Thai opinion: With patience or otherwise, 'peace envoy' Banharn limps on

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With patience or otherwise, 'peace envoy' Banharn limps on
Tulsathit Taptim



BANGKOK: -- The place is called "The Sun House", but it's debatable whether Banharn Silapa-archa was blinded by its light last week or had already been blinded before the visit. He is an enigma, after all, so whatever convinced him that he could persuade Sondhi Limthongkul and Chamlong Srimuang to join Thaksin Shinawatra's "political reform" initiative will go to the grave with him. But credit to Banharn: he entered the lion's den with a poker face and took everything thrown at him like a man.

The Banharn who walked out The Sun House's door was the same Banharn who walked in, though there was disagreement over whether he left unfazed or looking like someone who didn't know what hit him. Like they say, there's a thin line between absolute naivety and bravery, and with Banharn it's even harder to tell.

In the past, they would chop off the messenger's head and send it back to wherever it had come from, so Banharn must have considered himself lucky. The best Sondhi and Chamlong could do was try to humiliate him, something the anti-Thaksin big guns admitted was not easy. Banharn is always difficult to provoke or anger. He's usually ice cool, barring a few, occasional public teardrops.

Sondhi and Chamlong began nicely enough, talking about old times and making friendly jokes about Banharn's diminuitive size. As soon as the ice broke, The Sun House men started firing on all cylinders. "You are being used by Thaksin," Sondhi asserted. "And the man will never be trusted," added Chamlong, who spoke with the credibility of a man who knew best because he let Thaksin take over the Palang Dharma Party over a decade ago.

Sondhi landed his biggest blow when he asked Banharn if the latter was also part of the problem. It was a relatively polite question, as Banharn could have simply been asked, "How dare you come here smirking like that and urging sacrifice for our children's sake when you yourself are one of the main reasons we got here?" Banharn applied the "Explain yourself in relation to the Thai crisis" textbook in his answer. He described himself as a victim.

The "political reform coordinator" was tricked into making a pledge that he would not accept an amnesty scheme that could benefit Thaksin. For a man who has led a political party dubbed an "eel on skates", that shouldn't amount to much, however. On a few occasions during the visit, he let slip his opinion that Thaksin probably suffered injustice. And he appeared to trust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's "sincerity" with all his heart.

Yet who should get the Oscar after that face-off is never a no-brainer. Despite rumours surrounding Sondhi's decision to "suspend the political role" of his People's Alliance for Democracy, the patriarch of The Sun House remained fiercely anti-Thaksin during the meeting. Admirers will point at the way Sondhi made a punch bag out of Banharn and say, "See? Can you honestly say a man who's doing that is capable of making secret deals with Thaksin?" Sceptics will invoke the timeless adage: Never believe what you see.

But this should be all about Banharn's autopsy. He did his utmost to look calm and earnest, although to many he might have come across as somewhat masochistic. It has been a rollercoaster since The Sun House visit. The meeting with the Democrats was a stroll in the park, though his "reform invitation" received a "No, thank you" from Abhisit Vejjajiva. But Banharn's composure was tested to the limits this week when a TV reporter asked him what good reform would be if it goes easy on corruption.

Banharn appeared to be seconds away from throwing the toys out of his pram when confronted by reporter Somjit Navakruasunthorn about his role. But you can also see that this "reform" ambassador really means business. If he is being "used", as claimed by Sondhi, he may not be the Thaksin camp's best idea, but he seems to be its only option.

By default or else, former prime minister Banharn kick-started the previous reform. Widespread corruption and fears of never-ending graft-coup circles led to the drafting of the "People's Constitution" in the late 1990s by an independent assembly set up with his clenched-jawed blessing. Thaksin controversially survived the charter's most potent anti-corruption mechanism, designed to guard against conflict of interest, and made the best use of other constitutional provisions, which virtually prevented government MPs from deserting a prime minister. Banharn was among old veterans who decried constitutional "loopholes" they said could make bad prime ministers omnipresent.

So, Banharn once sanctioned a reform, albeit reluctantly, that balked at conflict of interest, which many believed was a main corruption stimulator. Now he is faciliating another reform process, whose opponents fear will all but endorse a mixture of multi-billion-baht business and democratic leadership. Who else could support both reforms with such an enigmatic, deadpan face? He saw Anand Panyarachun, an instrumental man in the 1990s constitutional revamp, but not much news came out of the meeting, possibly because Anand was being too polite.

Banharn changing tracks may be an act of a genius still. Slipperiness and pragmatism are impossible to tell apart sometimes. According to Albert Einstein, humans "can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them". Isn't Banharn embracing this actually? Who are we to call him a masochistic reformist walking into a blind alley anyway?


-- The Nation 2013-09-18

[NongKhaiKid]

This old dinosaur will do anything to keep in politics and ofcourse the limelight.

He's just a piece of bamboo who bends which ever way the political wind is blowing.

Far from helping the country he and so many others like him who can't let go are holdingback the country's political development.

[CelticBhoy]

"Banharn limp"

At 82 what can he really expect?

[NongKhaiKid]

"Banharn limp"

At 82 what can he really expect?

Do you mean his gait or anything to do with the lovely young lady he was photographed with ?

I hope it's his walk.

[CelticBhoy]

"you mean his gait"

Aye, he's about as tall as my front gate . . . . just not as rigid.

[virtualtraveller]

Barnharn should retire from politics. His time is over.