Thailand’s Deposed Prime Minister Relaxes And Waits

[webfact]

Thailand’s deposed Prime Minister relaxes and waits

Life in self-imposed exile is pleasantly laid back and far from lonely, says Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s deposed prime minister, who remains a hero to many in that country’s “Red Shirt” movement.

The 61-year-old former leader has kept a low profile since being ousted in a military coup Sept. 19, 2006, but spoke to the Toronto Star in an exclusive interview from his Mideast exile.

“My life is really relaxed,” he said Thursday. “I have lots of people coming to see me.”

On Thursday, that included his Canadian lawyer, Bob Amsterdam, as well as a delegation from Thailand, which remains a country of deep political divisions heading into an election year.

It endured its worst violence in recent memory last spring when Thaksin’s red-shirted supporters poured into the streets of Bangkok to demand elections and protest the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and stayed there for almost two months.

Clashes with the Thai military left 91 dead and an estimated 1,800 wounded and led to eight months of emergency rule.

Thaksin, meanwhile, has been living a peripatetic life since 2008, when he failed to return to Thailand from the Beijing Olympics, after a Thai court had convicted him on corruption charges and sentenced him in absentia to two years in jail.

Reports from Bangkok last week said a group of Pheu Thai party members were travelling to meet with Thaksin and discuss who should assume the opposition party’s leadership.

Thaksin, a former billionaire businessman, distanced himself Thursday from direct involvement in any political movement.

He insisted he is not advising members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), the formal name for the Red Shirts, who enjoy wide support among Thailand’s rural poor and working class.

“I don’t know them,” he said.

But Thaksin also said Abhisit’s conservative coalition government, largely supported by Thailand’s wealthier urban population, must sit down with UDD leaders to discuss their concerns. [more...]

Full story: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/917674--f-thailand-s-red-shirt-hero-relaxes-and-waits

-- the star 2011-01-07

[Pi Sek]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

[Insight]

He insisted he is not advising members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), the formal name for the Red Shirts, who enjoy wide support among Thailand’s rural poor and working class.

“I don’t know them,” he said.

[blazes]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

The "crappy" I can agree to, but where exactly is the libel that you discern?

[bubba]

He insisted he is not advising members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), the formal name for the Red Shirts, who enjoy wide support among Thailand’s rural poor and working class.

“I don’t know them,” he said.

Thaksin is not among the complainants but is contributing to the UDD’s legal expenses, Amsterdam said Thursday.

So he doesn't know anyone over at UDD, but he is contributing to their legal expenses?

[asiawatcher]

It always comes down to selective memory with Thaksin. It remains he is a convicted criminal on the run so relax, and then when you do if ever, come back, you will then face the other charges against you as well as serve out the sentences and penalties you already had imposed.

[Pi Sek]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

The "crappy" I can agree to, but where exactly is the libel that you discern?

Having re-read it, I can see that, despite printing Thaksin's blatant lies, there's not sooo much that's factually incorrect on the part of the tabloid. Other than...

- The 61-year-old former leader has kept a low profile since being ousted in a military coup Sept. 19, 2006 (This one really got my goat and, because it was in the first paragraph, probably influenced my opinion of the rest of the article.)

- But his popularity remains high in the countryside because of policies that included micro-lending programs, erasing farmers’ debts and a form of universal health care. (Erasing farmers' debts? What???)

- Thaksin, who won two elections (Did he really?)

[Buchholz]

Thaksin, a former billionaire businessman, distanced himself Thursday from direct involvement in any political movement.

Meanwhile...from today's latest Red Shirt Rally thread:

Highlights of the day's activities will include

a phone-in by fugitive ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Perhaps he's doing the phone-in to inform them that he will no longer be involved with them and that

“I don’t know them,”

[bobmac10]

Thaksin is not one of the old guard of wealthy Bangkok families who have ruled Thailand since the country became a democracy in 1932. He was born in rural Thailand near Chiang Mai of Chinese descent. His father was a politician and later a businessman and the family was one of the richest and most influential in Chiang Mai. Thaksin was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and was then admitted to the Thai Police Cadet Academy. Upon graduation in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police Department. He received a master's degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University in the United States in 1975, and three years later was awarded a doctorate in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas.

