Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Mr Thaksin goes to Washington...or so it seems


He might yet change his mind. If Thaksin Shinawatra reconsiders his position, the former premier would see how he could be "trapped" if he goes to Washington on Dec 16, as reported by Noppadon Pattana yesterday.

An invitation from the Commission on Security Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)for Thaksin to testify on alleged human rights violations may sound tempting. But it could also be a trap. Questions will be raised all the way back to the violations of human rights in the three southern provinces, especially the "Takbai" incident, when Thaksin was premier.

He might be eager to discuss the killings of at least 91 protestors during April-May, 2010 rallies but Thaksin wasn't in Bangkok when the shootings took place. He, at best, could be considered an observer from afar. In fact, from pictures on the net at the time, he was shopping with one of his daughters in Paris during that critical time.

Of course, the Thai Foreign Ministry and Attorney-General will be reminding the American authorities that Thaksin is a wanted man back in Thailand and the two countries' extradition pact remains in effect.

Why would Thaksin take that risk when the real political gain from his presence in Washington isn't all that obvious.

Expensive advisers with their own agenda don't always provide valuable advice. Some free advice from well-wishers could very well be much, much more practical. This perhaps is one of the cases in point.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Agreed with Khun Suthichaiyoon. This could be a trap especially if we refer to the recent wikileak doc about US and Thai govt re. Russian arm trader case.