If the government were smart they'd resort to the old "Thaksin is trying to sell the country" line. Create speculation etc that he wants to help Hun Sen get the the 'rest' of Phea Viharn and any oil concessions in the Gulf of Thailand.

People tend to foreget that the public got really PO'ed with Dear Leader when he sold Sh!tcorp to the Singaporeans. They could easily portray Thaksin lining up against Thailands 'old enemy'.

Reality is Hun Sen is sh!tstiring in internal Thai politics...which is funny as I didn't think ASEAN countries were into getting involved into their fellow members political process....

ahh, well. Hypocracy all around. Again.

http://news.google.com/news/search?q=thailand

Did a quick news search on Thailand. Yet again, Thaksin photo is currently displayed on top, above everything else.

Although I do not like him. I must give credit for his ability to stay in Thailand's front page.

Time to invite Hun Sen and his advisor for bilateral talks in Bangkok... the closer to Klong Prem, the better...

If ever Thaksin accepts this position, which of course he will, he will get the curse of many Thais blaming to lean to the enemy (Cambodia) for helping them and leaving Thailand in disarray and troubles. Many Thais will not like that. He wil be considered as a traitor (which he is already). He should wisely distanciate from Hun Sen's offer and wisely differentiate between personal relations and country matters. Hun Sen, we know, he is a farmer and speaks first before thinking. But he's clever, believe me! And he will get what he wants either on a democratical way or by any other way which he might think of. Remember the coup at the Pochentong airport where he took the power, remember how many times Sam Rainsy had to flee the country to avoid being jailed, and don't forget he is a former Khmer Rouge! That's why he doesn't like this UN-genocide trial during which his name has been and will be mentioned too much!

Hello my friend? According to the American Red Cross and Non profits in America, they said the big short of Burma took all disaster credits for food, blankets, water and etc from around the world. The Burmese government put their new stickers in every box of good from UN, RedCross, and charities around the world. So, the Burmese population thought the goods came from their Dictator only. Shamed and embarassed about this regime...Plus these group of hate mongol try to genocide the small 200 hilltribes who live around the borders. Now the ugly Thais come to a picture and grab the poor Burmeses for cheap labors and sell the young girls for prostitues...( shame and I m so sick for just talking about it ) No one cares?? By the way, some Thai and Farang men even bought those young women for sex and these kids are the same age as their daughters or grand daughters...oh my??
Well, the drug will send to America for a dollar not for a baht because, the hilltribes use the money to buy weapons fighting to gain independence..The Thais ignored drug smugglers and everyone in the Northern part will not travel the drug road. The druglords can not tell who is Thai and who is the Burmese..I can get kill for being in the wrong place and a wrong time..
This is a real story and I am standing tall.

It does not take much for front page news..as I say Money is everything in the world now..my take.

What did you smoke this morning?

Hahaha, you are a moderator, wow...

If you by elections are referring to people going to the booths, then neither Samak nor Somchai won anything. They were part of a party that got a minority of the votes and then later formed a coalition government under which Samak was first PM elected before he was removed from the position for his unconstitutional salary from the tv show. PPP then THEMSELVES decided to not re-instate him. They could have, since the constitution is still flawed. But they chose not to. Nothing else. Somchai was voted out from the MPs in the coalition, not by any election by the population. All according to process. Same as Abhisit.

But again we see that when facts fail, some of you invent their own...

Please tell me the different between the elections of Samak, Somchai and Abhisit. Mail the answer on a postcard.

Mr Souza says:


I know cannot talk about a moderators, but I would expect a litte more impartiality from TV crew.

Anyway, is very common a reshuffle in many governments (see Italy with parties moving from a coalition to the opposition...). Full democracy.

This post has been edited by angiud: 2009-11-05 12:15:49

Thailand has fallen in all international independent ratings in the last three years, e.g. press freedom, corruption, civil liberties, political rights, etc.

If anybody can find an indicator that has improved send a link that shows it. There are enough emotional postings here already.

It's also worth noting that Thailand were making progress in most areas during the 5 years before that.

Don't post lies to make a point.

