have his allied politicians join the Army-brokered deal to hoist the Democrat Party to government and Abhisit Vejjajiva to the premiership in December 2008.

His supporters formed the Bhum Jai Thai Party that grabbed important ministerial posts under Abhisit and milked them for political, personal and financial gain. Newin’s blue shirts also played a significant role in instigating the initial violence that led to the red shirt’s Songkhran uprising. Newin also pioneered the contemporary mobilization of ultra-royalists through fostering a campaign that painted the crown as under threat.

Newin, whose 5-year political ban is coming to an end in May, has been concentrating his recent efforts on consolidating his control in his home province of Buriram after cracks appeared in the 2011 election. His promotion of football has been a big part of this effort.

Like many old-style and wealthy provincial politicians Newin has a thuggish nak leng/gangster chao phor character. Often arrogant, men of this ilk often do things that raise eyebrows and draw criticism.

Now to Newin’s latest “coup.” The WSJ claims that he “plans to import a team of Japanese adult video [porn] stars to liven up the Thai New Year celebrations in his hometown of Buriram.” He appears to believe that “having stars from Japan’s pornography industry dance and sing at Buriram’s celebrations” would be good for tourism.

Newin told “local television this week, … [that] the Japanese performers would not be any naughtier than local dancers…”. Newin said that celebrations of Songkhran were already raunchy in Thailand, so why not add the foreign porn stars. We doubt Newin will be getting naked in public.

It is one of those “huh?/”really?” stories from provincial Thailand that brings a chuckle but incredulity as well. As the report points out, it isn’t “clear why Mr. Newin is stirring up what he surely knows to be a hornet’s nest. He couldn’t immediately be reached for further comment.” The WSJ speculates on tourism and politics and embarrassing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra while she is in Japan, as well as simply getting attention.

The WSJ reckons this plan will cause Newin political damage. Somehow we doubt it. Newin wants crowds, and this wacky idea will do that for him.

Update: An eagle-eyed reader has pointed out that we missed an important connection for Newin, and not nearly so wacky as the Japanese porno link. This most serious link was reported a few days ago in Prachatai, referring to one of the thuggish twins Supot and Supat Silarat who were kind of jailed for bashing Nitirat activist Worachet Pakeerut.

Matichon reported on 6 March that, according to Somsak Puapan, Thanyaburi District Chief, in Nov 2010 Suphot registered a semi-automatic .45 pistol, which was distributed in a government officials’ welfare programme, using an identification card as a volunteer ranger attached to Ranger Taskforce 26 in Buriram province, issued by a colonel in May 2008 which expired in May 2010.

Suphat also used a similar identification card to register two semi-automatic 9mm pistols, a Beretta and an NZU 707 Glock, the latter distributed to officials of the Department of Provincial Administration.

Readers may recall that Newin has long mobilized “volunteer rangers” and some of these were said by some to be the core of the blue shirts. The idea that the twins could be Newin’s hired or “volunteer” thugs is highly likely.

Wikileaks: more on HRW and the coup IV

This  is the fifth of our posts on Human Rights Watch and the events that unfolded following the 2006 coup. Wikileaks has 58 cables mentioning HRW in Thailand, the majority related to events in the South. Yes, we know the number is IV, but the first one had a different title, so it is five. In this post, as in the previous instances, we look at cables about political struggles.

Our earlier posts may be found here, here, here and here.

In this post we look at a cable from 29 August 2007. This cable is a discussion and reporting of growing dissension over the military junta’s 2007 Constitution and forthcoming elections. The cable is signed by U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce, reporting on a visit by senior State Department visitor Scot Marciel.

The cable summary is telling:

Two contacts warned that the biggest threat to the coming vote would likely be vote-buying by former PM Thaksin supporters. Both a leading economist and human rights officials said that the ousted-PM’s allies could very well win and form the next government. This same human rights official and a [Democrat Party] politician denied that the new constitution hands greater power to the military and expressed frustration with “inaccurate western” media reporting on this topic.

Democrat Party Deputy Leader and former banker Korn Chatikavanij is cited first. Readers interested in HRW will need to read through Korn’s account in order to contextualize HRW’s position.

Korn is reported to have “pushed back strongly on western media criticism of the new charter.” He is quoted:  “I find it amusing when I hear foreign journalists say this one is less democratic.” This is because Korn reckons that in “some ways” the military-backed constitution is “much more democratic.”

