The Rohingya refugee problem continues to grow. Indonesian officials picked up 198 refugees in a boat who had been adrift at sea for three weeks. The refugees claim that the Thai military had dragged their boats back out to sea, leaving them on their own.
The Thai military has denied any wrong doing, although CNN reported that a source in the military confirmed that the towing had occurred. The Abhist government is calling for a regional solution to the problem.
Perhaps this is a new policy by foreign minister Kasit. He seemed delighted by the airport protests that effectively kept people from entering Thailand. Maybe this is just the next step. If the refugees' allegations turn out to be true, perhaps the foreign minister will declare that it was "fun" and that there was "good sun and good waves".
Other "good" news for the Abhist government includes a controversy over some spoiled canned fish given as part of the relief effort for southern flood victims. Apparently someone with a connection to a high level cabinet member donated some canned goods with spoiled fish. The opposition is trying to blame this on the government. It doesn't really appear that it was the government's fault, or that this will have much of an effect on anything, but it is a distraction.
Thaksin is back in the news. Actually, that last statement implies that he has been out of the news for any amount of time. I'm actually not sure if a day goes by where his name is not in the paper. Thaksin is saying that he wants to get back into politics now, and wants to be PM again.
In order for him to fulfill his desire, something has to change. He is currently banned from politics for four more years, and is facing possible jail time for his conviction on corruption charges.
After six years here in Thailand, we moved back to the U.S. Instead of returning to Ohio, we settled into California.
Showing posts with label kasit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kasit. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
UDD Demands
The UDD (the red shirts) are back in the news again, and have issued three demands to the government. They are demanding the removal of foreign minister Kasit, the dissolution of the government followed by new elections, and prosecution of the PAD for their airport occupation.
Two of the demands are actually pretty reasonable. The PAD's occupation of the airport cost Thailand's economy billions of dollars, and its total impact may not be known for a few years. The PAD protesters clearly broke the law and should be punished for it.
The foreign minister Kasit was a supporter of the PAD. He actually said that the airport protests were "a lot of fun" and "[t]he food was excellent, the music was excellent." One has to wonder how he could possibly be an effective foreign minister when he condones lawlessness, particularly when that lawlessness caused hardships on Thailand's foreign visitors. I have yet to hear a story where any tourist described the airport occupation as "fun". This guy is an extremely polarizing figure, and having him in the government says a lot about the current government. PM Abhist talks about wanting to unite Thais, but the inclusion of Kasit undermines the sincerity of his words.
I am not sure that I am in agreement with the UDD demands for new elections. While I think the Democrats ended up in power because it is what the military wanted, Thailand really needs a stable government. New elections might not be in the UDD's best interest anyway. There have been some elections to replace MP's and some local elections, and the current government has done much better than expected. If the government did call for new elections, the UDD might find its allies filling fewer seats in the Thai Parliament.
Two of the demands are actually pretty reasonable. The PAD's occupation of the airport cost Thailand's economy billions of dollars, and its total impact may not be known for a few years. The PAD protesters clearly broke the law and should be punished for it.
The foreign minister Kasit was a supporter of the PAD. He actually said that the airport protests were "a lot of fun" and "[t]he food was excellent, the music was excellent." One has to wonder how he could possibly be an effective foreign minister when he condones lawlessness, particularly when that lawlessness caused hardships on Thailand's foreign visitors. I have yet to hear a story where any tourist described the airport occupation as "fun". This guy is an extremely polarizing figure, and having him in the government says a lot about the current government. PM Abhist talks about wanting to unite Thais, but the inclusion of Kasit undermines the sincerity of his words.
I am not sure that I am in agreement with the UDD demands for new elections. While I think the Democrats ended up in power because it is what the military wanted, Thailand really needs a stable government. New elections might not be in the UDD's best interest anyway. There have been some elections to replace MP's and some local elections, and the current government has done much better than expected. If the government did call for new elections, the UDD might find its allies filling fewer seats in the Thai Parliament.
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