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Baht&Sold Thailand // View topic - Reds losing the plot? Thai PM tells UK Thailand is back

'We're back on the map', govt to tell UK The Nation March 13, 2009 The government will send a message to the people of the United Kingdom that Thailand "is back on the map" , said Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij shortly before boarding his flight to London on Thursday night to attend the G-20 finance ministers' meeting today. Korn was speaking during a dinner to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British Chevening Scholarship in Thailand.

He was a guest of honour at the British Embassy. On education, Korn said well-to-do and educated Thais should strive harder to extend quality education to less fortunate citizens. British Ambassador Quinton Quayle said 300 Thais had benefited from the Chevening scholarships and he was proud that Korn, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra had been educated at Oxford University. Quayle said about 7,000 Thais were currently studying in the UK, more in the United States. Thaksin's influence waning Straits Times Singapore Mar 14, 2009 BANGKOK, March 14 — Can former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra be finally written off?

Ousted in a 2006 military coup after serving as prime minister for six years, he is now facing his latest legal challenge: The Abhisit government moved to extradite him to serve a jail term in Thailand.

Thaksin has claimed that this does not worry him.

“The extradition is for political purposes.

Abhisit just wants to embarrass me,” he says. But there are many signs that Thaksin's influence is indeed waning.

The Thai media and even some of his loyalists are beginning to treat his statements like a broken record.

He may have lost his political momentum. In the past few months since Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power, Thaksin has released a number of political statements, either through video messages or phone-ins to the many gatherings organised by his red-shirted supporters. The objective is clear: To ingrain his image in the minds of the Thai people.

He might well have screamed: Do not forget me! But why is he at risk of being forgotten? It is primarily because he has offered little that is new to transform Thai politics, which is now being steered by the Democrat Party, with the military standing in the shadows.

True, the opposition Puea Thai Party has filed a motion to impeach Abhisit.

But he is likely to survive the move because he has enough support in Parliament. Also, Thaksin's activities abroad, designed to reduce the current government's credibility in the eyes of the world, have proven ineffective.

His political messages have been perceived as repetitive, redundant and self-serving . He keeps harping on a number of recurrent themes.

He claims that he and his wife have been treated unfairly;

That he did nothing wrong and never approved any misconduct or corrupt practices while he was in power;

That he was falsely accused of being disloyal to the monarchy — an accusation that led, he says now, to his downfall. Claiming repeatedly to be a target of assassination, he has vowed to fight to the death for the return of justice and democracy in his motherland. But what exactly has Thaksin been fighting for?

What are his real motives in flooding the airwaves with messages calling for justice? His opponents argue that this “justice” has to do with the 76 billion baht in assets, earned from the sale of his Shin Corp shares, that have been ordered frozen by the now-defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee.

Thaksin has declared his innocence, insisting that he has never stolen anything from the state and that every baht earned by his companies was legal. Money has become a determining factor in prolonging his political life.

It has even been said that the anti-government protesters in red shirts were paid to participate in demonstrations. Now that Thaksin is a lot poorer, a fugitive and on the verge of being extradited from wherever he lives in the world, his time in Thai politics may finally come to an end. Moreover, there have been splits within the Puea Thai Party, a reincarnation of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party, and among his red-shirted backers.

These divisions have been deepened by the Abhisit government, which has brought some sense of stability back to the country. Thaksin was once a legend but he is drifting away from Thailand's mainstream politics.

