Switzerland to support Thailand's national reform

[webfact]

Switzerland to support Thailand’s national reform

BASEL, 8 December 2014 (NNT) – The President of Switzerland has stated that Switzerland will support Thailand’s national reform in a meeting with the Thai Foreign Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn, met with the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Didier Burkhalter, during the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting in Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014.

The Swiss President thanked Thailand for the 50,000 EUR donation for the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine and stated that Switzerland will support the national reform of Thailand.

The Thai Deputy Prime Minister thanked Switzerland for sending experts to join the reform seminar in Thailand on 3 December 2014. He also invited the Swiss President to visit Thailand to enhance relations of both countries.


-- NNT 2014-12-08

[newcomer71]

Curious that NNT is the only news agency to report this... must be true!

[binjalin]

wow the land of cuckoo clocks going cuckoo about the Big D what a coup

Edited December 8, 2014 by binjalin

[cmsally]

The OSCE is not the same thing as Switzerland.

[whybother]

The OSCE is not the same thing as Switzerland.

Thanks for that insightful comment.

Now, how is that relevant?

Maybe you want to re-read this sentence:

The Swiss President ... stated that Switzerland will support the national reform of Thailand.

[cmsally]

The OSCE is not the same thing as Switzerland.

Thanks for that insightful comment.

Now, how is that relevant?

Maybe you want to re-read this sentence:

The Swiss President ... stated that Switzerland will support the national reform of Thailand.

Relevant in that was he speaking as head of OSCE or as President of the Swiss Federation?

They are 2 different positions. Seeing as there is no reference to it in the foreign press that I can find, presumably it was at the last OSCE meeting. This would have been at the OSCE meeting when apparently Thailand made a donation towards the groups work in Ukraine.

[chainarong]

It is irrelevant who supports Thailand's reform , the real question begins at home , do Thai's believe that reform can change/ improve their way of life, being of a diplomatic nature it is hardly surprising that the Swiss or for that matter anybody from another country would be rude enough to express dis-harmony at the Thai Junta, what is said at the embassy Sunday BBQ might be another matter.

[whybother]

The OSCE is not the same thing as Switzerland.

Thanks for that insightful comment.

Now, how is that relevant?

Maybe you want to re-read this sentence:

The Swiss President ... stated that Switzerland will support the national reform of Thailand.

Relevant in that was he speaking as head of OSCE or as President of the Swiss Federation?

They are 2 different positions. Seeing as there is no reference to it in the foreign press that I can find, presumably it was at the last OSCE meeting. This would have been at the OSCE meeting when apparently Thailand made a donation towards the groups work in Ukraine.

If he was speaking as the head of the OSCE then he couldn't say that "Switzerland will support", so he must have been speaking as the President.

He doesn't stop being the Swiss President just because he is the head of OSCE.

[cmsally]

No other news seems to be reporting this apart from NNT. The British ambassadors words got minced up recently, so I think a lot of the news should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[iTravelNow]

Are you and the Thais so sure that Switzerland is the right partner to discuss democracy? I ask as I found a posting (link below) that indicates to me that Switzerland is no more the Holy Cow of Democracy. I only can speak for myself that I heard many stories and Switzerland is trying very very hard to kill any decent on their system often also with substantial amount of cash. Judge for yourself.

https://50mincoach.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/running-saved-and-still-saves-my-live/

[Hardy99]

Are you and the Thais so sure that Switzerland is the right partner to discuss democracy? I ask as I found a posting (link below) that indicates to me that Switzerland is no more the Holy Cow of Democracy. I only can speak for myself that I heard many stories and Switzerland is trying very very hard to kill any decent on their system often also with substantial amount of cash. Judge for yourself.

https://50mincoach.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/running-saved-and-still-saves-my-live/

What a funny joke... I have read your grandfather had two pairs of red shoes.. it was posted on a Website. You can only speak for yourself because you heard many stories.. Do you know that people are talking from hearsay never know the truth of what they post further..? Can you explain about the other many stories, I would be interested to read.. I am swiss and may be you can tell me where you from and how about democratic System in your country..? and last, but not least shure D.Burkhalter never ever sayd that he supports the coup or supression of Democracy, his Expression would have been to understand like Switzerland supports all effortsfor national reform can bring back Democracy to the Thai People.

