Former Thai PM Chuan Stands Tall When His Party Needs Him

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RETURN OF HONEY-COATED RAZOR

Chuan stands tall when his party needs him

By Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation

Former PM delivers powerful closing statement to court about conspiracy against his party

It had been quite a while since the nation last heard Chuan Leekpai speak.

Yesterday it was as if he had not gone anywhere.

The same old eloquence, the same old "honey-coated razor cuts" and the same old neat blows below the belt were unleashed against his rivals in a powerful, passionate style, as Chuan delivered arguably his most important speech for his political party. Its survival may have been related to other factors as well, but Chuan's closing statement at the end of the party dissolution case was a grand finale in itself.

Everyone knew the Democrats were claiming a conspiracy in their defence. Chuan's task yesterday was to lend credibility to such an excuse. Although, for a divided society, it didn't really matter whether he succeeded or not, the Democrats must have been grateful it was him who made the closing statement, and party opponents must have watched it with clenched jaws and boiling blood.

The voice was a bit softer and there were times when choked emotions were almost visible. With an anxious nation glued to TV sets to watch "Judgement Day", Chuan's apparently frail presence only added to the strength of what he delivered.

The closing statements by Chuan and prosecutors were strong in their own ways. The prosecution sought to hammer home the argument that the Democrats had committed wrongdoings and nothing else should have mattered, whatever they said. Chuan insisted that if the start of the prosecution process was wrong, the rest of it couldn't be right.

Both sides had earlier submitted their closing statements in documents to the court. They have been in the newspapers, but had greater impact yesterday when delivered verbally.

Kitinan Tatchpramook, special attorney from the Office of the Attorney General, as the EC representative, mainly read his document account, but sounded convincing enough to worry Democrat fans and encourage the other side. He was adamant that the EC's legal processes for the case were proper and legitimate, and that evidence was solid that the Democrat Party secretly received Bt258 million in donations from TPI Polene and siphoned the money via advertising company Messiah Business and Creation.

Kitinan sought to describe unscrupulous financial activities masqueraded as a state-subsidised effort to produce election campaign boards. Records showed the Democrats started the project prematurely, and state funds sought to pay for the campaign boards were not used according to stated purposes, he said. That, in addition to some false reports, was a violation of the law and the party should be dissolved.

Chuan painted a conspiratorial picture, decrying attempts to turn some honest or trivial missteps into a crime punishable by party dissolution. He told the court the case was not supposed to be filed to the court but that occurred because of malicious planning, plus pressure and intimidation.

He said the EC filed the case with the court after death threats by anti-government red shirts. Meanwhile, the Department of Special Investigation started the case under political influence during Samak Sundaravej government, Chuan insisted.

"It took years for the conspiracy attempts under Thaksin's regime to reshuffle personnel and interfere with independent organisations," he said, spelling out what he called an "evil legacy".

He said the EC legal team also selectively presented biased information and resolved to dissolve Democrat Party. "When people threaten to burn your homes or take your lives, fear is understandable," Chuan said, adding that now such intimidation and pressure had shifted to the Constitution Court.

Pheu Thai Party intentionally violated the law so that Constitution Court judges sued them and therefore had to withdraw from the case, Chuan charged.

"If the case is prolonged, we don't know how many of the judges will be out of the case," he said.

Three out of the nine Constitution Court judges including Wasant Soipisut, Chalermpol Ek-uru and Charoon Inthajarn withdrew from ruling on the case, leaving only six judges. The court has also weathered a political storm caused by the posting of video clips on YouTube, which attacked some judges' character and credibility.

The former Democrat leader ended his statement by expressing sympathy for the Constitution Court, which he called the country's "last resort" for justice and integrity. "This isn't meant to please the court, but let me express my sympathy for one of last remaining institutions that people can rely on," he said.

-- The Nation 2010-11-30