He fails to understand that waging a war of words via the airwaves will not secure the justice he wants for himself and his family. If he wishes to return to the political limelight, his only option is to go home and defend himself against all the charges against him. But that would be a long and bitter process. Aides deny Thaksin royal-pardon request The Nation March 14, 2009 Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra did not seek a royal pardon for the jail term he received for abuse of power, his close aides said yesterday. They rejected a report that appeared the day before in The Japan Times newspaper. Natthawut Saikua, a pro-Thaksin politician who is also a red-shirt leader, explained what Thaksin said in his interview with the Japanese daily was that he had submitted three reports about Thailand's political turmoil to His Majesty the King. Thaksin's secretary, Pongthep Thepkanchana, yesterday said the deposed PM did give an interview to The Japan Times but never said he requested a royal pardon in writing. In its report on Thursday, the Japanese newspaper Quote: d Thaksin as saying he wrote HM the King three letters because he believed in His Majesty's kindness and wisdom. "If I get a pardon, I know my supporters would be happy, and we would not need to fight back any more and prove anything," he was Quote: d as saying. Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday issued a statement that the Office of His Majesty's Private Secretary had never obtained any request from Thaksin seeking a royal pardon. The ministry said its statement was issued after it had received many inquiries from foreign media about the report. In a related development, the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) yesterday announced the formation of a four-man team to negotiate with Hong Kong authorities about the extradition of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who regularly visits Chinese territory. Sirisak Tiyapan, director-general of the OAG's Foreign Litigation Department, said Attorney-General Chaikasem Nitisiri had appointed him to head a team consisting of three people from his agency and one police officer. The team will arrive in Hong Kong, which is a Chinese special administrative region, next Tuesday to work out an extradition agreement. Sirisak said he believed the initial meeting would address the issue in principle as opposed to reciprocating but could not say how many meetings would be needed before the two sides could reach an agreement. The team is expected to stay in Hong Kong at least two days, he said. Oxford researcher clarifies his e-mail against Thai PM The Nation March 14, 2009 An Oxford University researcher who criticised Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's plan to give a speech at its St John's College clarified his statement yesterday, claiming that he did not intend to oppose the PM and the event. Lee Jones said his March 6 e-mail to the dean of St John's College was private and written in haste. In his posting at his website www.leejones.tk, Jones said the e-mail had been leaked to the Thai website Prachatai and Thai newspapers without his permission. He said he had also just learned that the opposition Pheu Thai Party had called a press conference to draw attention to his e-mail, to discredit Abhisit and his government. The researcher clarified that it was never his intention for his e-mail to serve as "ammunition" to Pheu Thai in its attack on Abhisit or his government. "Those who are using this e-mail to do this are doing so unscrupulously and without my consent," he wrote. Jones said it also was not his wish to have the prime minister prevented from giving his speech at Oxford. "I was not calling for Mr Abhisit to be disinvited from speaking at Oxford … I regret that my e-mail gives the impression that I wished Mr Abhisit to be barred from speaking," he wrote. Thailand ready to welcome British investors: PM LONDON, March 14 (TNA) -- Visiting Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand was ready to welcome more British investors as the kingdom's political life has returned to normal and the government had put its utmost effort into stimulating the economy. Mr.

Abhisit, midway in a three-day official visit to Britain, met leading business figures in London Friday and briefed them on his government’s attempts to resolve Thailand’s political problems through a process of reform, as well as its approaches to revive the Thai economy, much impacted by global financial crisis. The prime minister said most British businessmen he met expressed optimism regarding Thai politics, seeing the kingdom moving toward improvement, and a number of them said they could expand their investment in Thailand. The British business community’s determination to do business with Thailand will help ease Thai worries regarding the strict trade regulations earlier imposed by the European Union (EU), Mr.

Abhisit said, referring to British help in frozen chicken negotiations with the EU. Thailand is ready to welcome British investors, Mr.

Abhisit emphasised when addressing a group of business leaders, reporting that the national leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Thailand recently unanimously agreed to oppose protectionism and endorses the freer flow of goods, services, capital investment and business operators. As the current chair of ASEAN, Mr.

Abhisit said he will join the G20 summit in London next month, and that he hopes it will help the world weather the global economic slump, both the G-20 and the poorer countries. He later presided at a promotional “Thailand Tourism Meeting” organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand. Mr.

Abhisit said Thailand and other ASEAN countries will promote a programme called “Asia’s 10 Perfect Paradises.” Thailand along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam are ASEAN members. On Saturday, Mr.

Abhisit will speak on democracy in Thai politics at St.

John’s College, meet the Thai community, call on Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and meet Thai students at the London School of Economics. He is scheduled to leave for Bangkok and arrive in Bangkok Sunday afternoon.

(TNA) New twist to the killing of 'Shipping Moo' Bangkok Post Mar 14, 2009 Police suspect a political motive could be behind the murder of Kornthep Viriya, better known as ''Shipping Moo,'' a key witness in the alleged tax evasion by a company owned by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family. It was earlier suspected his murder was linked to the drug trade. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Thanee Somboonsap said police have reasons to believe certain politicians had masterminded the murder. Kornthep was gunned down in Chiang Rai in March 2003. Three days before his death, his wife received a threatening call over his plan to testify in the alleged tax evasion of Shin Satellite Corp. Suthep's car pelted with eggs, water bottles in Pathum Thani The Nation Mar 14, 2009 Pathum Thani - Some 500 red-shirted protesters rallied in front of the Defence College Saturday morning and pelted the car of Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban with eggs and water bottles. A TV cameraman of Channel 5 was hit with an egg. Before Suthep arrived, the protesters also burned effigies of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep and burned mock-up coffins. Some 200 policemen were deployed to keep security and prevent the protesters from entering the college's compound. Photographer injured in ping pong bomb attack against Suthep's car The Nation Mar 14, 2009 Pathum Thani - A ping pong bomb was thrown at the car of Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban when it was driving through red-shirted protesters in Pathum Thani. Chatchai Kebui, a photographer of the Public Relations Department's Pathum Thani office, suffered minor injury on his stomach when he was hit by the bomb. The bomb was thrown at Suthep's car when it was leaving the National Defence College at 11:30 am. The explosion also terrified the protesters. Thaksin urges supporters to vote for Puea Thai in phone-ins Bangkok Post Mar 15, 2009 Thaksin Shinawatra made two phone-in addresses to supporters in Mukdahan and Ayutthaya yesterday, urging them to support his attempt to return to "serve the Thai people again" and vote for his ally the Puea Thai party. Thaksin, now in self-imposed exile abroad, started his 10-minute talk by greeting supporters in Mukdahan, who had not expected the call, with his customary words: "I miss Thailand very much." Some clapped their hands while others wept as his voice was heard. They were among more than 2,000 people who had gathered for the opening of a Puea Thai office, which was presided over by party leader Yongyuth Vichaidit earlier yesterday.

