What the top brass say about each other

The new defence minister, Air Chief Marshal Sukampol Suwannathat comments on Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayudh Em-Ocha yesterday:

"We are both straight-talking characters. That's why we can understand each other. That's much better than sweet-talking people."

Gen Prayudh comments on ACM Sukampol today: "ACM Sukampol is my elder brother. Brothers don't hurt each other."

When 'Pu" meets 'Prem'

It was a much-anticipated scene: the meeting, albeit social, between Premier Yingluck Shinawatra and Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanond last night at the annual "Army Day" reception party.

It was all smiles on both sides. Lots of pictures were taken. But there was not a single report in the press this morning about what they told each other....not even greetings.

Of course, both of them had known before hand that the meeting would take place. The fact that they did make the appearances and made great efforts to sport happy smiles underscores the attempt on both sides to show their readiness to at least put up a public show of civility.

Of course, scenes of red-shirt demonstrators lambasting Gen Prem in front of his house remain vivid in the minds of a number of people. Thaksin Shinawatra's famous allegations that "someone with extra-constitutional powers" had been plotting his ouster can still be heard from many quarters.

But Premier Yingluck has shown her flexible attitude over this issue from the outset. As soon as she declared her decision to enter politics, Yingluck has been saying that she would like to seek an opportunity to meet Gen Prem, who, before last night, had been keeping a cautious silence.

Will last night's meeting break the ice, leading to perhaps other gestures of reconciliation? If past Thai political practices were any indication, you will see a series of other gestures before a real compromise can be struck.

Yingluck 2 Cabinet: Catch me if you can

Premier Yingluck Shinawatra says her first Cabinet has “already” been in office six months. It’s time to review, evaluated and shake things up.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva says this government started working “only” six months ago. If the premier feels the need to reshuffle her Council of Ministers, it probably means the Cabinet has missed its targets.
That’s how divergent the views are on the political scene. It all depends on where you stand and whom you speak to. In other words, reactions to the new Cabinet line-up (which has yet to be officially announced when I am writing this in the morning of Wednesday, Jan 18) are not only mixed, but are extremely subjective and partisan.
The strange thing about low expectations is that “bad” becomes “passable” and “mediocre” is automatically upgraded to “good” and the usual “acceptable” grading becomes “fantastic.”
Informed public discourse on the quality of politics has been banished from the conflict-ridden political landscape. If you are on one side, your reactions to everything that emerges from “your side” can’t be anything but positive. On the other hand, if it’s the other party that initiates certain activity, it would have to be downright ridiculous and terrifying.
I found it, therefore, rather amusing to hear those in the middle – trying to be “objective” about the whole political happenings – telling interviewers that the leaked list of the Yingluck II Cabinet “poses some very interesting challenging” to the prime minister.
That, of course, amounts to saying nothing. But trying to sound like saying something about nothing seems to be the new trend in a highly divisive society. You don’t want to be seen to be taking sides because you believe in “national reconciliation.” But when real reconciliation doesn’t happen, most people avoid making their opinion known.
They aren’t really members of the “Silent Majority.” Rather, they constitute the new class of “Muted Majority” who sit and watch in despair, hoping against hope that things will turn the corner, realizing, as Einstein once said: “You can’t solve problems using the same thinking as when they were created.”
The vocal commentators on the one side, not surprisingly, will tell you that Premier Yingluck is reshuffling her Cabinet to improve the performance after a six-month “probation.” That’s what a good CEO does in a successful business concern. That’s how her brother Thaksin had done before. You put more qualified personnel into the Cabinet to replace those proven unsatisfactory by the premier or the public. That’s call responsive government. That’s what every good prime minister should do.
Those on the other side cry foul, as expected. They immediately said in many cases, the choices of the new ministers reflect the usual “horse-trading” gimmicks. Political debt has to be repaid and favours have to be returned. So, it’s the qualifications of the individuals who count. It’s how the premier or her brother repays political debts that’s the main criteria for the new line-up.
They charge that the frequent Cabinet shake-ups doesn’t necessarily mean constant improvement attempts on the part of the prime minister. Rather, it shows just how much political debt has piled up on Thaksin whose main task these days is to pacify those who feel that the former premier owes them Cabinet, civil service and advisory positions for services rendered earlier.
And because you know that another Cabinet reshuffle may be effected again in May when some members of the 111 executive of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party are due to re-emerge from the five-year hiatus, there is little need to remember the names of some new Cabinet members, especially those named as deputy ministers. New names will soon replace the current ones anyway even before you have time to find out what their job descriptions are.
It’s therefore much more productive to ask who will be in charge of solving the major tasks facing the Yingluck government -- and how she goes about giving the public a regular score-cards of the performance of each Cabinet member.
Some of the main assignments for the Yingluck II Cabinet:
1. Who is in charge of measure to ensure that the Big Flood won’t recur?
2. Who’s responsible for the government’s economic policies to cope with the highly volatile international financial situation this year?
3. How does the new Cabinet implement the national reconciliation scheme which, despite all the promises, hasn’t taken any substantial shape in her first Cabinet.
If the premier could tell us who in the new Council of Ministers will carry out these major tasks (all clearly stipulated in the Policy Statement upon her taking office) and how we can grade their performances on a monthly basis, then we don’t even have to bother memorizing the names of the new Cabinet.
If we want to be realistic about it, the Thai public will just have to live with the fact that we will from now on have a new Cabinet every three to four months.
I know why this strategy will work brilliantly for the government. It’s the classic “Catch us if you can” gimmick all over again.

