Thaksin Shinwatra in Cambodia with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, on December 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith )(CAAI News Media)
Asia Travel Examiner
Cassandra James
According to the Bangkok Post, the opposition party Puea Thai is accusing the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of plotting to assassinate exiled-Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
A government document was leaked to a Puea Thai representative, Jatuporn Prompan, which stated Thaksin was a "key factor" in the destabilization of the present government of Thailand and the threat needed to be tackled. Puea Thai took this as meaning the government was plotting the assassination of Thaksin and immediately went public with the information. But, is it true? Is the Thai government planning to assassinate Thaksin?
The present government of Thailand, headed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva definitely has problems. Political demonstrations have been on-going in Thailand for more than two years, since the elected government of Thaksin Shinwatra was overthrown by a military coup. The present government of Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party was put into office late in 2008 without being elected as such. This has caused more political demonstrations, with violent rallies during the Thai Songkran holidays in April of this year.
Outside the middle and upper classes in Bangkok, the majority of Thais still want Thaksin back in office as Prime Minister, so these demonstrations are likely to continue for some time. The stagnant economy and falling tourist numbers aren't helping the Abhisit government much either. Add onto that Thaksin continually in the region making news as the new Economic Advisor to the Cambodian government and Abhisit's problems are increasing.
If, as reported, the government document called Thaksin a 'destabilizing factor' in the present government's problems, yes, that's almost certainly true. But, does saying that the 'threat needed to be tackled' mean the government's solution is to assassinate Thaksin? Nowhere in the document is that blatantly stated so it's hard to tell.
However, the document was a classified document and the present government is now setting up a commission to find out how it got into the hands of the opposition party.
Some in Bangkok too now say Puea Thai leaking this document was a smart move. Should something happen to Thaksin Shinawatra, fingers will immediately point to the present government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and that would signal their downfall. So, whether or not the document was hinting at Thaksin's assassination, it may now behoove the government to make sure that doesn't happen. After all, they would likely suffer a political death, just as Thaksin would suffer a physical one. And that's not necessarily good for Thailand either.
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