May be you can read popular Websites like Wikipedia or so.. just an idea :

Translated:

Direct Democracy in Switzerland is not only a form of government, but also a popular sentiment. [1] It allows the voters, at all levels of government (municipality, State, State) as supreme power (sovereign) [2] a say and have their own matters finally decide. In no other country in the world exist at national level nearly as extensive direct popular rights. [3] (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direkte_Demokratie_in_der_Schweiz)

[MobileContent]

Are you and the Thais so sure that Switzerland is the right partner to discuss democracy? I ask as I found a posting (link below) that indicates to me that Switzerland is no more the Holy Cow of Democracy. I only can speak for myself that I heard many stories and Switzerland is trying very very hard to kill any decent on their system often also with substantial amount of cash. Judge for yourself.

https://50mincoach.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/running-saved-and-still-saves-my-live/

What a funny joke... I have read your grandfather had two pairs of red shoes.. it was posted on a Website. You can only speak for yourself because you heard many stories.. Do you know that people are talking from hearsay never know the truth of what they post further..? Can you explain about the other many stories, I would be interested to read.. I am swiss and may be you can tell me where you from and how about democratic System in your country..? and last, but not least shure D.Burkhalter never ever sayd that he supports the coup or supression of Democracy, his Expression would have been to understand like Switzerland supports all effortsfor national reform can bring back Democracy to the Thai People.

May be you can read popular Websites like Wikipedia or so.. just an idea :

Translated:

Direct Democracy in Switzerland is not only a form of government, but also a popular sentiment. [1] It allows the voters, at all levels of government (municipality, State, State) as supreme power (sovereign) [2] a say and have their own matters finally decide. In no other country in the world exist at national level nearly as extensive direct popular rights. [3] (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direkte_Demokratie_in_der_Schweiz)

Switzerland is one of the very few democracies left in this world and referendums are very common. I know many Swiss people and they are proud of how the country is managed and the Swiss people are asked even in every Canton.

[iTravelNow]

@Hardy99

Sorry to trash your life long dream of a life in a golden cage. I do not expect a Swiss to agree with me. And yes, besides living in many parts of Europe sometimes longer sometimes less, I did also stay in Switzerland. A tough country for making true friends if you don't belong to the "inner circle". And if you only Google "how nice is Switzerland" you of course will not see the shadow. You have a well going SFIS - Swiss Federal Intelligence Service and they are good in "cleaning" the Internet.

Just to reply to your comment that we should not believe all is written on the Internet I can fully agree with this. So my question back to you - prove me the post I linked is wrong or scam. You can't as you have not lived the live of the poster. And prove me that Switzerland today, despite in the mind of people it should be considered Democratic, it is no more as it was. You can't!

Edited December 8, 2014 by iTravelNow

[iTravelNow]

Switzerland is one of the very few democracies left in this world and referendums are very common. I know many Swiss people and they are proud of how the country is managed and the Swiss people are asked even in every Canton.

I am not aware the post I linked speaks of the direct voting system. He speaks of a very different kind of issue. Let me c&p a part of it: "A short look back. 24 years ago I and my family lost literally everything – our wealth of not less than a million dollar and the company I had built over the past years. How? A Swiss rogue group even comprising of local government employees hijacked a new and innovative service I opened to help the economy minimize losses through addiction at the workplace."

So we speak here of fraud, corruption and intimidation with the help of local Government employees.

[millwall_fan]

I don't see why anyone needs to assist Thailand in 'National Reform': Its as easy as ABC: Reform the police so that they understand 'policing' and stop lining their pockets (maybe the Swiss could help with this). Train the police to understand the difference between democratic protest and attempts to overthrow the elected government (Show them a video of what happened to 'Occupy Wall Street' when they tried to set up a permanent protest camp in New York City). Equip the police to achieve this (maybe the Americans could help here). Also train them to identify and prevent vote buying. Then reform and reduce the size and status of the military to ensure that they can no longer mount coups d'etat or turn their guns on their own people. Next reform the judiciary, academia and big business so that they represent all the Thai people and not just the narrow Chinese elite Now hold elections and let the Thai people as a whole decide who they want to govern them. It's not rocket science and it doesn't take foreign powers to achieve this (though expressing opposition to military rule is important). Then the Swiss can concentrate on looking after dictators bank accounts and making the aforementioned cuckoo clocks.

[Jeremy50]

I can't really see how the cleanest, most efficient, and safest country in the world, with the most punctual and hard working people, would have anything at all in common with Thailand.

[Hardy99]

@Hardy99

Sorry to trash your life long dream of a life in a golden cage. I do not expect a Swiss to agree with me. And yes, besides living in many parts of Europe sometimes longer sometimes less, I did also stay in Switzerland. A tough country for making true friends if you don't belong to the "inner circle". And if you only Google "how nice is Switzerland" you of course will not see the shadow. You have a well going SFIS - Swiss Federal Intelligence Service and they are good in "cleaning" the Internet.

Just to reply to your comment that we should not believe all is written on the Internet I can fully agree with this. So my question back to you - prove me the post I linked is wrong or scam. You can't as you have not lived the live of the poster. And prove me that Switzerland today, despite in the mind of people it should be considered Democratic, it is no more as it was. You can't!

joke again..

itravelnow.. YOU posted the link, so YOU ARE THE ONE who should can prove that the story is truth.. specially because you based on that story going to talk about a country's reputation, people and democratic system. So my question back to you - can YOU prove the post you linked is truth and no scam??