The Yingluck II Cabinet: Not all that surprising, except the timing

The Yingluck II Cabinet is expected to be officially proclaimed today. When the premier was asked late yesterday whether the lists of possible changes in her Cabinet reported in the media earlier yesterday were more or less accurate, she said: "Oh! It's time for me to get out of here!"

An upset FM wants to confront ambassadors over terror warnings

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovijakchaikul is miffed at the US, Australian and Canadian embassies in Bangkok for having issued their warnings to their respective citizens about "possible terrorist threat" in Bangkok without consulting the Thai foreign ministry.

Why the line of communications between the foreign ministry and the embassies failed is not clear. But the minister wants to summon ambassadors from the three embassies for a meeting to express his "disappointment" over the incident.

But then, it was later revealed that a total of about 12 embassies in Bangkok had issued such warnings without the ministry's advance knowledge either.

Now, will the minister call all the 12 ambassadors for a mass dressing-down session? Or perhaps the minister wants to check into what had actually happened between the ministry and the intelligence people?

Some of the envoys, if invited to the ministry, may have questions for the minister, such as: Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung had told the press that the Thai government had in fact obtained intelligence earlier (even before the US embassy's alert) that some terrorists might have sneaked into Bangkok.

If that's true, why hadn't the ministry informed the embassies? If that's not true, why did the deputy premier say so to the public?

Perhaps, Minister Surapong may want to change his strategy. Instead of summong the ambassadors to the ministry for a not-so-pleasant confrontation, he might want to host a dinner to discuss just what had happened to their normal channels of communications.

Otherwise, the alleged plotters of terror might be laughing all their way to Khao Sarn Rd or Sukhumvit Soi 22 for some beer!

A 'suspect' identified in terror warning

Thai police have released a picture of the "suspect" in the warnings issued by the US Embassy on "possible terrorist threat in Bangkok." He is identified in a Swedish passport as Atris Hussein, a Lebanese. He was detained at Suvarnnabhumi Airport on Jan 12.

Deputy Premier Chalerm Yoobumrung had said earlier yesterday that "two Lebanese" had been arrested in this connection. He then changed his remarks to say only one was "asked to come to testify." Later, a police spokesman said one foreigner had been "detained" and wasn't sure what charges to press against the suspect.

Defence Minister Gen Yuthasak Sasiprapa told reporters that he had received intelligence "one or two days" earlier about a possible plot of terrorism against Israeli facilities in Bangkok "because they were said to have killed a number of Iranians."

Chalerm said intelligence to that effect had in fact been received by Thai authorities even before the New Year.

It's not clear how Thai authorities will proceed with the case. US Embassy officials say the warning to American citizens in Bangko still "holds" and that it's "Thailand-specific."

US Embassy warns of "possible terrorist threat" in Bangkok

Emergency Message to U.S. Citizens: Possible Terrorist Threat
January 13, 2012
This message alerts U.S. citizens in Thailand that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain a heightened awareness when out in public; be alert for unattended packages/bags in public/crowded places and report any suspicious behavior to the nearest law enforcement personnel. We also encourage you to keep a low profile in public areas, particularly areas frequented by foreign tourists.

The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy is located at 95 Wireless Road in Bangkok, and can be reached by calling 66-2-205-4049, or by e-mailing acsbkk@state.gov. The Embassy’s after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-2-205-4000. The U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai is located at 387 Wichayanond Road in Chiang Mai. The American Citizen Services Unit of the Consulate General can be reached by calling 66-53-107-777 and by e-mail at acschn@state.gov. The after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-81-881-1878.

For the latest security information, you should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website, where current Worldwide Cautions, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings and health-information resources can be found. You can also obtain up-to-date information on security by calling 1-888-407-4747 (toll free) in the U.S. and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

We encourage you notify us of your presence in Thailand by enrolling in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

Note: Due to a technical error, some recipients received this message - followed by a recall message - a few minutes later. Please disregard the recall message.