Korn is reported to be adamant: “This is not a pro-military constitution.” He gets even more excited and inaccurate when he states, according to the cable: “The military got almost nothing that it wanted from the constitution.” In fact, as we will note below, it is Korn who is misrepresenting the constitution.

While excited in denying the obvious, Korn’s lack of enthusiasm for the election is then revealed, together with the legendary laziness and arrogance of the aristocrats in the Democrat Party:

Korn lamented the raft of inaccurate media characterizations of the Thai political situation. Asked if he and other Democrat Party politicians have tried to correct these reports, Korn said, “it’s too hard to explain the complexity of the situation here. We figure, let’s just have the election, which is what the world wants. The world doesn’t care about the details.”

Given that there had been widespread and accurate reports of the military intervening repeatedly in the referendum in order to ensure it passed, Korn is justifiably asked if he thinks the military will be even more determined in the election. He is reported to have responded by getting a little excited again, saying:

you’re concerned about the military, but I’m concerned about Thaksin [Shinawatra]‘s money. Washington should be equally concerned about Thaksin’s money. Thaksin has never played fair; there needs to be a counter-balance of power.

Korn wouldn’t be concerned about the military because it worked in the interests of the Democrat Party. In fact, it was the military that wasn’t playing fair, changing the rules and cashing up for the election. Korn is repeatedly disingenuous in his responses, but is also indicating his firm support for the military.

Interestingly, Korn seems to already know the winner of the election:

Korn said that Thaksin will attempt to destabilize the next government, cause chaos, and create a void that only the ousted PM can fill.

Of course, Korn and the military were stymied by the result and Plan B was put into action, with the People’s Alliance for Democracy, the Democrat Party, judiciary and the military destabilizing the elected government, causing chaos, and creating a void that the military and palace would only allow the Democrat Party to fill.

HRW’s Sunai Phasuk also met Marciel. Interestingly, Sunai begins by discounting the “details of the constitution, because it can only be changed by the next government.” Of course, the elite, PAD and military have not permitted this and use it as a reason for overthrowing elected governments.

It is revealing, though, that Sunai, like Korn, should be “critical of western media reporting that the new charter handed the military more power.” He is reported to have stated:

“This is incorrect.” Sunai … explained that the new charter shifts some power from the old, ostensibly non-partisan Senate, to the courts and bureaucracy, not the military. The new government will be weaker than those under the 1997 constitution and subject to more scrutiny by politicians and the people, “which is not a bad thing.”

Of course, this is disingenuously playing with semantics. The military moved power away from elected politicians and to appointees controlled by the military and the royalist elite. In addition, the constitution made the military and its huge and vastly increased budget less subject to scrutiny.

It is remarkable that the HRW person on the ground is unable to admit that the constitution was enacted in the interests of the military and the royalist elite.

At least Sunai acknowledges that “Human Rights Watch is concerned about inappropriate influence by both the military and Thaksin in the next election.” At the same time, it is astonishing that Thaksin and the military are equated as equal powers.

Sunai went on to (again) show his pro-military bias when he is reported to have pointed out that the military and its government did poorly on the constitutional referendum only because of their “ineffectiveness” in “pushing for public support of the charter in areas dominated by Thaksin supporters, even in areas under martial law.” It seems Sunai thinks the military-backed government should have used its huge advantages to push and win.

Sunai then goes on to expound his view that the former TRT engages in “vote-buying and other fraud.” He then describes Thaksin as “the mother of allvote-buyers.”

Several academic articles and innumerable media reports at the time pointed out that Thaksin-backed parties actually spent rather limited amounts. In fact, by 2011, relatively little spending was required of the Puea Thai Party. But Sunai’s claim was and is a lodestone of PAD and Democrat Party claims against pro-Thaksin parties. Such claims continue to be made today, even when the evidence is scant. The evidence that exists shows the Democrat Party, military and the pro-militiary Bhum Jai Thai Party being big spenders.

Sunai is then reported to have lamented that a pro-Thaksin party could win the upcoming election. He states:

If the RTG was capable and serious in its intention to rid the country of Thaksin, this would not even be possible, let alone likely.

Lamenting a claimed incapacity to fix an election result seems an odd and deeply yellow-shirted claim from someone in his position with HRW.

Believing your own messages

It is important to be able to distinguish between political fiction and fact. However, when political battles extend over several years and when the means of communication have expanded so massively, so protagonists actually come to believe their own propaganda. A case in point is the extreme yellow-shirted senator Rosana Tositrakul, who is the head of a Senate committee on graft and good governance.