The party also introduced its parliament candidate Anurak Tangpanitan, the former mayor of Muang Mukdahan Municipality. During the phone-in, Thaksin said Puea Thai was the only party that could ensure his smooth return to "serve the Thai people again". Touching on the economic slump, he told people his experience could help Thailand through this difficult period within six months. In Ayutthaya, a larger crowd of about 30,000 joined a separate public address held by the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship at the provincial stadium. "I feel very lonely now," he told supporters there during a 30-minute talk . He said he was ready to make a phone-in address every day if people want it without caring whether his act would be opposed by the Democrat-led government. It was unclear where he made the calls from.

On Thursday, he made a video address to a gathering at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong from Dubai. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his cabinet ministers came under fire when Thaksin accused them of following some of his development models without a thorough knowledge of them. Thaksin gives Chalerm the nod The Nation March 15, 2009 Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has given Chalerm Yoobamrung the nod to become the new Pheu Thai Party leader, sources said yesterday. Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra has got his blessing to become the party's secretary-general, according to the sources. Yongyuth Wichaidit, who is not an MP, is currently the party leader and Suni Luangwichit the secretary-general.

Both have been criticised for being "unable" to take the party in the direction that its supremo expected.

Thaksin is pushing to replace them with Chalerm and Yingluck, the party sources said. The Constitution stipulates that the opposition leader must be an MP from a political party that has none of its members in the working Cabinet.

Veteran politician Chalerm is expected to be appointed opposition leader after he becomes Pheu Thai leader. Thaksin wanted his sister to be secretary-general since she was to all intents and purposes his representative, according to the sources. Pheu Thai MP for Nakhon Phanom Paijit Sriworakan said yesterday that the party would meet on March 24 to select a new leader, who was expected to be appointed opposition leader before the censure debate on March 26. Party MP for Loei Preecha Rengsomboonsuk said Pheu Thai would elect a new executive board to replace the one that was elected on December 7. Not many believe in Thaksin's words Bangkok Post Mar 15, 2009 A real time survey conducted by Abac Poll revealed that more than half of the respondents believed the government would not be able to extradite fugitive deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The survey examined the credibility of Thaksin's speeches following his phone-ins and press interviews.

The study involved respondents from 18 provinces across the country. According to the survey, 52.8 per cent did not believe the government could bring back Thaksin to the country. 57.7 per cent did not believe Thaksin's claim that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wanted him back due to political reasons, adding that the premier wanted to embarrass him. 50.5 per cent reckoned that the national situation would return to normal if Thaksin ends his political movement, while 50.4 per cent disagreed with the idea of drafting the national reconciliation bill, aimed at granting amnesty to banned politicians. 54.2 per cent believed Thaksin would seek loans to address the economy, should he return as prime minister again.

48.6 per cent viewed that having Thaksin as prime minister would not improve the economic situation. 48.3 per cent believed Mr Abhisit and his cabinet lacked the vision to restore the economy. 45.8 per cent predicted that the current government would last no more than a year. BLACK MAGIC POLITICS Bangkok Post/SANITSUDA EKACHAI Mar 16, 2009 Thai politics is not only about political one-upmanship through money, power and guns-it is also about the battle of black magic It appeared absurd to many: An occult ceremony to put a curse on the political foes of Thaksin Shinawatra and free him of his past karma as a prince warrior in ancient times who had much blood on his hands. Not to Bangkok Post military reporter Wassana Nanuam, however.

"That ritual only confirmed that the black magic war between Mr Thaksin and his enemies is still in full swing," she said. The ritual took place last month in Chiang Mai at Wat Umong, where a trance medium told the red-clad crowd presided over by Gen Chaisit Shinawatra - Thaksin's cousin and former supreme commander of the armed forces - that the fugitive politician was in a past life a ruling prince warrior in an unknown northern principality under the names of Jao Moon Muang and Jao Sin, who killed and burglarised in warfare with Burma. As a symbolic return of past looting, chunks of banknotes passed hands during the rituals to pacify the spirits of his past-life enemies.

