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Thaksin strikes back
Two months after the Thai military crushed the red shirt protest at Rajaprasong, fugitive former prime minister and telecoms tycooon Thaksin Shinawatra has struck back.
Thaksin's team of international lawyers, headed by Robert Amsterdam of law firm Amsterdam & Peroff LLP, has issued a detailed 80-page document on the origins of the Thai crisis, Thaksin's rise and fall, the red and yellow movements, and the violence that erupted in Bangkok in April and May, killing 90 and wounding hundreds.
Amsterdam says Thaksin has asked his firm to advise the Thai lawyers defending red shirt protesters arrested in recent months. This document forms part of the defence.
"This white paper emphasizes the need for truth, accountability and genuine elections as prerequisites for real and lasting reconciliation in Thailand," Amsterdam said.
The document is not, of course, a neutral account of Thailand's crisis. Far from it. (For the best relatively objective analysis of the crisis, I suggest you look here). Amsterdam works for Thaksin and his account of Thailand's recent history reflects that. Thaksin's enemies get some rough treatment (a highlight is the scathing – but not necessarily inaccurate – biography of General Prem) while his allies tend to be whitewashed (Samak Sundaravej is referered to merely as a "long-time Bangkok politician"). Thaksin is cast as a champion of democracy in Thailand. As I have blogged here, I do not consider this a credible depiction of Thaksin – yet it remains an open question whether despite being no democrat, Thaksin may play a central role in bringing true democracy to Thailand.
But Amsterdam's analysis is a comprehensive and well-researched document of a quality far superior to the embarrassingly unsophisticated invective that tends to dominate the debate in Thailand from the pro-establishment side.
It is recommended reading, and for those who disagree with it, the challenge is to come up with a document of similar quality, rather than falling back once again on angry and empty condemnations.
You can read it here.
Look out for this great quote on page 32: "For all that has happened, the PM cannot deny his responsibility, either by negligence or intention. What is even worse than laying the blame on the authorities is vilifying the people. I have never thought that we would have a state which has the people killed and seriously injured, and then accuses the people of the crimes. This is unacceptable. I have heard those in the government always asking people if they are Thai or not. Considering what you are doing now, it is not a question of being Thai or not, but whether you are human at all."
The man who said it might feel uncomfortable to hear his own words repeated back to him now…
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