Rosana’s views have become more extreme over the years that she has dedicated herself to hating and opposing Thaksin Shinawatra and all associated with him. Her most recent comments on the burglary at the house of transport permanent secretary Supoj Saplom. Rosana actually “expressed doubts that money seized from the arrested suspects really belonged to Mr Supoj.” Remarkably, the head of the Senate committee on graft and good governance “wondered if the money came from another source and whether the robbery was a frame-up. She also commented that the damaged party seemed to have become a suspect.”

Given that the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Anti-Money Laundering Office are investigating the case, PPT began wondering why Rosana would defend Supoj. We were equally taken aback by the Bangkok Post’s decision to call the case a “mystery” that “deepened … when a Senate panel suggested the crime was politically motivated and a frame-up.”

PPT’s ruminations led us to a series of yellow-shirt emails that claim – with no evidence at all – that Supoj was holding the money for either Thaksin or banned Thai Rak Thai Party politician Sudarat Keyuraphan. These emails have been sent all over the place. It seems clear that this is where Rosana is getting her information and, despite the lack of any evidence, she trots this stuff out.

Of course, current Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung reckons that Supoj was in bed with the culprits at the Bhum Jai Thai Party. He hasn’t produced any evidence either.

Other stories doing the rounds of the electronic mail include a claim that Supoj was done down by his secretary, who was also a long-term mistress, spurned on the orders of the major wife. But that rumor doesn’t say why Supoj had so much loot at home.

A point Chalerm made that rings true is that “not only [corrupt] government officials but also many [corrupt] politicians like to keep cash at home.” At this point, PPT would not jump for political rumors, but would point out that transport and communications are amongst the plum jobs for senior bureaucrats because they offer such lucrative opportunities for “unusual wealth.”

As permanent secretary at the Ministry of Transport, chairman of the State Railways of Thailand and earlier Director of the Highways Department and also the Rural Roads Department, Supoj had several neat perch from which to seek extra income. These positions are widely known to be extremely lucrative.

It seems to us that Rosana has become a slave to her own propaganda and speculation (and perhaps Chalerm too). That slavish devotion to a political cause could cause political blindness. There might well be that there is a “normal” explanation for a bureaucrat having great and unexplained wealth.

Meanwhile, in another example of believing your own message, the Bangkok Post reports that former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban showed up at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to testify to a panel investigating the deaths of red shirt protesters in April and May 2010.

Suthep reportedly “insists security forces involved in containing red shirt protesters during last year’s political violence had performed their duties within the law.” PPT reckons that’s an easy claim to make as the emergency decree pretty much granted the authorities the right to anything they wanted.

His other claim is more controversial and has been his mantra throughout. He stated: “Security forces had performed their duties based on my orders. There was no violence while they were performing their duties.” Further, he stated categorically that “security forces had carried out their duties and their operation [on 10 April] had not caused any deaths…”. He has always claimed that security forces killed no one and that all deaths were a result of attacks by mysterious and never apprehended “men in black.”

If you say it enough it seems you come to believe it.

Yingluck is PM and Jatuporn has bail

This is mainly a post of record, noting the expected rise of Yingluck Shinawatra to the premiership and the long-awaited release on bail of red shirt leader and Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan.

The Bangkok Post states that a “total of 296 MPs voted in support of Ms Yingluck, the country’s first female prime minister, while three MPs voted against her, with 197 abstentions by the opposition, including the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties.” It adds that the “opposition did not nominate a candidate for the top job.”

Amongst other things we hope that Yingluck’s administration will seek to promote long-neglected human rights issues, including the reform/abolition of the lese majeste and computer crimes laws. Indeed, her administration must undo much of the degradation of human rights that took place under the military-backed, royalist regime fronted by Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The Post also reports on the position of Jatuporn, released on bail, with another red-shirt leader Nisit Sinthuprai. Jatuporn reported for duty at parliament. He continues to face charges of terrorism and lese majeste.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship chair Thida Tawornsate Tojirakarn led other red shirts in demanding “that remaining red-shirt leaders and supporters in detention over last year’s protests be released on bail if the government was serious about achieving national reconciliation.”

Thida said that the UDD “would monitor red shirt MPs’ performance in the House to ensure they adhere to the democratic principle.”