Meanwhile, the names of his foes were written down on paper and burned to ashes to put a curse of death and destruction on them. This rite is just the latest in a series of black magic wars waged by both parties, said Wassana, who penned bestseller Lab Luang Prang Park Pisadarn: Saiyasart Patiwat Awitchatipatai (Secret, Deception, Camouflage, Special Edition: Black Magic behind the Coups and a Political System Ruled by Ignorance), which exposes deep superstition by rival parties in the current political conflicts and their heavy uses of black magic to topple the other side from power. Prior to her book, talks about the black magic war between the pro- and anti-Thaksin camps were often dismissed as sheer nonsense.

Thanks to Wassana's authority in military reporting and inside information from the generals and their fortune-teller Warin Buawiratlert, her book attests yet again to the significant roles superstition and fortune-telling play in modern Thai politics. "Since the 2006 coup, I began to sense there might be something else beyond political struggles and a joint effort to end Mr Thaksin's arrogance and hegemony, that there is a parallel war of black magic going on from both fronts," she said. Prior to the coup, there had been rumours about Thaksin being King Taksin the Great in a past life and about his alleged vengeful mission against the establishment.

A warrior of Chinese descent, King Taksin saved Siam in wars with Burma after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.

He founded a new capital at Thon Buri before the Chakri Dynasty - founded by his chief knights - took over, had him executed and then moved the capital to Bangkok. Wassana paid little attention to that rumour at first, only to realise soon after that it is at the very core of Thaksin's enemies' hatred and fear for him. True or false, that belief became a self-fulfilling prophesy when Thaksin, who first laughed at the rumour, began to sway with the positive confirmation from his fortune tellers, said Wassana, citing sources close to Thaksin.

Given his own strong belief in superstition, he decided to play the same voodoo game to fight back when he knew he was being targeted by sorcery, she said. "That is the beginning of their black magic battle.

When one side knows about the other's witchcraft efforts, it will stage its own rite to undo the curses and to attack the other side.

So much so that it has now become an endless war of sorcery." Closely following the King Taksin rumour was Thaksin's controversial ceremony at the Emerald Buddha Temple.

Apart from being attacked for acting beyond his commoner's status, he was also accused of removing a sacred object underneath the Emerald Buddha. Then came the attack that destroyed the Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine, the inauguration ceremony of the new Brahma statue presided over by Thaksin himself, the removal of the linga and other statues at the Phnom Rung Sanctuary, the use of soiled sanitary napkins at the Royal Plaza to subdue black magic from enemies, the construction of a Buddha image with the face and family name of Thaksin in Chon Buri, where King Taksin's army used to reside, the anti-Thaksin camp's effort to destroy it, the national merit-making ceremony initiated by Thaksin's close aide Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan and the military's subsequent decision to call it off. These seemingly unrelated incidents were actually linked to the belief that the ousted prime minister was King Taksin reborn for revenge, and to the rival parties' attempts to attack and counter-attack each other through the black arts, said Wassana. Her conclusion came from talks not only with the generals but also with many of Thaksin's close aides.

Also key to her understanding of the deeply-entrenched role of superstition in the military and the ruling elite is Warin Buawiratlert, a soft-spoken 52-year-old fortune-teller who commands respect from the whole cohort of 2006 coup-makers led by Gen Sonthi Boonyaratklin. When his prediction for Gen Sonthi's rise as an army chief, initially considered an impossibility, proved true, his advice on how to add one's merit base and correct past sins to pave the way for military promotion or more political power has become much sought after by other aspiring generals. In his case, Warin's role is more than to provide the generals with the time when the stars best favour coup success.

He told Gen Sonthi that he had seen a successful coup led by the general in his vision, and that he must "save the country". Despite Gen Sonthi's seeming reluctance, he later called back to check if his fortune-teller still saw the same vision.

The coup finally took place on September 19, 2006. Interestingly, the 2006 coup was also linked to the King Taksin tale, although it is a completely different version from that held by the pro- and anti-Thaksin camps. The fortune-teller insisted that the King Taksin reincarnation claim was false because the great warrior king was already a divine being whose spirit is now protecting the country, never to return to be reborn as a human being.

What is true, however, he said, is that Gen Sonthi and himself were in a group of ten warriors who helped King Taksin escape the execution and flee to Surat Thani, where he devoted his life to monkhood and meditation.

This version, though different from national history, resonates with folk legends, particularly the one held by the navy, which greatly reveres King Taksin. Apart from telling Gen Sonthi about the coup vision and his past life as King Taksin's knight, he also told the general he had helped save the country before, and the 2006 coup was his chance to do it again. Knowing that people in high places strongly believe that Thaksin is King Taksin reincarnated, Gen Sonthi was naturally confused.

"If I was really King Taksin's warrior, then I should side with him, no?