He resigned from the police department in 1987 after several failed business attempts while he was still in the service and began to build his business empire at first by leasing computers to the government then later gaining a license to establish a mobile phone network (AIS) which grew rapidly to list on the Thai stock exchange and which eventually became the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand.

He moved into politics in 1994 and was appointed foreign minister in the same year. After serving as a minister in several governments he founded the Thai Rak Thai party in 1998 and when the prime minister dissolved parliament in 2000 Thaksin was elected as Prime Minister. At the time some academics called it the most open and corruption free election in Thai history.

He began to bring in policies that would for the first time give real benefits to Thailand's rural poor. He started a scheme where farmers could borrow modest sums of money at low interest to use to expand their businesses; he provided the first universal health care, where for 30 baht anyone could attend a public hospital and receive treatment from a doctor. At this time, Thailand was in the grip of a meth amphetamine epidemic which was creating social havoc. Thousands of people were taking the cheap pills manufactured and smuggled into Thailand daily from Burma, (some say by senior military figures). Old and young alike were taking the drug to help them work longer hours and earn more money, not realising the dangers of addiction and psychosis that the drug produced.

Thaksin acted quickly and firmly to rid Thailand of the scourge that was sweeping through the country. He gave orders that every citizen must attend a meeting held at their local village and give the names of anyone they knew who was taking or selling the drug. He also gave the police unprecedented powers to arrest and charge anyone who they considered to be involved with Methamphetamine. It is widely reported that the police gave two warnings to suspects and the third time they were simply disposed of by hit squads operating under the guidance and protection of the police. This however had a dramatic effect on the problem and within six months the drug had all but disappeared from the streets. It is estimated that around 2500 people disappeared or died during this time. The majority of Thai people however supported this strong action and it won him new supporters. Thaksin began to move to cement his position at the top of the political system. He promoted many of his former colleagues and friends over better-qualified and more senior officers. Thaksin often interfered in the annual promotions of the military, which the corps saw as its purview.

Under the slogans "Four Years of Repair – Four years of Reconstruction" and "Building Opportunities", Thaksin and the TRT won landslide victories in the February 2005 elections, sweeping 374 out of 500 seats in Parliament. The election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history. But his second term was soon beset by protests, with claims that he presided over a "parliamentary dictatorship."

He also used his position to create huge wealth for himself and his family by expanding his satellite communication and media businesses which also fed the Thai hunger for salacious gossip about celebrities and politicians. This made him some powerful enemies in political and elite social circles. He also used his media machine to associate himself with the monarch, sometimes pictures of the king with himself superimposed next to him were posted onto huge billboards along the freeways. He also placed pressure on the government's public servants to be more service oriented, to do their jobs and not demand extra payments, to work a full day and to respond to the public's demands for value for money. This once again made him unpopular with those who had been getting an easy ride with the former governments' laissez faire attitude towards the poor.

It is clear that in his quest to remain at the top, he went too far and upset the Bangkok elite. Whether it was jealousy or fear by the powerful establishment it will never be known, however when he refused to pay income tax on the sale of his media empire to a Singapore company, it was reason enough to commence a series of events which would eventually lead to his downfall.

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

The "crappy" I can agree to, but where exactly is the libel that you discern?

Having re-read it, I can see that, despite printing Thaksin's blatant lies, there's not sooo much that's factually incorrect on the part of the tabloid. Other than...

- The 61-year-old former leader has kept a low profile since being ousted in a military coup Sept. 19, 2006 (This one really got my goat and, because it was in the first paragraph, probably influenced my opinion of the rest of the article.)

- But his popularity remains high in the countryside because of policies that included micro-lending programs, erasing farmers' debts and a form of universal health care. (Erasing farmers' debts? What???)

- Thaksin, who won two elections (Did he really?)

