PM flays Thaksin in Tokyo talk

Protests at home as he signs Japan trade pact

POST REPORTERS and REUTERS

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont used his visit to Japan to hit back at his predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra, as protesters in Bangkok burnt mock-ups of the Thai-Japanese free trade pact that he co-signed in Tokyo yesterday. Gen Surayud also told Japan's National Press Club that graft investigations against Mr Thaksin and his family members could be wrapped up by the end of this month.

He drew a line between himself and the leaders of the Sept 19 coup in the Council for National Security (CNS).

''I'm the one who calls the shots,'' Gen Surayud said. ''I am not a military government.''

Gen Surayud and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday signed the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) which the Thaksin government began negotiating some five years ago.

Protesters at the Japanese embassy in Bangkok resorted to voodoo rituals to denounce the pact, after failing to get the Supreme Administrative Court to remove officials involved in negotiating it.

They burned mock-ups of the agreement and a dog-skin covered booklet listing ministers in the Thaksin and Surayud governments who had taken part in the negotiations.

Saree Aongsomwang of the Foundation for Consumers likened the signing of the JTEPA to the controversial signing of a treaty with Japan by Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram during World War Two, without the consent of parliament.

In Tokyo, Gen Surayud blasted Mr Thaksin's dismissal of current efforts to root out corruption.

''In a recent Time interview, Mr Thaksin told the world that 'corruption in Thailand won't go away, it's in the system'. If I thought that was true I wouldn't be here today,'' Gen Surayud said in a prepared speech to the Press Club.

He reiterated that Mr Thaksin's actions led to the decision to launch the coup. ''In a nutshell, the triggers for the military's intervention were the unprecedented consolidation of political and financial power by Mr Thaksin during his five years as prime minister, his alleged abuse of state power, widespread corruption, curtailment of media freedom and a disastrous human rights record,'' he said.

In response to questions, he said he was not directly involved in the investigations into alleged corruption by Mr Thaksin and his family members, but believed that the probes were nearing an end.

''I can say that we are quite closing in on the final chapter of Mr Thaksin's future,'' he said. Investigators were looking into charges linked to Mr Thaksin's first term as prime minister, among others.

In what was seen as a bid to reassure Japanese investors, he pointed to the time-line for restoring democracy, with a referendum on a new constitution to be held on Sept 3 and a general election on Dec 16 or 23.

''I believe that by the end of this year, following free and fair elections, Thailand will again emerge with enhanced democratic credentials,'' he said.

At the same time, Gen Surayud, a former army chief, emphasised that he could ignore pressure from the CNS.

The prime minister last Thursday refused to evoke emergency powers to deal with a groundswell of protests despite urgings from the CNS.

Since then, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, the CNS chairman, has repeatedly denied any rift with Gen Surayud.

Gen Surayud also said Mr Thaksin was free to come back to Thailand but that his return might prove difficult.

''Yes, as a Thai citizen he can come back, but again as one who caused big trouble in Thailand, I think it is not easy for him to come back,'' he added.

Protesters said the JTEPA ''represents oppression by large-scale transnationals, which conspired with some factions of domestic corporate interests and the coup-installed government to destroy small businesses and harm the majority of the Thai people''.

Bangkok Post

Wednesday April 04, 2007