Revered monk promotes peace and harmony

Revered monk promotes peace and harmony.

ABOUT POLITICS

A revered monk in the Mekong region performs a ritual to restore morale and ward off evil. / Support from former communists is vital to the CNS move to overcome political dissent against the government. / Rumour about Democrat deputy leader Apirak Kosayodhin's departure unsettles party executives.

Phra Kru Ba Boonchum Yansangwaro, one of the most revered monks of the Mekong region, hammered home his spiritual message of social harmony and peace before multinational Buddhist followers in a traditional rite called "Phi Tee Sueb Chata" on the occasion of his 44th birthday in Chiang Rai.

Thousands of Buddhists from China, Laos, Burma and Thailand flocked to a 40-rai land plot dedicated to the religious ceremony in Mae Rua village in Mae Chan district on Tuesday.

Phi Tee Sueb Chata, in local dialect, is the northern time-honoured ritual to boost longevity and commonly held on birthdays or recovery periods from illness in a bid to restore morale and ward off evil.

Most Chinese and Burmese Buddhists were allowed to travel through Mae Sai and Chiang Saen border checkpoints, but the Burmese authorities limited the influx of its own nationals to Thailand to not over 5,000 and their stay in Thailand for no longer than three days.

During the crowded longevity-boosting ceremony, Phra Kru Ba Boonchum said: "I give great blessing to His Majesty the King and wish him good health. Moreover, I wish all world citizens to be safe from disasters, especially Thai people. I wish the Thai people would put aside their differences and help foster harmony for the sake of the nation," the well-regarded monk said.

Phra Kru Ba Boonchum acquired his name from impeccable Dharma practices and propagated Lord Buddha's teaching in many countries, including Burma, China, Laos and Bhutan.

He entered the monkhood at the age of 11 and has promoted his Vipassana meditation practice since then.

The revered monk attracted a mass following among people in the Mekong region, including Thailand's high-ranking officials and veteran politicians such as former prime ministers Chatichai Choonhavan and Chuan Leekpai.

Besides, former army brass such as Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr and Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh were also said to be zealous disciples of the monk.

In the future, the religious ground close to Chiang Saen lake would be cleared for construction of a spiritual centre dedicated to the monk.

The cold spell has not deterred disciples from catching a glimpse of Phra Kru Ba Boonchum, feeling the experience was well worth the wait.

Some hilltribe people from Burma said they boarded a boat in the Mekong River to see the monk in Chiang Saen district, a trip that took them two days.

Phra Thammapanya Yansampanno, a close aide to the revered monk, said Phra Kru Ba Boonchum went into spiritual hiatus in a cave somewhere during the three-month Buddhist Lent and ate only fruit.

In the past three years, Phra Kru Ba Boonchum had spent time mostly in Thailand and he once propagated religious instructions in Bhutan where he received special holy offerings from Bhutan's then Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on a yearly basis, the monk added.

CNS seeking support from ex-communists

The Council for National Security is speeding up efforts to win support from former members of the now-defunct Communist Party of Thailand in a move to subdue the growing political dissent against the government.

The mission, initiated last year by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont when he visited former CPT members in the North and Northeast, seemed to progress slowly, however.

Apparently, the officials the prime minister entrusted to carry out the mission are less than enthusiastic about it.

But over time, their attitude changed, having witnessed first-hand how the CNS and the interim government have been rocked by unrelenting undercurrents, believed to be masterminded by political groups loyal to the previous government toppled by the CNS.

This time, CNS deputy secretary-general Saprang Kalayanamitr plays a major role in what it calls "winning back the masses" from the former ruling Thai Rak Thai party which had successfully gained the trust and support of former CPT members through its populist policies.

The CNS strategy is to make the former CPT members, many of whom are village leaders, switch sides and become sympathisers of the CNS and the Surayud government.

Gen Saprang, the former Third Army Region chief who has solid experience in military affairs in the North, has revitalised the strategy by assigning a working group, led by Col Suthat Jarumanee, commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment, to call a meeting with former CPT members in the North.

Its main objective is to gather their complaints and hear their grievances and find ways to help them before the term of the interim government ends later this year.

According to Gen Saprang, the help would prevent these former comrades from being used as a "political tool" by political parties or politicians.

The move seems to please fomer CPT members in the northern provinces of Phayao and Chiang Rai as the groups are preparing to turn to the government and the CNS for assistance in attending to their problems. Many of them are struggling to acquire land for farming. Some, who are ethnic minorities, are stateless while others are in need of job training.

Thai Rak Thai, founded by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was quick to engineer populist schemes to relieve their troubles, which explained the party's landslide victory in general elections in the North and Northeast.

Their support is what the Surayud government wants. It is believed to be a key to help tackle the undercurrents. This is because the former CPT members are within close-knit, well-organised groups. They are politically conscious with close link to leaders of many communities countrywide.

Apirak rumour causes jitters

A rumour is growing that Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin is contemplating leaving the Democrat party which first gave him the political platform on which to stand.

The rumour has gained some weight now that Mr Apirak appeared to defy the Democrat executive board by naming Bannasopit Mekvichai as his deputy governor overseeing public works.

Ms Bannasopit was a former deputy Bangkok governor when Bhichit Rattakul, head of the Mod Ngarn political group, was governor.

Needless to say Ms Bannasopit's appointment has irked the Democrat executives. Mr Apirak, also the Democrat party's deputy leader, however, stood firm on his decision and explained it was Mr Bhichit who persuaded him to hook up with the Democrats in the first place. That was more than 10 years ago when Mr Bhichit was still a Democrat member. Mr Bhichit later broke away from the party to form his own Mod Ngarn group.

Back to the Bannasopit issue, public works is tied to a substantial amount of budget for City Hall executives to manage.

With Mr Apirak at the helm of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Democrats expected the party would have a wider control of Bangkok's public works, which would create a canvassing windfall for the party during elections of city councillors and district councillors.

Mr Apirak could not have brought Ms Bannasopit into the BMA fold at a worse time as Mr Apirak's administration of the capital is seen as not being helpful in terms of strengthening the Democrat party's popularity in Bangkok.

During recent elections of city councillors and district councillors, some Democrat candidates complained Mr Apirak had been rather less generous in offering them assistance.

They had counted on his support as they knew that the country's largest conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) has been one of the most solid backers of Mr Apirak. Before becoming Bangkok governor, Mr Apirak was the chief executive officer of CP's TA Orange company, a mobile phone operator now known as True Move.

It has been clear, however, that the CP patronage was limited to Mr Apirak only, leaving his party out in the cold.

This is why Democrat executives begins to be wary of Mr Apirak's loyalty and starts to look for a new candidate for the Bangkok governorship well in advance just in case Mr Apirak finally decides to leave the party.

The party can't help being prepared as Somkid Jatusripitak, former deputy prime minister under the Thai Rak Thai government, is rumoured to be extending a political courtship to Mr Apirak which could give the Democrats a run for its money in the future.

Although Mr Apirak could not rival Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva in terms of political well-roundedness, he is quite outstanding in business administration and is steadily gaining ground on the political front as well.

In addition, the experience as Bangkok governor would make him too prominent to be under the umbrella of the Democrat party which, though not exactly in decline, is still fumbling over ways to sharpen its political edge.

Bangkok Post
Thursday January 11, 2007