[Insight]

ChiangMaiFun - if you're reading this - what was the policy on Wikipedia at the university where you obtained your Master's?

[bubba]

I am still amazed at the quote from Thaksin that he "doesn't know them" referring to UDD. What complete rubbish, and the Toronto Star should have called him on it.

Just do a quick google. Oh, here's one. Jatuporn is a key UDD leader, right> So that means Thaksin doesn't know him, right? So what's this all about:

Jatuporn told reporters yesterday that Thaksin had called him from Russia late on Wednesday night, after a clash between the government's security forces and red-shirt protesters in Bangkok.

"His voice was clear and he was in good health," said Jatuporn, who is also an MP from the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai Party.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/04/30/politics/Thaksin-in-good-health-Jatuporn-30128300.html

And all those phone-ins to the UDD rallies? Who picked up the phone? Surely not anyone he knew.

Hey wait, here he is with UDD leader Veera Musikaphong and some other guy who liked to wear camo with red:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/36612/the-boys-in-black-thailand-dangerous-dark-influence/page-2/

Hmmm...and who is this guy in the photo with Thaksin anyway? Didn't he have something to do with UDD?

Edited January 7, 2011 by bubba

[anterian]

Will this aggressive polarisation of opinions ever cease?

[whybother]

Will this aggressive polarisation of opinions ever cease?

It will die out when Thaksin dies out.

[lannarebirth]

That headline! It reminds me of the old headline: " The New Nixon: Tanned, Rested, and Ready ".

[Buchholz]

Will this aggressive polarisation of opinions ever cease?

It will die out when Thaksin dies out.

then expect 9 more years of it (on average)

The 61-year-old former leader

Male Life Expectancy (by country)

Thailand - 70.77

.

[Buchholz]

Meanwhile... in other reports today, it would appear he wasn't always a "relaxing" and "waiting" sort of guy...

Sven-Goran Eriksson admits Shinawatra strain at Man City

The former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has told BBC Radio Manchester of his problems he had with former City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra. The 62-year-old, now in charge at Leicester City, lasted only one year at Eastlands after joining in July 2007.

He said: "His biggest problem was that he didn't understand football at all and he didn't realise that.

"He thought football was easy just tell the players to be aggressive and we will resolve all the problems."

"I think we did well in the whole league more or less until Thaksin decided I had to go at the end of the season," he added.

"Every time we lost he never spoke to me for a week after but when we won it was dinner and very nice hugs and things, so it's difficult to work with people like that."

-- BBC 2011-01-06

[lannarebirth]

Anyhow it is a non-story. The better story would be about how much of the online content one reads is generated by publicists who solicit "journalistic" websites just dieing for free content to fill their pages. I'm guessing the publicist wrote the whole article and just forwarded it to the website.

[Buchholz]

Anyhow it is a non-story. The better story would be about how much of the online content one reads is generated by publicists who solicit "journalistic" websites just dieing for free content to fill their pages. I'm guessing the publicist wrote the whole article and just forwarded it to the website.

Agreed.

It's much more desirable than depicting him as shuffling around dirty street stalls at a market in Kampala, Uganda...

[preechathan]

Thaksin is not one of the old guard of wealthy Bangkok families who have ruled Thailand since the country became a democracy in 1932. He was born in rural Thailand near Chiang Mai of Chinese descent. His father was a politician and later a businessman and the family was one of the richest and most influential in Chiang Mai. Thaksin was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and was then admitted to the Thai Police Cadet Academy. Upon graduation in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police Department. He received a master's degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University in the United States in 1975, and three years later was awarded a doctorate in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas.

He resigned from the police department in 1987 after several failed business attempts while he was still in the service and began to build his business empire at first by leasing computers to the government then later gaining a license to establish a mobile phone network (AIS) which grew rapidly to list on the Thai stock exchange and which eventually became the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand.

He moved into politics in 1994 and was appointed foreign minister in the same year. After serving as a minister in several governments he founded the Thai Rak Thai party in 1998 and when the prime minister dissolved parliament in 2000 Thaksin was elected as Prime Minister. At the time some academics called it the most open and corruption free election in Thai history.