Switzerland is democratic, what not means that I am happy with every result of the many votings - but WE HAVE votings and every citizen can collect 100'000 signatures to make a Referendum and get a vote!

I dont need to Google, I can speak about experience and practical knowledge. As an IT Consultant I cant tell you a country with less restrictions in Terms of Internet publications.

I agree you can believe what you like, live in your "Cage" and be happy! We have a proverb that says that everyone gets the friends he deserves

I have never had the feeling to live in a Cage, I feel free, but YOU FORGOT to tell me from WHAT HEAVEN ON EARTH COUNTRY YOU are comming from... :-)

Is it possible that you dream your life - instead of same I can do live my dreams.. ?

Wish you a merry Christmas and a "golden Cage" with pink clouds for your future.

[fobuff]

How can he support the reforms when nobody knows what the reforms are. The only reform now is a military coup, martial law, military junta and self imposed great leader....

[iTravelNow]

joke again..

itravelnow.. YOU posted the link, so YOU ARE THE ONE who should can prove that the story is truth.. specially because you based on that story going to talk about a country's reputation, people and democratic system. So my question back to you - can YOU prove the post you linked is truth and no scam??

Switzerland is democratic, what not means that I am happy with every result of the many votings - but WE HAVE votings and every citizen can collect 100'000 signatures to make a Referendum and get a vote!

I dont need to Google, I can speak about experience and practical knowledge. As an IT Consultant I cant tell you a country with less restrictions in Terms of Internet publications.

I agree you can believe what you like, live in your "Cage" and be happy! We have a proverb that says that everyone gets the friends he deserves

I have never had the feeling to live in a Cage, I feel free, but YOU FORGOT to tell me from WHAT HEAVEN ON EARTH COUNTRY YOU are comming from... :-)

Is it possible that you dream your life - instead of same I can do live my dreams.. ?

Wish you a merry Christmas and a "golden Cage" with pink clouds for your future.

Well, well #Hardy99, if you can't prove the opposite at least make thinks look like it to be a joke. That is a well used strategy mainly by those who must protect their reputation. Didn't you have this famous comedian Emil who portrayed the Swiss as they are in his sketches? Unfortunately only few realized that while the others where laughing at hart because they considered it being a "joke".

You may have missed my answer to @MobileContent, (#14), where I had to correct some answers. In that blog post there was nothing about voting rights etc. but about corruption and nepotism. Please do feel free to correct me if you have the impression I can't read. You could probably be one of those who complain about corruption in Thailand, China, Russia or any other dictatorial nation. But if this story proves to be true (please ask the blog owner if it is), then Switzerland is in no way in a better situation than other NON Democratic AND corrupt nation that exist on planet earth.

You mentioned that you don't need to Google. But I strongly suggest you dive a bit deeper into the Internet and do not rely only on rusty experiences. You will be amazed what you can find. Of course it is not always easy to separate truth and fictions and need to do some more researches. But why are you not giving it a try?

One day, should we know each other better and if I should trust you I may share more private information with you. Sorry but the world has changed since quiet a while. And thanks for asking, I am pretty stable and know where I belong to.

I return the well wishes to you. My Christmas gift is already defined (nothing pink in it - sorry). And as I am not living in Switzerland I can't see any "golden cage" especially from where I come from.

UPDATE 1: I remember to have read about a scandal you had in Switzerland around early 1990. The blog poster on 50minCoach.wordpess.com wrote that his issue is about 24 years old. Could that be eventually related? Just a thought.

Here the link to to the "Secret File Scandal":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_files_scandal

BTW: What is the German Name for this?

Edited December 8, 2014 by iTravelNow

[Robroona]

What is the President of Swaziland doing here? Long way from Mbabane

[Krataiboy]

You scratch my back. . .

[whybother]

What is the President of Swaziland doing here? Long way from Mbabane

You need to learn to read. They're not here. They were in Swaziland.

[German Viking]

wow the land of cuckoo clocks going cuckoo about the Big D what a coup

The Land of the cuckoo clocks is the most south western part of germany

"Schwarzwald" (Black Forest) bordering to switzerland, but is'nt switzerland.

http://www.schwarzwaldimpressionen.de/zur-weltgrosten-kuckucksuhr-in-den-schwarzwald/

[chooka]

Did anyone ask the Swiss President? Thailand's Junta just loves shooting it's mouth off and speaking for others.