So what side should I take now?", Wassana Quote: d Gen Sonthi complaining about his dilemma. Meanwhile, Thaksin was busy with his own reincarnation stories. Apart from the story of the vengeful return of King Taksin through Thaksin, another reincarnation story has the ousted prime minister as a Burmese king in one of his past lives.

It is believed it was his past sins committed against the Ayutthaya Kingdom that are behind his difficulties today. "Right after his return to Thailand on February 28 last year, Mr Thaksin immediately went to Ayutthaya to perform ceremonies to cast away bad fortune," said Wassana. Another reincarnation story has Thaksin being Pra Jao Guena, the sixth king in the Mengrai Dynasty of the northern Lanna Kingdom who built the sacred Doi Suthep Temple.

A book about the Doi Suthep legend featured the portrait of King Guena, a man with a square face with close similarities to Thaksin himself. "These tales made him a target of heavy criticism from his opponents for allegedly trying to elevate his status to a royal one," explained Wassana, adding that there were also rumours about a voodoo ritual on Doi Suthep not long before the 2006 coup. Given the Burmese links in his reincarnation stories, it was not surprising that he would then seek advice from a famous Burmese soothsayer, E Thi, who is more popularly called ET.

The embattled politician was reportedly advised to perform a sadoh kroh ceremony to cast away bad omens at the Shwedagon Stupa. "If you are at Shwedagon, look for the statue of a king with a square face in front of the Tuesday Chedi," advised Wassana. The Burmese fortune-teller reportedly told Thaksin that he has two arch enemies whose names begin with S and P.

She also told him he was destined to miserably part with home and family.

To soften the blow, she advised him to spend an extended time overseas throughout the month of September in 2006.

The coup took place when he was about to give his speech at the UN on September 19. It was also believed that Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan acted upon ET's advice on Thaksin's behalf when she initiated a national merit-making ceremony with the military.

The ceremony plan was heavily attacked by PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul for its unusual format and the time, which was particularly close to Thaksin's birthday. When criticised that it was employing black magic to use the top generals' stars to boost Thaksin's waning power, the military abruptly called it off. As a reporter, Wassana said she looked for the signs and beliefs of the traditional elites through Sondhi Limthongkul's messages, since he was not shy at all about dropping names and showing signs of establishment support. "It was him who put together the jigsaw puzzle pieces for me about the black magic war," she said.

The media tycoon not only openly talked about the voodoo battle at protest sites, he has himself become the ritual master to exorcise perceived evil spirits from the enemies' voodoo attacks. Whether the sorcery is real or not, the people's perceived reality is still a powerful force in the unfolding of political conflicts, she said. Meanwhile, she continues to look for information and predictions from the fortune-tellers about current politics, but not because she believes in them.

"The accuracy of the predictions are not that important.

What is more important is that they reflect what the military is thinking and the direction of each general's possible political moves," she said. According to Wassana, many fortune-tellers similarly advised Thaksin to stop his vengeful mission for a chance to come home.

This idea was echoed by many generals.

Their predictions also point to the same scenario: 2009 will be Thailand's worst year in recent history while 2010 will see an important change in Thailand. According to Wassana, Thaksin's fortune-teller predicted that the change will be in his favour. The recent occult ceremony in Chiang Mai was just another attempt by Thaksin's camp to strengthen that chance. "Thai politics today is not only about political one-upmanship through money, power and guns.

It is also about the battle of black magic," said Wassana.

"Under stress and great uncertainty, all sides resort to black magic for extra help to eradicate their enemies. "Their ultimate goal is the same, however.

It's power. And there are no bounds to their struggles to fulfil their ambition." 'Lab Luang Prang Park Pisadarn: Saiyasart Patiwat Awitchatipatai' by Wassana Nanuam, 303 pp, 230 baht.

Published by Post Publishing.

Available at all leading bookshops. COMMENTARY Buckle up and prepare for a rough landing Bangkok Post/Saritdet Marukatat Mar 16, 2009 "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Abhisit Vejjajiva speaking.

I would like to inform you that you have a choice of landing at either Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang airports.

We have this option in order to satisfy our passengers.

Please make your pick and thank you for using our service." A minute later another announcement is made. "Dear passengers, this is co-pilot Sohpon Zarum.

I don't think it is a good idea to have this choice.

I will try everything I can to take this plane to Suvarnabhumi.

Please forget Don Mueang.

Thank you." The contradicting messages cannot be interpreted as anything else for the passengers of Cabinet Airlines - the pilot and his co-pilot have differing ideas on the two airports.

There is no quarreling in the cockpit, but the flight deck atmosphere is anything but amicable. The passengers should throw their all-out support behind Mr Abhisit.