Yes, the press freedom etc fell during the military government etc, but to claim it was making progress the 5 years before that is preposterous. The BIG fall in press freedom and civil liberties WAS during Thaksin reign. And while I am not defending the military regime, their actions was kinda expected from a coup-government, and atleast they stepped down...Thaksin would never do that.

Update:
Deputy PM Suthep downplays Cambodian PM naming ousted premier Thaksin advisor

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s Deputy PM Suthep Thuagsuban downplayed the naming of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra as the Cambodian PM’s economic and personal advisor and said he believes the action will not affect bilateral ties as it was Cambodian internal affair.

Mr Suthep said he believed there was no need for Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make any statement as the appointment was its domestic affair, in which Thailand has no right to protest or obstruct.

He said the bilateral ties between Thailand and Cambodia remain intact.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Cambodian state television on Tuesday night said King Norodom Sihamoni had officially approved Thaksin's appointment both as an adviser to the government and to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on a personal basis. The appointment was dated October 27.

Mr Hun Sen, during the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Thailand last month, asserted that Mr Thaksin (whom he described as his friend) could stay in Cambodia as a guest of the Cambodian government and could be his economic advisor.

The Khmer PM added that he was not interfering in Thailand's internal affairs but that Cambodia has the right to exercise its sovereignty and make such a decision.

Mr Suthep said, however, if any information proved that Mr Thaksin was in Cambodia, the Thai government would request for extradition immediately.

If Phnom Penh denied the request, the government would then see whether the denial could be done under the international legal framework as the two countries had already signed an extradition treaty, he said.

The personal relations should differentiate between bilateral ties, he added.

Ousted in a bloodless coup, ex-premier Thaksin jumped bail and fled sentencing to a two-year jail term for malfeasance in the controversial Bangkok Ratchadapisek land purchase case. The toppled Thai premier now spends most of his time in the United Arab Emirates after his status as a visitor was rejected by a number of countries including both the United Kingdom and Germany.


-- TNA 2009-11-05

Interesting that you believe that the Thai Government should resort to lies about Thaksin.Seems a bit odd since the truth would equally do the trick.

Hun Sen is an unattractive figure on several counts.However if one was in his shoes - heaven forbid - the appointment by the Thai government of a Foreign Minister who has form in using the most inappropriate language about Cambodians does seem a foolish provocation.As I mentioned in another post Hun Sen is actually correct that the pursuit of Thaksin is politically motivated, and in private nobody with background knowledge denies this.

You are deluded incidentally if you think the Thai public as a whole was particularly concerned about the sale of Shin to Temasek, but perhaps the use of the term "Sh!tcorp" is a clue that you may not have a balanced view.Certainly (and leaving aside those who just hated Thaksin) there was a view among those who were threatened by globalisation (ie preferring cosy and inefficient local monopolies - yes, I know that includes Thaksin ) that this was unacceptable, and in some quarters a concern about tax avoidance -although this latter is quite complicated and not at all an open and shut case. It was not a politically smart move in the context of the times, but then ironically enough given his record of enlisting popular support Thaksin has never been very good as a politician.I suppose digressing slightly that the fact someone so clumsy was able to win over the majority of the Thai people demonstrates just how greedy,self serving and neglectful has been the elite's record.

As Thaksin's aim is to de-stabilize the country this news is bad for him. He would love it if the nationalistic sentiments was drummed up and people started burning down anything reminding people of Cambodia etc, as to spike up the tension with the country in question. It would make sure the nation would not be focused enough on progress and put the nation into further economic strain (if there was any military escalation) as Thailand is a country without any military-industrial complex and as such has to import virtually everything. And that would increase the chance of Thaksin being able to return, hold off the conflict (due to his ties to Huan) and then, just by not being in a conflict and the world economy recovering over the next 5 years, see the nations wealth increase some. And people would think it was all due to him for being so smart when a potted plant could have been in-charge at the time.

So now the government will downplay the job-appointment...good on them.

Could we now also perhaps stop talking about everything he does all the time?