[German Viking]

Are you and the Thais so sure that Switzerland is the right partner to discuss democracy? I ask as I found a posting (link below) that indicates to me that Switzerland is no more the Holy Cow of Democracy. I only can speak for myself that I heard many stories and Switzerland is trying very very hard to kill any decent on their system often also with substantial amount of cash. Judge for yourself.

https://50mincoach.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/running-saved-and-still-saves-my-live/

What a funny joke... I have read your grandfather had two pairs of red shoes.. it was posted on a Website. You can only speak for yourself because you heard many stories.. Do you know that people are talking from hearsay never know the truth of what they post further..? Can you explain about the other many stories, I would be interested to read.. I am swiss and may be you can tell me where you from and how about democratic System in your country..? and last, but not least shure D.Burkhalter never ever sayd that he supports the coup or supression of Democracy, his Expression would have been to understand like Switzerland supports all effortsfor national reform can bring back Democracy to the Thai People.

May be you can read popular Websites like Wikipedia or so.. just an idea :

Translated:

Direct Democracy in Switzerland is not only a form of government, but also a popular sentiment. [1] It allows the voters, at all levels of government (municipality, State, State) as supreme power (sovereign) [2] a say and have their own matters finally decide. In no other country in the world exist at national level nearly as extensive direct popular rights. [3] (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direkte_Demokratie_in_der_Schweiz)

I'm not from switzerland, but I agree 100% with you.

IMO is switzerland the only real democracy in this world, caused the ppl having the last word after any decisions of the government.

If the ppl don't like a decision of the government, than they can apply for a popular vote and this decision can the government not change only the ppl in a popular vote again.

This is not only written right in switzerland the folk use it.

They made the last years several popular votes against the decisions of their government and I liked them all.

I all the other supposed to be democracies, getting the politicians a kind of amnesia about their promises the made before the was elected and do the next mostly 4 years only what the capital want.

[MobileContent]

Switzerland is one of the very few democracies left in this world and referendums are very common. I know many Swiss people and they are proud of how the country is managed and the Swiss people are asked even in every Canton.

I am not aware the post I linked speaks of the direct voting system. He speaks of a very different kind of issue. Let me c&p a part of it: "A short look back. 24 years ago I and my family lost literally everything – our wealth of not less than a million dollar and the company I had built over the past years. How? A Swiss rogue group even comprising of local government employees hijacked a new and innovative service I opened to help the economy minimize losses through addiction at the workplace."

So we speak here of fraud, corruption and intimidation with the help of local Government employees.

Sorry to hear about your problem with the rouge Swiss group. I went through the same ordeal in Thailand during the 1997 financial crisis. Had a company with 25% in shares (minority) and due to a corrupt government officer my names from the shares overnight were removed and the company was sold for over 40 million Dollars several years later. This clearly was a fraught case but I was advised to stay away from the rough group or otherwise I will be popped off in no time. I written off the business as part of an experience.

I truly learned my lesson from it to be very selective with who and with whom I don't want to do business.

As for the inner circle of Swiss people. Swiss people stick together and so do the German's, Thai's, Singaporean's and Indonesian Chinese.

After 28 years in Asia you can get access to the inner circle of good and honest Swiss people's but they are very selective with who they do business and you need a lot of references from other Swiss companies or Senior Management to enter their circle.

[dominique355]

Switzerland is one of the very few democracies left in this world and referendums are very common. I know many Swiss people and they are proud of how the country is managed and the Swiss people are asked even in every Canton.

I am not aware the post I linked speaks of the direct voting system. He speaks of a very different kind of issue. Let me c&p a part of it: "A short look back. 24 years ago I and my family lost literally everything – our wealth of not less than a million dollar and the company I had built over the past years. How? A Swiss rogue group even comprising of local government employees hijacked a new and innovative service I opened to help the economy minimize losses through addiction at the workplace."

So we speak here of fraud, corruption and intimidation with the help of local Government employees.

and how is this related to the Swiss democracy?

[jayboy]

No other news seems to be reporting this apart from NNT. The British ambassadors words got minced up recently, so I think a lot of the news should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Not exactly minced up but the British Ambassador's critical comments were simply omitted from the Thai official release.We are dealing with a pack of liars here and the sooner all realise this the better.

[maidee]

if sure the 50k euro made good a good stay, a good hotel & good girls

[me313]

Are you and the Thais so sure that Switzerland is the right partner to discuss democracy? I ask as I found a posting (link below) that indicates to me that Switzerland is no more the Holy Cow of Democracy. I only can speak for myself that I heard many stories and Switzerland is trying very very hard to kill any decent on their system often also with substantial amount of cash. Judge for yourself.

https://50mincoach.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/running-saved-and-still-saves-my-live/

Try watching "Chatzefratz" on YouTube about Swiss banks--perhaps what was not mentioned in any of the above references to Swiss support are the BANKS.