Us Senator Slams Thaksin

[george]

BURMA-THAI RELATIONS: US Senator slams PM

Is Thaksin soft on Burma because of iPSTAR, Shin Corp? Sen McConnell demands answers

A leading US Congressman, Senator Mitch McConnell, has blasted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, describing his support for the military government of Burma as “odd behaviour given Thailand’s professed commitment to democracy and human rights”.

Speaking in the US Senate on Tuesday, McConnell charged that Thaksin’s policy towards Burma may have been shaped by his family’s investment in the country.

Thaksin’s cosy relationship with Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was questionable because it comes amid the influx of “narcotics, HIV/AIDS and other undesirable exports pouring across Burma’s borders into Thailand”, said McConnell, who is also the chairman of the US Senate Appropriation Committee.

“Some suspect that the raison d’etre can be summed up in a single word: iPSTAR,” McConnell said.

iPSTAR is a US$350 million (Bt14 billion)broadband satellite owned by Shin Satellite and Shin Corporation, a holding company founded by the Thai Prime Minister who owns 53 per cent.

“What investments, including projects and activities related to iPSTAR, do Shin Satellite and Shin Corporation have in Burma, and/or have planned for Burma?” asked McConnell, adding that he will pose this same question to Secretary of State Colin Powell when he appears before the Foreign Operations Subcommittee next month.

Shin Corp’s chief executive officer Boonklee Plangsiri dismissed the allegation, saying: “Our business dealings have nothing to do with politics.

“We are merely leasing transponders to the Burmese. We are not operating anything there,” he said.

A spokesman at Shin Corp’s marketing department said the deal was a joint investment with Burma’s Bagan Cybertech.

Shin Corp was granted a concession to install 5,000 satellite receiving stations in Burma’s rural area and that the company has so far completed 1,000.

Moreover, said the spokesperson, iPSTAR received a $350 million loan from the US’s ExIm Bank at the end of 2002 and added any objections over the deal would have been raised then.

McConnell also said he was alarmed and distressed by reports of deportation of Burmese refugees, exiles and migrant workers from Thailand to Burma.

“As the last few weeks have clearly demonstrated, Thai politicians are quick to promise a chicken in every pot – but sometimes chickens get the flu. I say this only to illustrate my hopes that Prime Minister Thaksin has prepared an alternative approach toward Burma and the SPDC that includes the full participation and input of [Aung San] Suu Kyi and the NLD as well as all ethnic nationalities,” McConnell said.

He said while the international community, Malaysia and Indonesia raised concerns over the political deadlock in Burma, Thaksin “seemed keen on letting the wind out of sanction sails at every opportunity”.

“Where others speak out to demand concrete actions from the SPDC, including the unconditional and immediate release of Suu Kyi and her compatriots, Thaksin has repeatedly risen to defend those whom Secretary Colin Powell referred to as ‘murderous thugs’.

“Last year, he initiated an international forum on Burma selfdubbed the ‘Bangkok Process’ that did not include the NLD (National League for Democracy), the United States, or other proven champions of freedom,” said McConnell in a statement to the Congress.

“However, it did include the SPDC, and was described by Thaksin as a meeting of the ‘like minded’. The ‘Bangkok Process’ is fundamentally flawed by the very absence of Suu Kyi and her supporters at the table. Tellingly, they remain under arrest and detention in Burma,” he said.

--The Nation 2004-03-04

[mouse]

Moreover, said the spokesperson, iPSTAR received a $350 million loan from the US’s ExIm Bank at the end of 2002

And just a short while ago someone said We don't need America. May be true but they seem to need our banks.

[dkstoney]

TESTIFY, BROTHER MITCH! TELL IT LIKE IT IS! WHAT IT BE!

[et33.com]

as far as i know

it's the kettle calling the pot black

recall the dirty oil deals

that the politicians of USA had

they are all the same

and they work for nobody

but the master

called money

and with it

of course it good to buy the bombs and guns as well...

that's well money and politics goes together...

and the world is in such a sorry state

it's all the fault of the american dream

because they must upkeep their dreams

american use up to fifty percent of the total world output per month

that's why the nation is glossly overweight with the highest

incident of heart diseases and heart attack

but they are just pathetic cash cows for the businesses

who controlled almost their whole life once they are born

told what to use

told what to eat

told what to buy

told what to wear

told how to shit and fxxx

sad pathetic fellows and most of them don't even realise what is happening

and now the rich and powerful are learning to treat their people like

cash cows and bowing to the sissy politician who are controlled by the businesses...

[huski]

Speaking in the US Senate on Tuesday, McConnell charged that Thaksin’s policy towards Burma may have been shaped by his family’s investment in the country.

obviously, shin corporation

Thaksin’s cosy relationship with Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was questionable because it comes amid the influx of “narcotics, HIV/AIDS and other undesirable exports pouring across Burma’s borders into Thailand”,

influx of narcotics, that's impossible thaksin has already delcared thailand drugfree.

[sonthaya]

Sure ?

[englishoak]

Obviously the two faces of TRT ( Toxin Loves Toxin ) are on the side of the Shin corp, and who cares about the people in Burma? the Thai government sure don't, and to be fair the rest of the world has done virtually nothing either, apart from just talkand tut tut at each other occasionally.

As for the Junta in control ?I'm sure Toxin is getting a few good ideas there himself !