He began to bring in policies that would for the first time give real benefits to Thailand's rural poor. He started a scheme where farmers could borrow modest sums of money at low interest to use to expand their businesses; he provided the first universal health care, where for 30 baht anyone could attend a public hospital and receive treatment from a doctor. At this time, Thailand was in the grip of a meth amphetamine epidemic which was creating social havoc. Thousands of people were taking the cheap pills manufactured and smuggled into Thailand daily from Burma, (some say by senior military figures). Old and young alike were taking the drug to help them work longer hours and earn more money, not realising the dangers of addiction and psychosis that the drug produced.

Thaksin acted quickly and firmly to rid Thailand of the scourge that was sweeping through the country. He gave orders that every citizen must attend a meeting held at their local village and give the names of anyone they knew who was taking or selling the drug. He also gave the police unprecedented powers to arrest and charge anyone who they considered to be involved with Methamphetamine. It is widely reported that the police gave two warnings to suspects and the third time they were simply disposed of by hit squads operating under the guidance and protection of the police. This however had a dramatic effect on the problem and within six months the drug had all but disappeared from the streets. It is estimated that around 2500 people disappeared or died during this time. The majority of Thai people however supported this strong action and it won him new supporters. Thaksin began to move to cement his position at the top of the political system. He promoted many of his former colleagues and friends over better-qualified and more senior officers. Thaksin often interfered in the annual promotions of the military, which the corps saw as its purview.

Under the slogans "Four Years of Repair – Four years of Reconstruction" and "Building Opportunities", Thaksin and the TRT won landslide victories in the February 2005 elections, sweeping 374 out of 500 seats in Parliament. The election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history. But his second term was soon beset by protests, with claims that he presided over a "parliamentary dictatorship."

He also used his position to create huge wealth for himself and his family by expanding his satellite communication and media businesses which also fed the Thai hunger for salacious gossip about celebrities and politicians. This made him some powerful enemies in political and elite social circles. He also used his media machine to associate himself with the monarch, sometimes pictures of the king with himself superimposed next to him were posted onto huge billboards along the freeways. He also placed pressure on the government's public servants to be more service oriented, to do their jobs and not demand extra payments, to work a full day and to respond to the public's demands for value for money. This once again made him unpopular with those who had been getting an easy ride with the former governments' laissez faire attitude towards the poor.

It is clear that in his quest to remain at the top, he went too far and upset the Bangkok elite. Whether it was jealousy or fear by the powerful establishment it will never be known, however when he refused to pay income tax on the sale of his media empire to a Singapore company, it was reason enough to commence a series of events which would eventually lead to his downfall.

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

The "crappy" I can agree to, but where exactly is the libel that you discern?

Having re-read it, I can see that, despite printing Thaksin's blatant lies, there's not sooo much that's factually incorrect on the part of the tabloid. Other than...

- The 61-year-old former leader has kept a low profile since being ousted in a military coup Sept. 19, 2006 (This one really got my goat and, because it was in the first paragraph, probably influenced my opinion of the rest of the article.)

- But his popularity remains high in the countryside because of policies that included micro-lending programs, erasing farmers' debts and a form of universal health care. (Erasing farmers' debts? What???)

- Thaksin, who won two elections (Did he really?)

So he got his start by leasing computers to the government? I would like to know more about that. Never have I seen any more info about that. Also, how did he get the license for AIS? How did that process work?

[shunima]

uhhh, is there a typo in the headline? Isn't it supposed to be "disposed Prime Minister"?

[geriatrickid]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

Care to explain why a libel case would be justified?

The Toronto Star is not a tabloid and it has won numerous awards for outstanding journalism. It is probably the largest circulation newspaper in Canada and its only competitor is the Globe & Mail which is a national newspaper. You may wish to reconsider who might get hit by a libel suit with an ignorant comment like yours. If you are angry about Thaksin, that's your problem. Don't take it out on a newspaper for carrying the interview. The paper should be commended for offering insight into a subject most Canadians are oblivious to. Papers like the Tupelo Express and the Sao Paulo review don't run original international stories like this.