There is no reason to scrap Don Mueang and use Suvarnabhumi as the lone airport for regular commercial flights flying into and out of the capital. It is very unwise to leave Don Mueang as a deserted airport when it still has the potential to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi as it is very close to its passenger capacity of 45 million.

Don Mueang has three terminals and at one time it could handle more than 30 million passengers a year. A reason for the government under then prime minister Surayud Chulanont to relocate some domestic flights back to Don Mueang in March 2007 was because the Transport Ministry at the time did not want to see Don Mueang underused by catering only to chartered flights. Transport Minister Sohpon insists that using just the one airport will strengthen Thailand's position as the centre of aviation in this region.

But Prime Minister Abhisit is right when he points to other countries that are aviation hubs yet retain more than one airport to accommodate travellers. Closure of Don Mueang will give Mr Sohpon and the Transport Ministry a nice reason to rush for the expansion of Suvarnabhumi.

More construction will mean an outlay of lots of money. But the bottom line has to be what will benefit the passengers.

They should have a choice instead of being forced to use one airport.

Smaller and less modern, Don Mueang nevertheless is a favourite airport for many who are wary of the huge size of Suvarnabhumi, which requires more time for them to prepare for their trips. Since its inception in 2006, Suvarnabhumi has not impressed many passengers.

There have been complaints about toilets, poor signage and difficulty in locating emergency exits.

Its design seems to be more friendlier to shop owners than to airport users as all the prime space is allocated to retail outlets while the rest areas for passengers are pushed further aside.

It does not look like an airport.

It seems to be a giant shopping centre with parking bays for aircraft. Standing firm on the future of Don Mueang, Mr Abhisit should do more to encourage airlines with no-connecting international flights to look at the old airport as an alternative place to land.

Passengers heading overseas then can have an alternative. Don Mueang provides only domestic services by Thai Airways International, One-Two-Go and Nok Air.

From March 29, THAI will be saying goodbye to this airport.

The two budget airlines will have no choice but to follow suit if Don Mueang is shut down. If a decision is made to retain Don Mueang - it will be known next week - it will not satisfy Mr Sohpon and his Bhumjaithai party, a key coalition partner of the Democrats in the government, but it could be good news for airport users. There were several suggestions put forward on prolonging the life of Don Mueang after Suvarnabhumi was opened.

It was proposed as the site of the new parliament, a new exhibition centre or a new parking area for commuters on the new mass transit line that will pass the area in the future. But the best choice is to leave it as it is now: an airport. It is up to one person to decide: Captain Abhisit. Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post. Opinion THINK PRAGMATIC The Democrats' 'marriage' is heading for the rocks Bangkok Post/Veera Prateepchaikul Mar 16, 2009 The union between the Democrats and the Friends of Newin group is definitely not a match made in heaven.

In fact, it is more like a "shotgun wedding" forced upon the two former rivals by political necessity with the prodding of the men in green.

Hence, the marriage has never been smooth and happy with each party holding a knife behind their backs ready to strike the other whenever an opportunity arises. But the Friends of Newin group appears to have the upper hand knowing that the Democrats need them more than they need the former, for without their crucial support, especially in the parliament during a crucial debate over an important financial bill or during a censure debate scheduled for March 27-28, the coalition government will crumble like a house of cards. For that reason, the group managed to get complete control of two first-grade ministries, Transport which is reputed to be the "money bag" for all the various infrastructure and public transport projects and the Interior Ministry for its command over local administrators across the country whose support can make a big difference in the outcome of an election. It was a quid pro quo that the Democrats had to accept with a heavy heart. Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban himself had to cede the interior portfolio he aspired to and content himself with just one portfolio, deputy prime minister in charge of security. The Democrats had their first chance to get back at the Friends of Newin group when the cabinet in which they have the loudest say in January blocked Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum's ambitious dust-free road construction project by substantially slashing the 30 billion baht requested to just 1.5 billion baht.

The huge cutback, which put the project on hold, reportedly left the group seething in anger as "face" was apparently not saved.

The budget cut also affected another coalition party, Chart Thai Pattana, prompting its de facto leader Banharn Silpa-archa to complain bitterly to the media.

In a belated move to mend fences, the Democrats promised to allocate them additional budgets in the future. Apparently having learned a bitter lesson, Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul managed to force the Democrats to agree with his decision to double the salaries of all kamnan and village headmen across the country.

Without prior consultation or consent from the Democrats, the minister told a gathering of local administrators that they would have their pay doubled this year, prompting thunderous applause from the crowd.

But the Democrats, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij in particular, were not amused as no budget had been allocated for the pay rise.

When confronted with Mr Chavarat's remark that "I have already told them they will get a pay rise.

What can we do now?", the Democrats reluctantly had to go along.

But instead of giving the pay rise in one go, the local administrators will get half this year and the other half next year. Against public sentiment and grudging mumblings from the Democrats, Mr Sohpon appointed Srisook Chandrangsu to lead a panel to advise him on aviation industry development, including Suvarnabhumi airport.