Why we are not surprised V

It is not a surprise to see the Bangkok Post reporting that the People’s Alliance for Democracy “has asked the Supreme Court’s Election Cases Division to declare the July 3 election null and void.” Yes, that’s the same PAD that opposed an election and then campaigned for a “No Vote,” and was roundly rejected by the electorate.

PPT sees their strategy as one that is meant to spoil and soil the very idea of voting for political parties in a representative democracy. The ever more balmy yellow ones want to bury the democratic process because they want a political system led by the unelected “good” people of Thailand, backed by some kind of mandate from heaven.

Oddly, we agree with the yellow pack on the failure of the politicized and incompetent Election Commission that denied millions their voting right. The EC should be investigated and, if appropriate, sanctioned.

PAD is also trying to inflate its “No Vote.” In a second lawsuit it claims that “election officials at some units did not count ballots with ‘no votes’ on them but treated them as invalid…”. PPT is sceptical.

Meanwhile, PAD’s ally, the so-called People’s Council of Thailand, has demanded that the EC “disband six parties, including the Democrats and Pheu Thai [with Bhum Jai Thai, Chart Thai Pattana, Chart Pattana Puea Pandin and Phalang Chon], for allegedly allowing banned politicians to join in political activities.” This claim is made by PCT secretary-general Chaiwat Sinsuwong.

PPT wonders how many people actually know about the tiny People’s Council of Thailand that claims to speak for them all? PCT’s claim is a part of the same process of undermining the electoral process that is fundamental to a functioning democracy.

An arm wrestle and more is guaranteed between those wanting to push the EC (and the behind the scenes operators) and the red shirts.

Also on the unsurprising list is the threats made by Army boss Prayuth Chan-ocha, also reported in the Bangkok Post. The voluble Prayuth has been unable to keep his trap shut and barked his latest “orders” to journalists.

The Army chief, who has worked for a coup in 2006, been in charge of vicious crackdowns against protesters, expanded repression throughout the country, and had people sent to jail for alleged offences against a declining monarchy, “has brushed off worries about his fate at the hands of the next government, saying he has done nothing wrong as he has performed his duty as a soldier.”

In a sense, PPT can’t argue with the statement that “he has performed his duty as a soldier.” In fact, the Thai Army’s main job is repression. It has been responsible for the deaths of an unknown number of civilians over many years. But the statement, “I didn’t do anything wrong” is one that begs too many questions. We doubt that Prayuth is able to distinguish between right and wrong in any moral sense.

The claim he makes that “the military has done its best to restore order and normalcy in the country over the past few years, and the public should give moral support to soldiers” is simply rubbish. The military in Thailand is part of the problem, and its 2006 coup is the cornerstone of the political crisis.

It is then that Prayuth makes comments that suggest he is spilling his marbles: “The army belongs to the people and is ready to perform its duty to the fullest. If the army is weak, the country won’t be safe and may be in danger…”. A plea for support by the public may have some support, but many will see it as a statement of determination by the Army to remain well-funded and a law unto itself.

He engaged in his usual rant about the military being “duty-bound to protect Thailand’s three institutional pillars – the nation, religion and the monarchy.” That statement is a justification for repression and impunity.

Startlingly, Prayuth “warned that there should be no attempts to interfere in military affairs. The military has performed its duty as stated in the constitution and law…”. The constitution he presumably refers to is the 2007 version, drawn up by the military. Of course Prayuth and his buddies overthrew the 1997 Constitution in a demonstrably illegal act. Warning a government not to interfere with a military that should be under its control is a threat of mutiny. In most countries, such a statement would see the Army boss removed from his position. Prayuth should go now and spare Thailand further acts of military bastardry.

We are not surprised by Prayuth, just completely appalled by his impudence and by the fact that he is completely out of touch with political realities in what is meant to be a democratic country. We don’t think it will be long before Prayuth will symbolically match PAD (again) in opposing an elected government. His clash with the red shirts is bound to intensify.

 

 

Why we are not surprised IV

It is about a month since we had our third post in this series. It’s time for the fourth post, as a series of summaries of unsurprising news reports.

1. Bangkok Pundit has an important post on ballot irregularities. His comments should be read in conjunction with the comments, which refer to other claims of ballot problems for overseas voters. We are not surprised that the Election Commission could make such a “mistake” with the Puea Thai Party logo. PPT can confirm the comment made on BP’s post that claims the EC documents sent to voters use a different logo for Puea Thai than that in the ballots. That can only confuse voters, especially for party list. Remember when Election Commissioners were jailed a few years ago. We are willing to bet that these commissioners are treated better.

2. Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn is reported to have said that “he was a government official and not a member of any political party.” PPT has never expected that this unscrupulous person was anything less than a Privy Council and Army connected toady. He’s paid to be a professional sycophant. But who pays him? If he is a government official, why is he shadowing Abhisit Vejjajiva on the campaign trail? Isn’t this a form of corruption? Has he quietly resigned from his acting position? We wouldn’t be surprised to find Panitan pilfering the public purse.

3. Can readers remember the reports of a week ago when Army boss General Prayuth Chan-ocha declared that he’d keep quiet until the election? We are not surprised that just a week later, the mega-mouth general has been at it again. This time he has rejected the Puea Thai election policy to make the three southern border provinces a special administrative zone. He couldn’t help himself.

4. We weren’t at all surprised to learn that the leader of the Bhum Jai Thai Party Newin Chidchob has demanded that all the supporters of his top-ranked Thai Premier League team Buriram PEA vote for his party. Okay, he’s not the official leader, but everyone knows he’s the boss. Newin has spent billions and a couple of years building what he said was an apolitical effort to lead a great soccer team. Everyone knew that this was a way to get “automatic” support for Newin’s party. Does any of that spending count as election campaign spending? Probably not for this EC.

5. Former People’s Alliance for Democracy, pink shirt, multi-color shirt leader and anti-red shirt Tul Sitthisomwong, who is now a leader of the so-called Civil Network Against Thaksin’s Corruption Pardon just ended a four-day signature campaign that asked people to file complaints against Puea Thai’s Yingluck Shinawatra. He gathered a paltry 4,000 signatures, but beamed when he claimed “[t]he majority does not necessarily equate with righteousness.” We were not surprised when he stated: “If and when [Pheu Thai] becomes the government and takes any action, we will come out in opposition again.” Of course they will!

Forget the election

It is probably already time to move beyond the election. Why? It seems that while the Democrat Party has seemingly descending into a negative campaign, this is not simply a desperate attempt to turn the flow of votes to the Puea Thai Party. Rather, this approach is part of a campaign to destabilize any pro-Thaksin Shinawatra government that results from the election.

The past few days have indicated the broad shape of this campaign. First, the military brass have shown that it won’t countenance a Puea Thai government for long.

Second, the attacks on red shirts that are unceasing and the provocations directed to them are attempting to provoke more violence. Keeping senior red shirts locked up continues as Jatuporn Promphan and Nisit Sinthuprai have again been denied bail. Keeping your opponents locked up may be a pathetic strategy, but it does show where the courts stand.

Third, there is a broad and coordinated attack on Yingluck Shinawatra and Puea Thai. PPT has mentioned the Election Commission investigating “heckling.” The EC has now even encouraged Suthep Thaugsuban to lodge an official complaint. This approach is now going further, with the People’s Alliance for Democracy petitioning the EC to dissolve the Puea Thai Party. The reason given is that the party is said to be “under the directives of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who is under a five-year political ban.”

We don’t expect that this will go far as the EC would probably also need to dissolve Bhum Jai Thai and several others. PAD might like that, but we suspect it isn’t desirable to throw out potential political allies. Even so, we think the dissolution route is likely.

A further attack is the revived Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that we mentioned in an earlier post. It is now clear that the pressure on the SEC was not just from PAD’s Tul Sitthisomwong and the rabid anti-Thaksin lawyer Kaewsan Atibhodhi. The Bangkok Post reports that the pressure has come from caretaker Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij. He is said to have “demanded the Securities and Exchange Commission clarify within one week the legal position of Pheu Thai No.1 list candidate Yingluck Shinawatra.” Korn is apparently urging the SEC to reconsider the legality of Ms Yingluck’s shares report in the asset concealment case against Thaksin.” He stated: “The SEC has not clarified all questions…. My legal team inspecting the case has found evidence of possibly illegal acts.”

There are two items in this report that demand attention: (1) should a caretaker minister be making political orders? and (2) Korn is back in bed with his PAD buddies. Expect much more of this linking of the Democrat Party and its allies from 2005, even if some reckon PAD has gone off the party.

This is clearly the beginning of a campaign to render a Puea Thai government – if there is one – weak, prior to getting rid of it. If Thailand had ground hogs, it would feel like the movie and Bill Murray would play Prem Tinsulanonda.