[thaihome]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

Care to explain why a libel case would be justified?

The Toronto Star is not a tabloid and it has won numerous awards for outstanding journalism. It is probably the largest circulation newspaper in Canada and its only competitor is the Globe & Mail which is a national newspaper. You may wish to reconsider who might get hit by a libel suit with an ignorant comment like yours. If you are angry about Thaksin, that's your problem. Don't take it out on a newspaper for carrying the interview. The paper should be commended for offering insight into a subject most Canadians are oblivious to. Papers like the Tupelo Express and the Sao Paulo review don't run original international stories like this.

For a paper with such high journalism standards as you say, perhaps you can explain why they did not ask a single difficult question. You don’t suppose they were spooned fed this as an easy story by Amsterdam do you?

Sample questions

If you, as you claim, don’t know any of the UDD, how do you explain your meetings with the leaders leading up to April/May protests? Are you scheduled for a phone to address a rally this weekend?

Did the government not sit down with the UDD in the first days of the protests and offer to negotiate a way to have early elections? The meetings were shown on Thai national television, one of the leaders received a text as it became apparent one of the other UDD leaders was becoming receptive to a negoaited settlement, was that text from you? Why did the UDD leadership walk away from those meetings?

What is your reaction to comments made by Seh Deang, widely reported locally, on the day he was killed saying you had dismissed the moderate leadership and him and the radical were now in charge and would fight to the end?

So on and so. That is real journalism. What this article is nothing more the a hack taking the easy way out with an unquestioned PR feed from Amsterdam.

TH

[bubba]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

Care to explain why a libel case would be justified?

The Toronto Star is not a tabloid and it has won numerous awards for outstanding journalism. It is probably the largest circulation newspaper in Canada and its only competitor is the Globe & Mail which is a national newspaper. You may wish to reconsider who might get hit by a libel suit with an ignorant comment like yours. If you are angry about Thaksin, that's your problem. Don't take it out on a newspaper for carrying the interview. The paper should be commended for offering insight into a subject most Canadians are oblivious to. Papers like the Tupelo Express and the Sao Paulo review don't run original international stories like this.

For a paper with such high journalism standards as you say, perhaps you can explain why they did not ask a single difficult question. You don’t suppose they were spooned fed this as an easy story by Amsterdam do you?

Sample questions

If you, as you claim, don’t know any of the UDD, how do you explain your meetings with the leaders leading up to April/May protests? Are you scheduled for a phone to address a rally this weekend?

Did the government not sit down with the UDD in the first days of the protests and offer to negotiate a way to have early elections? The meetings were shown on Thai national television, one of the leaders received a text as it became apparent one of the other UDD leaders was becoming receptive to a negoaited settlement, was that text from you? Why did the UDD leadership walk away from those meetings?

What is your reaction to comments made by Seh Deang, widely reported locally, on the day he was killed saying you had dismissed the moderate leadership and him and the radical were now in charge and would fight to the end?

So on and so. That is real journalism. What this article is nothing more the a hack taking the easy way out with an unquestioned PR feed from Amsterdam.

TH

And what about:

Mr. Thaksin, you claimed in our interview here that you "don't know" the people in UDD. Would you care to comment on these photos showing you meeting with various members of UDD, or quotes from Jatuporn and others that you had phoned them?

[Pi Sek]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

Care to explain why a libel case would be justified?

The Toronto Star is not a tabloid and it has won numerous awards for outstanding journalism. It is probably the largest circulation newspaper in Canada and its only competitor is the Globe & Mail which is a national newspaper. You may wish to reconsider who might get hit by a libel suit with an ignorant comment like yours. If you are angry about Thaksin, that's your problem. Don't take it out on a newspaper for carrying the interview. The paper should be commended for offering insight into a subject most Canadians are oblivious to. Papers like the Tupelo Express and the Sao Paulo review don't run original international stories like this.

