Thai Rak Thai Special Team To Tackle Sondhi Threat

[george]

Team to tackle Sondhi threat

BANGKOK: -- The Thai Rak Thai Party has set up a special team to try and stall Sondhi Limthongkul’s plans to bring down the government.

A source from the ruling party said its leaders were worried about Sondhi’s next rally scheduled to be held on December 9 at Lumpini Park, for which the government critic has called on the participation of half a million supporters.

“We are afraid that Sondhi may urge his audience to file a petition to His Majesty the King for a new interim Constitution on the following day, December 10, which is Constitution Day,” the source said. “Such a move would cause severe disharmony and may lead to our government being overthrown.”

The special team will be headed by Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.

Meanwhile, a media source said that government officials were keeping a close watch on television and radio presenters known for their critical views of the government.

“Some key government officials have secretly ordered that anchors presenting negative news about the government be removed from their programmes,” the source said.

--The Nation 2005-11-28

[solo siam]

not that secretly then

[Camelot]

Getting a bit paranoid by the sound of it.

Free speech is not unheard of in a constitutional democracy.

I wonder how long a satirical publication like Private Eye would last.

[opothai]

Getting a bit paranoid by the sound of it.

Free speech is not unheard of in a constitutional democracy.

I wonder how long a satirical publication like Private Eye would last. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

private eye would have a field day

in thailand but would be sued every issue

[johnnyk]

Getting a bit paranoid by the sound of it.

Free speech is not unheard of in a constitutional democracy.

I wonder how long a satirical publication like Private Eye would last. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

private eye would have a field day

in thailand but would be sued every issue

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe only sued once.

On the repeat offense a mysterious drive-by youknowwhat "....he had gambling debts."

[udon]

Hmm, a very insecure gov't....

[cclub75]

Hmm, a very insecure gov't....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not sure... Maybe they are playing the "dramatization" game : mount the pressure, create fears... and then create an "incident" (for instance during the Sondhi meeting) involving a mysterious third party (muslim extremists of the south would be perfect in that way)... and then take "action" like state of emergency to cut civil liberties etc.

The nazis did the same in 1933.

[Loaded]

This government needs no excuse to cut civil liberties. Think of the 2500 caualties of his war on drugs. Most educated Thais here in CM know that the biggest mafia influence here still, is a TRT member of parliament. Think of Tak Bai. Think of all corruption cases involving TRT mps reaching dead ends (literally sometimes).

[Jai Dee]

ANALYSIS: THAKSIN VS SONDHI

From the Political Desk of The Nation, November 28, 2005

Countdown is on: Will December 9 bring a wind of political change, or the end of the road for critic’s bandwagon?

The countdown is on to the clash of the titans. Come December 9 the series of ongoing rows between two former best friends – Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul – is expected to reach boiling point.

With both sides having so much at stake, many believe that the climax may reshape Thai politics. The question is, if the head-on collision is really inevitable, to what extent it will it be reshaped.

Sondhi, in his last “Thailand Weekly” forum, which has now turned into a major political rally, called for Thais to show up in their “five hundred thousands” in his planned gathering next Friday. And political observers believe such numbers are not just meant as a show of force, when a crowd that huge comes together, a major wind of political change will blow.

The government could opt for a variety of strategies.

The first would be to keep calm and let Sondhi exhaust himself. But this is looking less appealing as Sondhi seems to have new ammunition each week and doesn’t appear to be running out of ideas for attracting people to his campaign.

As a sign that he won’t let this become a one-way fight, Thaksin has set up a response team led by Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Wechayachai who will be aided by the Thai Rak Thai Party’s spokespersons. Some of them are former “October” activists involved in the big political upheavals in the 1970s who should know better than most what this kind of situation can lead to and how to cope with it.

However, a number of advisers are said to be against an eye-for-an-eye response, which could draw more public sympathy for Sondhi who is already seen as a hero by many.

But at a time when good national news is hard to come by, the government can expect little gain from opting to divert attention and sympathy for the veteran. Unless some “accidents” or “situations” occur that could drum up nationalistic sentiment in Thaksin’s favour, the general public’s feelings are unlikely to change.

One possible alternative is to discredit Sondhi, making it look like the attack has comes from a third party.

The two friends-turned-foes are believed to share some damaging secrets, which means information that could destroy one could also seriously harm the other. This strategy would have to be carried out with great discretion, with the aim of convincing the public that Sondhi is motivated by personal reasons or vengeance, otherwise it could boomerang on the prime minister.

It seems what is at stake now for Sondhi is his credibility, whether or not his business interests drove him to turn against Thaksin in the first place. At stake for Thaksin however, are both his political and business empires whose interests have become so intertwined.

It will be Sondhi going for broke. If 500,000 show up on December 9, Thaksin’s political clout will be all but shattered. As far as the prime minister is concerned, if this happens, the “good scenario” would be that the crowd demand a new constitution to tone down his power and domination. This is something Thaksin should gladly agree to.

But if such a mammoth crowd wants something more than that, Thaksin will have far less pleasant options.

Violence is one, but history shows that no government that opts for this route can survive. To protect his huge business interests, Thaksin may have to ponder the previously unthinkable – resignation or House dissolution.

As for Sondhi, his nightmare scenario would be far fewer people, perhaps just tens of thousands, turning up. This would affect the “legitimacy” of any demands he plans to make or action he plans to take. He will have to stay encamped at Lumpini, but his “magic” is likely to have all but disappeared three weeks later when the New Year’s festive mood sets in.

“The situation has not yet ripened,” said Gothom Arya, a member of the National Reconciliation Commission.

“An uprising requires explosive factors like extreme oppression or big threats to freedom and liberty. Those factors are there, but not yet developed to the points that they were during October 1974.”

Many political pundits still haven’t ruled out the possibility of the two equally shrewd men striking a behind-the-scenes deal. These analysts believe that Sondhi’s campaign was partly, if not largely, motivated by business interests, and if so the whole episode could come to an end at the same point as it allegedly began.

This scenario, however, is disputed by those who believe that Sondhi has come too far now to turn back. If the media tycoon’s TV projects suddenly got back on track, for example, he would find it difficult to face society’s keen glare.

Yet there are those who think that Sondhi never expected things to come this far and is in fact looking for a “peaceful” way out. If that is the case, whether or not he will be able to “get off the tiger’s back” and how he to do so will provide an interesting case study for years to come.

[Kido]

I heard Toksin tranfers his share to overseas that is why share market was weak this few days.