via CAAI News Media
Sun, February 7, 2010
Retired general has only himself to blame if events have overtaken his stated intentions
If anything, a political leader having to come out and deny that he will be leading a "People's Army" just shows how absurd Thai politics has become. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a retired general, didn't have a choice, though, because claims that he was about to lead an armed offshoot of the red-shirted movement were not made by his enemies, but rather those close to Thaksin Shinawatra. Chavalit simply had to douse the fire before it destroyed his whole reputation.
He had been playing with that fire. It remains fresh in everyone's mind that the Thai-Cambodian diplomatic row over Thaksin was sparked by Chavalit's meeting with Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The tension that was created and lasts until today has eroded Thaksin's popularity but Chavalit largely got away with it. It wouldn't have been the case if Chavalit hadn't come out so quickly to deny the shocking claims made by obscure red-shirt agitators Panlop Pinmanee and Maj-General Khattiya "Seh Daeng" Sawasdipol.
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Panlop said that the red shirts, with Thaksin's blessing, had agreed to form the new armed wing and that Chavalit would lead the red shirts to victory. In the same interview, Khattiya said the organisational structure of the opposition movement was now complete with Pheu Thai as the party, the red shirts as its front and the new unit as its armed force. Many are reminded by that structure of the communist insurgency during the Cold War.
Panlop and Khattiya both warned that the government had until the end of this month to negotiate a settlement with Thaksin or risk facing an eruption of violence that even Thaksin could not control. In another interview on Thursday, Khattiya, when asked if Thaksin had a timeframe in mind for a political comeback, replied: "He gave Big Jiew [Chavalit] one year".
So, despite Chavalit's insistence that he agreed to take on the top advisory role at the Pheu Thai Party in order to prevent violence from happening, he ended up having to defend himself against criticism that his political comeback has brought about anything but peace and confidence. And while he can blame Panlop and Khattiya for the "People's Army" controversy, he could not fault anyone but himself for the Cambodian shame.
If "peace" was actually his main mission when he agreed to return to politics, he has failed. In fact, all his other stated objectives have either faded away or met little progress - to help solve the deep South problem, to help improve Thailand's relations with its neighbours, and to prove that Thaksin and his hardcore followers were loyal to the monarchy.
Such a noble agenda, if it ever existed, slipped away from Chavalit a long time ago. He is at best a befuddled veteran losing control left and right and playing into the hands of political rivals, or at worst a man on an obscure mission whose trustworthiness is unravelling.
The Democrats have jumped on the "People's Army" issue as well amid speculation that Thaksin might join Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on a tour of the Preah Vihear Temple yesterday. Both issues were farfetched to differing degrees, but the ruling party managed to capitalise on them thanks to Chavalit's credibility problems and Thais' distrust of Cambodia that Thaksin and Chavalit helped provoke.
In the end, Chavalit knows best why he has to come out to deny ridiculous allegations. He's paying not for his failure to live up to his promises but for being largely responsible for his roles in events that mocked his pledges. And he can't blame the public if it chose to believe the improbable stories more than him.
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