I have already answered that one - please see above.

I've never seen the printed version so it's fair to say it was premature for me to judge whether it's a tabloid or a broadsheet. Thank you for pointing that out. I however stand by the point that it is written in very-much tabloid style. My reasons - I read the OP and clicked on the link to read the whole thing. Therefore it surprises me immensely to see that "it has won numerous awards for outstanding journalism", because this article is really not a well-written or an investigative one.

And I doubt very much that the Toronto Star would not have run this story if our Canadian war-crimes-hero "Bob" Amsterdam was not representing Thaksin, and this is probably the same reason that a so-called credible news journal did not bring up the huge ambiguities in this single interview, not to mention the others that have come out nearly every day for the last year or so. But that's what he's paid for, right - spin? It's certainly not the pursuit of justice. I'd welcome a libel case from his side for this - I am confident I would destroy him in a Thai court, and would love the international media coverage about an Englishman acquitted of all charges when a world-acclaimed Canadian lawyer-cum-spin -doctor representing an ousted autocratic champion of democracy tried to sue him in Thailand. Probably would win me a lot of friends too.

You are right, the paper should be commended for offering insight into a subject most Canadians are oblivious to; but it should be condemned for the way in which they have done it.

[Wavefloater]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

A very strange post.

The Toronto star has never been a tabloid, unless they changed their format recently. Perhaps you're confused with the Toronto Sun, which could be compared to some of those crass British tabloids.

Also, this is an interview, and appears to be simply paraphrasing Shiniwatra, so how can it be uninformed. TS is obviously informing the reporter his feelings about being in exile.

[kropotkin]

Anyhow it is a non-story. The better story would be about how much of the online content one reads is generated by publicists who solicit "journalistic" websites just dieing for free content to fill their pages. I'm guessing the publicist wrote the whole article and just forwarded it to the website.

Agreed.

It's much more desirable than depicting him as shuffling around dirty street stalls at a market in Kampala, Uganda...

spoken as a true not-obsessed member of TV, that owns no obsessed / sponsored pic library.

but you might want to read the OP again.

[phiphidon]

Anyhow it is a non-story. The better story would be about how much of the online content one reads is generated by publicists who solicit "journalistic" websites just dieing for free content to fill their pages. I'm guessing the publicist wrote the whole article and just forwarded it to the website.

Agreed.

It's much more desirable than depicting him as shuffling around dirty street stalls at a market in Kampala, Uganda...

Personally I don't see what is dirty about those street stalls, similar to some in Bangkok I'd say, but he was probably looking for this stall,

[kropotkin]

Anyhow it is a non-story. The better story would be about how much of the online content one reads is generated by publicists who solicit "journalistic" websites just dieing for free content to fill their pages. I'm guessing the publicist wrote the whole article and just forwarded it to the website.

Agreed.

It's much more desirable than depicting him as shuffling around dirty street stalls at a market in Kampala, Uganda...

spoken as a true not-obsessed member of TV, that owns no obsessed / sponsored pic library.

but you might want to read the OP again.

Oops - i meant post #9.

Please do not crucify me too.

[johnefallis]

Ohhh, here we go with more whining know-it-all bitching again...

[zthyadat]

What a crock of sh1t, and a terribly uninformed article from a crappy Toronto-based tabloid. Hope it gets hit by a libel case.

Sorry, but how exactly is it a "crock of sh1t"? And "ill-informed"? For once, a foreign publication remembers to point out Thaksin's own little atrocities. the article is not taking sides, and as far as I can see is allowing Thaksin to hang himself with his ridiculous statements. "I don't know them" is followed shortly after with an admission by Mr. T's lawyer that he is giving money to the UDD. And his notions of reconciliation are counterbalanced by mention of his heavy-handed suppression of southern insurgents.

What was full of sh1t was Thaksin's statements, but the reporter can hardly change those - that is the way reporting works. And it is pretty obvious from the context that he is a vain, egotistical liar.