Originally posted by storywolf:
Folks
Thaksin was the official elected prime ministor of Thailand. He
been a friend of Singapore.
Just because he been out by a coup, which till now is not able to
come out with evidence of his so call corruption ... to justify his
removal, thus it is we have cannot view that Thaskin is a wrong or
a criminal .
Question do you be-friend people when they are rich and doing good,
and when they fall , you turn your back on them and shut your door
?
You are right in that Thaksin has not been charged, much less
convicted of any wrongdoing. So he is innocent till proven guilty
in a court of law.
But in my view, you are wrong if you handle politics like you would
with personal relationships. In politics, there are no permanent
friends and no permanent enemies. Thaksin was a good friend of
Singapore when he was in power. It was in our interests to have him
as a friend.
But the moment the Thai king supported the military coup, which is
totally undemocratic, Thaksin is finished. As long as there is a
monarchy in Thailand, there is no political future for
Thaksin.
Thaksin is no longer valuable as a friend. He is a liability. As he
still enjoys popularity in Thailand, he will be a threat to the
military junta. And to be friend of a threat to Thailand is to be
an enemy of Thailand.
Far from treating Thaksin as a friend, Singapore should have thrown
him to the dogs the moment it became clear the Thai king wanted him
out, We should have condemned him in the worst possible way, claim
to have been hoodwinked by him and inadvertently trespass Thai
sensitivities....offer to sell shares in Shincorp to Thai
businesses at the market rate and offer to donate money to Thai
charities as a goodwill gesture. Grovel to appease the new rulers
and condemn Thaksin in the worse possible way. Cut our losses and
build bridges with the victors.
Keeping Thaksin as a friend is only worthwhile if he can return to
power. As long as the Thai royal family is around, that is
impossible. Therefore, dump Thaksin and embrace Surayud.
Appeasing a victorious enemy is better than supporting a defeated
friend.
