Forget Thaksin, there are more important issues to deal with
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Thaksin Shinawatra's controversial comments in South Korea only goes to prove that the fugitive former prime minister - perhaps one of the most divisive personalities in modern Thai politics - can still get under the skin of the ruling National Council f
The military rulers reacted strongly and showed they were prepared to “go all the way” with the founder and former leader of the Thai Rak Thai party.
First, the Foreign Ministry announced last Wednesday it had revoked his two Thai passports. The junta then gave the go-ahead to the process of stripping him of his police rank.
Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya earlier this week ordered the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to begin an investigative process for possible action against Thaksin for violating the les majeste law, following his comments that the Privy Council was behind the 2006 coup.
Former Democrat MP Nipit Intarasombat said Thaksin’s comments in South Korea had ruined all but the slimmest chance for national reconciliation.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is deliberating whether it should indict Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, and the former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul for issuing new passports to Thaksin during the Pheu Thai administration.
One could argue that the ruling junta is overreacting. After all, it wasn’t the first time Thaksin had argued that the Privy Council was behind the coup.
The key reason for the junta’s aggressive retaliation was more a matter of perception, to demonstrate their capabilities and to scare off any attempt to discredit their administration in the future.
It was the wrong move by the junta mainly because the result of its actions led to a consequence opposite to what the country needed.
The country and Thai politics must move on from Thaksin and his family. The result of the latest act, on the other hand, had the junta reminding the world how much influence Thaksin still possesses and how much of a threat he is, at least through their eyes.
It strengthens his position in the Pheu Thai camp, judging from several key figures who came out to criticise the junta’s reaction, including Nattawut Saikua, former deputy minister of commerce and red-shirt leader, Chertchai Tantisirin, former Pheu Thai MP, and Anusorn Iamsa-ard, acting deputy spokesman for Pheu Thai.
It has also raises public awareness of Thaksin’s credibility abroad as he was invited to an international event, the 6th Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul.
What the country needs is for everyone to move away from Thaksin and not look back. That includes key members of the Pheu Thai camp, who are trying to decide if their continued association with the Shinawatra family, or lack thereof, will secure them a brighter future in politics.
Thaksin’s comments should not have been ignored, to be sure, but the junta’s response should have been more measured and less aggressive.
If the junta is sincere in its efforts for reconciliation, then it should lead by example; after all, two wrongs do not make a right.
Plenty of more important issues are on the horizon that the media should be concerned about ahead of the general election, such as the content of the draft charter and the details of short-term and long-term reform plans for ourselves and the future generation.
These are far more important issues than the pettiness of two rival political camps.
