CDRM Assists Ex-deputy Prime Minister's Campaign

[Jai Dee]

CDRM appoints a panel to help former ex-Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai campaign for the post of UN secretary-general

The Council of Democratic Reform under the Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) has appointed a committee to help former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai (สุรเกียรติ์ เสถียรไทย) campaign for the post of UN secretary-general.

The committee, comprising 13 members who are all Foreign Ministry officials, is chaired by deputy permanent-secretary for foreign affairs Sihasak Puangketkaew (สีหศักดิ์ พวงเกตุแก้ว).

The committee is charged with working out and implementing campaign plans and strategies. The campaign will be financed by state budget.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 26 September 2006

[Jai Dee]

Update: Surakiart withdraws from UN contest

Former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai informed the prime minister on Thursday that he would withdraw his candidacy in contesting for the UN top post.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was speaking after meeting with Surakiart at the Government House.

"Khun Surakiart informed me that he would withdraw from the contest to be UN Secretary general," Surayud said.

Amidst the speculation of whom might become the next Foreign Minister, Surayud did not mention whether Surakiat, a deputy premier under Thaksin Government, asked or was asked for the post.

Surakiart had been running his campaign for the UN's top post to replacing the outgoing Ghanian Kofi Annan.

In the latest straw vote earlier this week, Surakiart ranked the fourth while South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon received an overwhelming votes of 14 out of 15.

Source: The Nation - 5 October 2006

[Jai Dee]

Some lessons from the failed UN bid

Thailand and Asean have both been made to look foolish by backing the ill-considered Surakiart campaign

Four valuable lessons can be drawn from Thailand's failed and wasteful campaign to get one of its own in the United Nations' top job. First, the candidate selected by the former government for the job was there for all the wrong reasons. Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was the biggest supporter of Surakiart Sathirathai's bid, thinking naively and selfishly that he could promote himself and Thailand if Surakiart prevailed. Even fielding a candidate for the position would raise Thailand's profile and help spread Thaksin's name around the world. What a cheeky way to promote a country.

Unfortunately, all the campaign to win Surakiart the UN's top job has done is hurt Thailand's reputation and diplomatic practices. Recent efforts have created a lot of criticism among New York-based diplomats, and now it could take years to smooth things over.

The other disappointment is that Thailand has plenty of other good potential candidates, people who would have been much more suitable in terms of personality, intellectual capacity and integrity. Too bad, then, that the Thaksin government opted to be partisan and myopic, refusing to even countenance the possibility that a better candidate existed.

So, it all boiled down to a foolish decision involving foolish people. In the future, the government will have to set up a more reasonable selection process if the country is to successfully put forward candidates for such high-profile positions.

Second, Asean must take some of the blame. This whole situation is something of a slap in Asean's collective face. In fact, this could be one of the biggest diplomatic blunders that the grouping has committed since it admitted Burma. For one thing, Asean staked its reputation and institutional integrity on backing the Thai candidate without first careful vetting his suitability. Of course, most member countries supported Surakiart only reluctantly because Thailand announced his candidacy three years before anybody else. The early bird got the worm, apparently.

This situation also revealed the weakness of Asean when it comes to talking to each other in a frank manner when sensitive issues are in play. None of the member countries had the guts to stand up and say at the beginning that there was no chance the Thai bid would succeed.

At the ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur last year, Singapore warned the other members of Asean that the South Korean candidate Ban Ki-moon had the right combination of support, but nobody listened. Of course, solidarity to the point of collective suicide is sort of the Asean way. In the future, Asean will have to learn how to speak out on such issues so it can head off potential embarrassments.

Third, now that Ban looks like a shoo-in for the post, how can Asean reconcile with South Korea, Japan and China, which strongly supported him? Asean's failure to cooperate with three Asian powers also revealed a lack of trust between them. These countries should have agreed on one candidate in the very beginning instead of fighting until the every end. On the surface, Asean seems to have believed that that its candidate would get backing from China and Japan, as well as the rest of the world. Imagine their surprise when the opposite occurred.

If Asean learns nothing else from the competition for the top UN spot, it must accept that its reputation does not carry as much weight as it may have once thought. Asean no longer commands the respect it did in the past. It is withering.

Finally, the Thai government must be held accountable for spending public money on such a foolish errand. The Council of National Security was too generous in allowing the candidate to continue his quest for the top spot even though he had condemned its actions on the night of the coup.

In the past three years, several hundred million baht - which could have be used to build at least 3,000 much-needed schools in the provinces - was wasted on first-class tickets, expensive wine and other perks and amenities. Worst of all, it will soon be payback time. Thailand made plenty of promises during the campaign that are likely to cost the country a fortune in terms of diplomatic reciprocity in the years to come.

Source: Editorial Opinion from The Nation - 5 October 2006

[Jai Dee]

Dr. Surakiart met PM this afternoon

Former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who has already withdrawn himself from the race to become the next United Nations Secretary General, traveled to the Government House to meet Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, following his arrival in Thailand this morning.

At 13:20 hours today, Dr. Surakiart had a talk with Gen. Surayud for about 30 minutes at Thai Ku Fah Building in the Government House. After the meeting, Dr. Surakiart did not give interviews with the media, and he has now returned to the United States.

According to the recent report, Dr. Surakiart fell to the 4th spot in the race to become the next UN Secretary-General.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 05 October 2006