Srisook, the former transport permanent secretary, is yet to clear himself on three corruption cases related to the CTX bomb detection system and the cable laying project at Suvarnabhumi airport and the controversial awarding of the duty-free operations contract to King Power. The latest issue which has put the Democrats and the Friends of Newin at loggerheads is over the plan of Thai Airways International to move all its domestic flight services from Don Mueang to Suvarnabhumi. Mr Sohpon backed the THAI board's plan for the move scheduled on March 29, but this was opposed by the airline's union.

The council of economic ministers stepped in and suggested that the board make the final decision. But after the council's meeting, a defiant Mr Sohpon held a press conference to reconfirm his decision for THAI to end its services at Don Mueang on March 29.

This was widely seen as a direct challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who suggested at the council's meeting that the crucial decision should be made by the new THAI board. Why the rush to move out?

And why Suvarnabhumi as the only airport?

And why should Don Mueang, which is still in good functional condition, be dumped?

The explanations from the THAI board and Mr Sohpon have so far been unsatisfactory and unconvincing. Despite the reservations from the Democrats and public suspicion of the real motives behind the decision, it seems the Friends of Newin are likely to have their way once again. For the Democrats, and especially Mr Abhisit, the question is how long can they look the other way and let the Friends of Newin carry on with their suspect conduct and questionable adventurism unchecked.

But the longer the relationship continues, the greater the damage to the Democrats' credibility. To the Friends of Newin, credibility is meaningless.

What seems to matter most now is to try to get their war chests filled and ready for the next election, which may come unexpectedly. Veera Prateepchaikul is a former Editor of the Bangkok Post. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PM wins hearts in UK by engaging in 'open and frank discussion' The Nation March 16, 2009 Against a politically and diplomatically difficult backdrop, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has come back from England having scored a few more hard points thanks to his refusal to avoid direct challenges on the state of Thailand's democracy. A mini showdown with fugitive activist Ji Ungpakorn at a forum on Saturday capped a politically charged visit during which the "legitimacy" of his office faced tough questions along with the Kingdom's lese majeste law. But, according to British Ambassador Quinton Quayle, Abhisit's perceived willingness to address the problems of Thai democracy was well noted. "He showed, both by his words and actions, that he wants to promote democratic debate about the future of Thailand," the envoy told The Nation in an emailed reply to questions about Abhisit's visit. "His willingness to engage in an open and frank discussion, including on sensitive issues, impressed his audience.

He showed that he is ready to listen to the point of view both of those who agree and disagree with his government and to give answers to the key questions of most concern in Thailand. "The discussion that took place at Oxford University on March 14 is a good model for future debate in Thailand." Ji was in the audience, using his foot-shaped clapper to greet Abhisit and making stinging comments on the state of Thai democracy after the prime minister spoke on democratic challenges. The two fascinated the audience with the issue of whether the lese majeste law was a "political tool" or a simple channel to guard the Monarch against defamation, and whether Ji had fled what could have been a straightforward court case. On other aspects, the British ambassador said it was a satisfactory trip for Abhisit. "This was a very successful visit.

At a time of a major economic crisis, he gave a very useful input, as chair of Asean, to the preparation of the London Summit of G20 countries on April 2. "He and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed on the importance of working together on a macro-economic stimulus plan, reforming the international financial institutions and of taking a firm stand against protectionism. "They agreed to keep in touch in the run-up to the summit, which Khun Abhisit will be attending as chair of Asean," the diplomat said. In a speech to business representatives in the City of London, Abhisit also stressed his commitment to boosting UK investment in Thailand.

He pledged to encourage an expansion of trade links and met many British business leaders during his visit. Sir Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, said the retailer remain committed to investing further in Thailand and wanted to explore opportunities to double exports of Thai fruit and vegetables to the UK. Kasit flees from UDD protesters Bangkok Post Mar 16, 2009 Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was able to pass through a group of anti-government demonstrators enclosing Phitsanulok airport on Monday morning. The red-shirt protesters led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) attempted to prevent the minister from leaving to Phetchabun province by blockading the gates of Phitsanulok airport following his arrival. More than 200 security officers were assembled to escort Mr Kasit and his entourage from the airport.

No violence erupted and the government officials left the venue safely. Mr Kasit joined the yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters who occupied Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports late last year. UDD rally on March 29 Bangkok Post Mar 16, 2009 The United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship will organise another large anti-government rally outside Government House on March 29, UDD leader and Puea Thai party MP Jatuporn Prompan said on Monday. It would be a much bigger turnout of UDD supporters than at any other of its previous rallies, he said. Supporters would gather at Sanam Luang before marching to Government House in the afternoon. "The UDD announced on February 26 that the group will take a month to assemble more people, and its supporters in many provinces have voiced their disapproval of the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva," said Mr Jatuporn. Te red-clad group still demands the government dismiss Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, prosecute People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders for occupying Government House and Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports, amend the 2007 Constitution and dissolve the House of Representatives, he said. "After the censure debate, the UDD will gather again on March 29.

