RAWBangkok

It’s difficult to imagine how the new Prime Minister could have made a bigger blunder than to appoint as Foreign Minister the man in his party most widely associated with the recent PAD actions (including the closing of Bangkok’s airports for a week) which had the effect of damaging Thailand’s reputation around the world.

Probably the funniest quote from the Bangkok Post article below included this gem:

“Mr Kasit said … that the PAD was not a criminal organisation.

They are indeed criminals, armed and carrying out terrorist tactics inside the country.  They ignored court orders to vacate Government House and the airports, they amassed illegal weapons, attacked police and fellow citizens, hurling explosives and firing guns.

To try to paint his support for these thugs as a noble effort to support the democratic process is a blatant deception.  The PAD does not support the democratic process, but supborns it.

Kasit is quoted in the article as asking rhetorically, “”Will this fight (against corruption and for good governance) become my ‘moral scar’ that would prevent me from serving the nation again?“

Apparently it won’t, but it absolutely should.

The article goes on:

He said his first job as foreign minister, after being endorsed by His Majesty the King, would be to restore Thailand’s image.

And why has Thailand’s image been damaged?

Because of a military coup in 2006 that overthrew the democratically elected government, because of the occupation of Government House for more than two months, because of violent protests resulting in serious injuries to police and civilian deaths, and most of all because of the week-long closure of Bangkok’s two airports as well as the earlier closure of several regional airports.

Who was responsible for this? The PAD, who simply thumbed their collective noses at the courts, the government, the police, the army, ordinary Thai citizens and the international community.

Instead of Kasit’s sarcastic words upon his appointment to the post of Foreign Minister he should be appearing on TV to apologize deeply to the Thai people and to all the foreign visitors and businesses damaged by the PAD actions, which he supported.

Here is the full article from the Bangkok Post:

By: THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL and ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Published: 20/12/2008 at 12:00 AM

Kasit Piromya, former Thai ambassador to Washington DC who is poised to be foreign minister in the Democrat-led government, yesterday defended his participation in People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) street protests, saying his actions were based on his democratic convictions.

He said he was confident his expression of opinion would not cause damage to the new government.

Mr Kasit was seen on the stage of the PAD protest several times a few months ago to criticise the past governments and ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

PAD members were blamed for bringing the nation to its knees when they laid siege to two main Bangkok airports – Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.

Mr Kasit said joining the PAD protests was a democratic expression of opinion as provided in the constitution and that the PAD was not a criminal organisation.

“Joining PAD was not a sin because millions of people had also joined it to help uproot corruption,” Mr Kasit said. “When I retired, I still fought in order to help society to have good governance. That’s just it.”

He said that now he wears just one hat – as a politician – and that the government would serve everyone, no matter what the colour of their shirts.

He was referring to the social division between the red-shirted group which support the past Somchai government and yellow-shirted PAD supporters.

“Will this fight (against corruption and for good governance) become my ‘moral scar’ that would prevent me from serving the nation again? I worked as a state official for 37 years and never had a bad reputation,” said Mr Kasit, adding that he wanted critics to focus on his performance as foreign minister.

Asked if his nomination for the position was connected with PAD’s core leader Sondhi Limthongkul, he said: “Mr Sondhi is not my father and not the Democrat party’s father either. We respect each other and I remained true to my principles.”

He said he would not ask for cooperation from other countries to bring Thaksin back for trial but said Thaksin should respect the law and come back to defend himself.

“This is not an issue to ask for cooperation from other countries but we have to ask the countries whether they should allow someone to use their country as a base to attack his own motherland,” Mr Kasit said.

He said his first job as foreign minister, after being endorsed by His Majesty the King, would be to restore Thailand’s image. He said he was confident that other countries had faith in the new government’s capability to run the country.

“The country’s tarnished image was the result of conflict and cruel actions by a cruel government,” he said. “We should consider that protests are part of the democratic process for a better democracy. Every society has conflicts.”

He said preparing to host the Asean summit meeting was a priority, followed by solving relationship issues with Cambodia and Burma.

He said he would visit Cambodia soon to build more trust in order to resolve major problems including the borderline conflict, drugs, illegal goods and human trafficking.

“I would quickly continue negotiations over the overlapping marine zones,” he said. “If the case can be settled, both countries will be rich. What is most important is that there be no conflict of interest between Mr Abhisit (Vejjajiva) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.”

Mr Kasit said that both Thailand and Cambodia were keen to improve their understanding.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy were the first political leaders to send congratulatory letters to Prime Minister Abhisit, even before the Chinese and American ambassadors to Thailand. So that means something, quite an affirmative note for the government,” Mr Kasit said.

Cambodia will be one of the first countries to which the government will pay an official visit, Mr Kasit said, adding that leadership figures in the new government knew their Cambodian counterparts well and for a long time.