While visiting Bangkok in 2003, then-President George W. Bush designated Thailand a “non-NATO treaty ally” and congratulated Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular civilian prime minister in a country long led by military-dominated governments.
Three years later, a desperate, panicking Mr.Thaksin secretly alerted Mr. Bush about “a threat to democracy in Thailand” by “extra-constitutional tactics,” just before a 2006 military coup toppled him and left him fleeing the country ahead of a slew of corruption allegations.
Hours after Mr. Thaksin returned home and was arrested last week, Parliament ended a three-month standoff and elected Mr. Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party ally, the politically inexperienced real estate tycoon, Srettha Thavisin, 60, as prime minister. Mr. Pita was on his way to become prime minister after winning the biggest share in May’s national parliamentary elections, campaigning to slash the military’s political powers, budget, and lucrative commercial activities, and end the draft. He also wanted to weaken the royal defamation law, which imprisons people for up to 15 years for criticizing the monarchy and which critics have said has been used to stifle politically dissenting voices.
How all this will sit with Mr. Pita’s ardent and sizable youthful electoral base is an open question, he added. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is also acting justice minister, told the Associated Press Friday that Mr. Thaksin was not being given special treatment. He insisted that Mr. Thaksin will be treated as a normal convict and will be returned to prison to serve his term once his health issues are cleared up. But Mr. Wissanu will soon be out of his job when the Srettha government is sworn in, the AP noted.
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