The UDD rallies have always been packed with people and that's the truth," the Puea Thai MP declared. The planned UDD demonstration would be peaceful and without weapons, he said. Mr Jatuporn said he could not say whether fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would make a phone-in that day.

Thakskin would make a phone-in to his supporters on March 21 in Chiang Rai and March 22 in Chiang Mai.

Ed comment : It's obvious the Newin faction opportunists of ex-Samak/Somchai Govts and 'former' Thaksin loyalists are set on wagging the dogs-body of the Dem-led Govt. Everything from their faction's minister's attempts to ban herbs (and ban alcohol on holidays) to moving airports all have a familiar odour... The previous Newin faction minister proposed ban on herbicides (as pushed by a mysterious committee appointed by the previous govt) was highly suspicious, as was the Newin faction's opposition to consumer protection laws.

Now, the proposal to move Thai Airways lock-stock and smoking barrel (of connected old promises) is also highly suspicious (also being pushed by an outgoing board appointed by the previous govt). There's also the spectre of the Thaksin era awarding of a monopoly to King Power Duty free at Suvarnabhumi and of course the Samak govt proposed 78 billion baht airport expansion plan (which is suddenly being pushed/demanded by the Newin faction, as well as the shadowy Samak buses deal). It all comes down to the upcoming impeachment and censure motion where the only way Mr Chalerm can fulfil his wet-dream of becoming 'PM Chalerm' (even if it's a Thaksin-lackey position) is if the Newin faction slither back to the Puea Thai side of the aisle and form a majority (and then it won't be a few Ministers on the plunder, it will be the lot - like the 'good ol days;) Of course Giles & some UK press/profs (and certainly 'The Economist') would ironically applaud this and see it as legal - which it would be (just not with the Dems apparently). Thus, PM Abhisit has some tough choices to make - veto the Newin faction and clean house (resulting in a dissolved house) or let the daylight robbery by threat of Newin faction walk/slither-out continue... Meanwhile, the reds have now allegedly thrown a ping pong bomb at the Deputy PM's car (and blockaded Phitsanulok airport briefly) but offer assurances the next UDD demonstration would be peaceful and without weapons... Ultimately, Mr Thaksin is behind the scenes as always, with the same tired tune, the same tired demands (change govt, get team-player in, change constitution, free self and cash, get seat back, re-fill every state board with cronies, null every Govt watchdog, etc, etc, etc, ....) -IF the Dems don't give into Mr Newin's 'money baggers' faction 'dance or dash' demands on Suvarnabhumi, Mr Thaksin may have finally found a way to 'succeed' via the upcoming censure...

Admittedly it's a slim chance but a real one.

We shall see... Last, the Newin's young and old (banned and almost) must be chuckling and wringing their hands with glee in anticipation of a family win/win (and more cha-ching to come) The play by play: Power-play Samak & Thaksin, walk out on Somchai, go over to Dems, gain many new members to their Bhumjai party, now holding the trump card Mr Thaksin desperately needs...

And ALL without missing a beat (or seat) gorging at the public trough throughout...

Now approaching check-mate and brilliantly well played indeed. True masters of the Thai political game (wouldn't want to be on 'survivor' with this lot;)

VDO: Tesco confirms its cooperation with Thailand by increasing Thai food exports. item--1--on http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews2.php?news_id=1022 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fuuTnJhoY During his visit to UK last weekend, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajeva met with Sir Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco Company based in Britain with many Tesco Lotus branches in Thailand.

(Sir Terry is also a shareholder in a private project at Mai Khao, Phuket).

During his weekly television program aired on NBT on Sunday morning, Mr.

Abhisit stated that during their meeting, the CEO of TESCO assured him that Tesco supports Thai exotic food, especially vegetables and fruits, by exporting them to its branches in the UK.

The volume continues to increase, with last year’s value at 8 billion baht.

Tesco Lotus management confirmed to Andaman News that they are looking at doubling exports of Thai fresh produce on the existing plan, an increase from 1.5 billion baht to 3 billion baht.

They agreed that Thai fruits have positive marketing outlooks.

Tesco will join hands with Thai Export Promotion Department to organize a festival of Thai fruit and vegetables at a number of Tesco stores around the UK in June 2009.

The event will introduce Thai produce with tastings and activities, and will continue the success established by the festival last year.

Tesco has invested 98 billion baht in Thailand with over 36,000 staff and 9,100 suppliers, 90% of whom are Thai.




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