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The British Lion Turns Lamb

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Written by A Correspondent in London

Monday, 10 November 2008

A government decree to send the exiled Thai prime minister on his way smacks of cowardice

The sudden decision of the British government to cancel ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s visa when he was out of the country was extraordinary. It has a nasty smell about it which suggests either that the British government is hoping for some business quid pro quo or that its diplomats in Bangkok are in thrall to the monarchists, deluded democrats and assorted thugs behind the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

Britain is well known for being host to many controversial persons wanted in their home countries for alleged crimes. They currently include a large contingent of rich Russians headed by one-time oligarch and former friend of Vladimir Putin, Boris Berezovsky. In the past they have included another former Thai Prime minister, Chatichai Choonhavan after his overthrow by the palace-approved military coup of 1991.

In earlier times the British helped democratic leader Pridi Panamyong escape into exile from the clutches of military strongman Pibul Songgram who organized the 1947 coup. (In a farcical trial Pridi was subsequently convicted of plotting regicide and spent the rest of his life in exile in France).

More recent Asian refugees have included such controversial figures as Malaysian banker Lorrain Osman, kept for years at public expense on remand in London while he fought, and eventually lost, the longest extradition case in British history. Indeed there are so many political refugees in the UK that its capital has become known to some as Londonistan.

So what is it that has induced London to pull Thaksin’s visa when he was out of the country and issue statements to airlines not to allow him on flights to the UK? The withdrawal of an existing visa and the demand to airlines seems to have been deliberately designed to humiliate Thaksin.

The British so-called defenders of democracy seem to have forgotten that Thaksin was overthrown in a coup and that his supporters won a subsequent election that the Bangkok elite declines to accept because it threatens their status and power to exploit the poorer classes, notably those in the countryside whose only political weapon is the ballot box.

It is well known that when in office Thaksin abused his powers and in a more perfect world should be held accountable. However, only the blindly ignorant or the intellectually dishonest could imagine that Thaksin and his wife were prosecuted for any other than political reasons. His case is not dissimilar to that of Anwar Ibrahim, jailed by Mahathir’s stooge judges to remove him from the political arena.

The British move provide is certainly good cheer for those who want to hand power to an unelected elite headed by a king of advanced age and an otherwise dysfunctional royal family. Quite what motivated it is unclear. British diplomats in Asia have a reputation for living in a world of their own, ignoring their own country’s values as they seek to ingratiate themselves with local elites.

Noted one veteran British correspondent with many years experience in the region: “They are stand-offish towards those (including journalists) they like to think beneath them but grovel before people they believe have status. Few have any backbone”.

But the move cannot have done much to endear Britain to its large Thai community. Many of those doubtless oppose Thaksin but London’s place as a second home, a comfortable refuge, for many Thais out of favor at home, will surely be damaged by this move. It may not matter much to jobs-for-life British diplomats but it will do scant good to a London economy already reeling from the collapse of financial institutions.

In the Thaksin case it must also be asked whether the British government would have dared do this if he still owned the Manchester City football club, which he sold earlier this year to Arab interests from the Gulf. It will not be surprising if mercenary considerations are not eventually found to have driven the British decision, whether the driving force came from London or from its representatives in Bangkok. After all this is a government which abused its own powers and trashed the rule of law to shield British Aerospace from prosecution for corrupt payments on sales to Saudi Arabia.

That at any rate makes more sense than imagining that Queen Elizabeth intervened at the behest of King Bhumibol, or that British diplomats honestly believe in the independence of the Thai judiciary in cases involving prominent politicians.

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written by jules2 , January 28, 2009

Britain is so useless nowadays.....what happened ?

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Clever Brits
written by Seann Fosnaugh , November 29, 2008

The British government would have to seriously consider the Thai government's request for extradition as Thaksin would likely be found guilty by a Thai court of at least one of the many alleged crimes while he was in office (corruption, abuse of power, concealing assets & tax evasion). Rather than wait for the Thai government's extraditon request, or Thasin's possible request for asylum, Britain simply cancelled Thaksin's visa and avoided having to make the decision of extradition. I think the British government was quite clever in solving an incident before it occured.

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To FarangrakThai
written by homeboy , November 19, 2008

You are exactly right, I second that

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Neither side is innocent
written by farangrakthai , November 17, 2008

I'm quite amused by the back and forth banter on this blog.... As someone who has lived and worked in THailand much of the last 10 years, I can say that in my unbiased observations, almost all of the political elite in the country should be in jail for corruption, so seeing them go after and attack each other like this would be funny, if it wasn't for the sad fact that the only real losers in this sad drama are the Thai people themselves, who are ignored and whose true rights of democracy are trampled by both sides of the political spectrum. I keep wondering when they (the public) will rise up and kick out of office ALL of the lifelong MP's and their backers. But then, I stop and realize... if that really did happen, there would be no one left to govern (rule?) the country! The final realization is that it is a sad reflection on the pervasive acceptance of deep-rooted corruption in the whole society. Furthermore, the sooner they give up their class oriented culture, the better off they will be. Unfortunately, as wonderful a place that Thailand could be, it will never go anywhere until there is a fundamental shift in the culture towards true egalitarianism and liberal "democracy", which can only be brought on by escaping from a mindset of personal greed and gain, and making a sincere effort to instill a respect and care for their fellow countrymen.
I hope this can happen before it is too late.

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Mr Thai Tax Payer - you are showing your stupidity
written by vahncitis , November 16, 2008

Quote Thai Tax payer , November 10, 2008 says "Taksin's criminal charge with 2 year in prision was in subsequent to the case of his lawyer trying to bribe the supreme court and he was finally lost the case."

Mr Thai Tax Payer - you are showing your stupidity and your lack of correct information. The 2 year sentence is due to corruption charges related to purchase of state land by his wife. His wife was acquitted because there was no corruption. But still Thaksin was sentenced for 2 years because of conflict of interest (to allow his wife to buy land legally!).

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Mr Thai Tax Payer - you are showing your stupidity
written by vahncitis , November 16, 2008

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Mr Thai Tax Payer - you are showing your stupidity
written by vahncitis , November 16, 2008

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