I believe that the major underlying question is to which country will Thaksin owe allegience? There are many times when the interests of both Thailand and Cambodia would be the same, and many more instances when they would be competitive. For example, both countries would want to prevent the srpread of a deadly virus in the region, but when it comes to where insufficient stocks of medicine are distributed the reality takes over and the limits of friendship are exposed.

The financial world is a competitive place and this means that ultimately everyone must choose sides. So which king is Thaksin going to serve? Which people is he going to try to help at the expense of the other? Hun Sen obviously believes that at crunch time Thaksin can be depended upon to put Cambodian interests above the Thais. Is Thaksin going to try to make the Thai people believe that he is only trying to give Cambodia a competitive advantage over Thailand for the benefit of his homeland?

Let's face it, there is no way that his advice can always be good for both Thailand AND Cambodia, and so by switching sides Thaksin has again shown that his loyalty is only to his own bank account.

I believe a clever Thai government would capitalize on this truth by continually stoking the headlies with quotes such as "Thaksin chooses Cambodia over the Thai people." Government comments should hammer away on the idea that it is a disappointment that someone so beloved by so many Thai people would stab them in the back this way," etc.

Let us see what comes next. The Thai government has a media opportunity here. Let's see if they are clever enough to use it.

well well well, interesting to see... by the way what do you gudy get from using such a big words. hahahaaha looks like lots of time..

Hey ole Abhisit should get on the blower to Sam Rainsy n offer him an economic advisorship. That would wind ole Hun Sen up a tad

I can't seem to recall that Somchai won any election. I must have been asleep.

Any news on that pardon Thaksin put in a few months back?

This post has been edited by Insight: 2009-11-05 12:43:44

Thaksin has no loyalty to anyone but himself and possibly a few of his cronies. Interesting how the Thai government will respond to this, and how the Thai electorate feel about Thaksin jumping on board the Cambodian side.

Cambodian political forces have played off Thai forces and Vietnamese forces against internal forces for centuries. They are masters of intrigue and betrayal. Pol Pot purged the majority of his closest aides over the years without blinking an eye. Hun Sen would also have no scruples about purging Thaksin once he was no longer needed or perceived as a nuisance or threat. At the same time, I hate to think about what kind of economic advise Thaksin is likely to hand out. To expats living in Thailand he is best remembered for closing down the foreigners' favourite entertainment venues and hours of operation and making it increasingly difficult to live in the Kingdom unless you could afford to buy a condo and spend your days golfing at the various private clubs that popped up around that time.

I am amazed at how anti-Taksin most of the members of the forum are - and how pro-Taksin so many of the normal ordinary Thais are - Could the reason be that as PM he did lots for the poor and disenfrancised and very little for the elite (of which the expats and other members are part). Well then, as there are a lot more of the have-nots or have-very-little - than the have-enoughs, and have-a-lots in Thailand - we should see his political return at the next free and fair election - what ever we think.

I find it very interesting, that while Taksin was PM in Thailand, he and his businesses were the largest single investors in Cambodia, it was Hun Sen's hour long speech on Cambodian radio, misquoting/quoting out of context a Thai movie star over Ankor Wat that rallied the Cambodians into destroying Thai businesses and Embassy in Cambodia which got Thaksin steamed up enough to order the Cambodian Embassy here closed, prompting the King to step in and tell Taksin to cool down.
There's an old saying "keep your friends close and your enemies even closer". Hun Sen may just be playing his cards to get Taksin and his money where he wants them. Guns are cheap in Cambodia and Hun Sen controls more than anyone else.

This post has been edited by John71: 2009-11-05 13:05:01

Maybe not. They both may get a Nobel Peace Prize. Obama (the do nothing chosen one), Jimmy C. who allowed Iran to be the dangerous country it is and kept Americans as prisoners in inhumane conditions for 445 days, and Yassir Arafat, a professional and accomplished terrorist (Achille Lauro when he pushed Mr. Klinghoffer's, an invalid, over board sending him to his death by drowning) all got a Nobel Peace Prize. Is there anything crazier than the Norwegian panel of judges that award those prizes? All that is in keeping with what goes on in Cambodia.
Oy vey!
Pisico