Letters To Thaksin
Hi again, from a couple of Thaksin's old friends
Dear Thaksin Shinawatra, Sorry for not addressing you with a title. Why should I anyway? Caretaker prime minister who has returned from holiday to his caretaking job? Or holiday-taker doubling as a freelance caretaking prime minister?
Or "unemployed man" working as a holiday-taker and caretaker prime minister who still got paid by the state all this time nonetheless?
It doesn't matter much to me, though. You're back, and that's the important thing. I knew you would be. For all the tears, the packing, the "for the sake of national harmony" pledge, I knew deep down you'd return. We have unfinished business, you and I. Your "War on Corruption" was halted by the Temasek fiasco (what an irony!), and you may want to renew it, and I have to prove to you that trying to catch me is like chasing your own shadow.
And speaking of Temasek, too bad you didn't heed my warning. In my last letter, written after you declared war on me for the hundredth time, I specifically advised you that whatever you planned to do with your Shin Corp, don't make it look like you've become your own worst enemy. Your life was hard enough already, and mine easy enough, even without that Bt73.3-billion deal.
But you surely have copied some of my old tricks, and I'm proud of you, my friend. (Hey, anyone can learn a thing or two from his enemy.) I've lived this long because people have such short memories, and a little spin works just fine. The rekindled drug threat was a nice touch, although I found it a touch too elaborate to have villagers visit Government House on the same day you returned to work and tell your well-equipped intelligence officials that amphetamines were wreaking havoc again.
Welcome back and all the best. It won't be so easy, but I hope you make it through. I'm hard to defeat, and I need an enemy like you to prove it. How can I live without you?
Last but not least, kudos for keeping so many folk confused. They really think you are "Democracy", don't they?
Your old friend,
Corruption
LLL
Dear Thaksin Shinawatra,
I'm sure some may want to call your return from holiday a "boost to Thai democracy". Well, they can all think what they like. People think they know me.
A "boost" or a "blow", the bottom line is your country now has two Senates, no House of Representatives, a caretaker government that the courts may rule illegitimate in a couple of days, an Election Commission that faces accusations of malfeasance and bribe-taking and a ruling party alleged to have faked its own competition in a general election that has been annulled, with no date agreed for a new one.
Blame it on your opponents if you will, but they aren't responsible for the fact that the art of using "nominees" will soon be taught in business schools rather than to students of economic crime. Everything happening in your motherland at this moment stems from the penchant of the powers that be for twisting rules and resorting to double standards. So, you may go ahead and do whatever you like, but please just don't portray yourself as a victim.
Of course, I'm frustrated. You are not I, so don't make others think that your troubles are mine. I'm fine as long as tens of thousands of people gather every day, and there's not a single drop of blood spilled, and the soldiers stay in their barracks. I'm not fine if leaders don't respect human rights, or press freedom, or try to control checks and balances. And as I told you in my previous letter, if those leaders are made to suffer undemocratically, I won't shed a tear for them.
You should have understood my essence better. It doesn't matter how many people support you; it's about you not corrupting their faith and you promoting the right values. From time to time, you may be required to make all kinds of sacrifices - but the right principles are indispensable, because without them, everything comes toppling down like a house of cards.
You have decided to end your "holiday", and that's your call. I'll just sit back and watch. Only want to ask you one last time: I know who you are, so stop pretending to be me.
Your estranged friend,
Democracy
Tulsathit Taptim
Disclaimer
posted by Chazzsongs at
3:33 PM
