See how glibly he answers the tough questions. I wonder if his PhD in criminal justice was really earned. If it was, then apparently Sam Houston University isn't up to snuff.
Overseas journalists prod prime minister
Published on May 22, 2004
International editors on a three-day tour of Thailand yesterday raised the issue of the recent violence in the South when they met Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and opposition MP Surin Pitsuwan.
The southern-provinces issue was the topic 25 editors from Asian and European publications broached most frequently when they met the leading politicians from both sides of the aisle. Sabam Siagian, editor at large of The Jakarta Post, started the question-and-answer session with Thaksin: "How would you describe the situation on April 28?"
Thaksin, while assuring the international visitors that the problems in the south were domestic problems, said in English: "Its a wake-up call to the officials that they should not leave any area undeveloped."
"The teenagers sometimes can get radical. In Bangkok they do the motorcycle racing; in the South they were very brave and they killed the officers in the province," Thaksin said.
He added that the government was corralling its resources to improve education and the communications to respond to southerners' basic needs.
Surin, a Democrat MP, said in a separate meeting at the headquarters of the Democrat Party that the problems were the result of the government's failure to handle people of different cultural backgrounds with sensitivity.
He cited the history of Pattani, which was an independent kingdom until 1902. Pattani is like granite which refuses to be ground down by bureaucracy, he said. "Leave them alone and leave them their cultural space."
Asked about the implications of the violence for the Asean region, Surin said: "There's a bit of tension that can spill over."
In spite of the ongoing debate in Parliament, the editors were more interested in the problems of Muslims, the question of whether the killings of drug dealers violated human-rights principles and Thaksin's decision to acquire a 30-per-cent stake in Liverpool Football Club. Thaksin said the stake would encourage Thai youths to spend their energy more productively. Otherwise they would turn to drugs, he said. "The performance of our football team is not good enough to be their inspiration. I want to leap-frog . . . to inspire them."
The question of human rights was also raised several times during the meeting with the PM. Thaksin dismissed the issue, saying: "I got a PhD in criminal justice. Every murder case or case of abnormal death must be autopsied by various agencies. If they have the evidence, interrogation will take place."
Jeerawat Na Thalang
THE NATION
Overseas journalists prod prime minister
Published on May 22, 2004
International editors on a three-day tour of Thailand yesterday raised the issue of the recent violence in the South when they met Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and opposition MP Surin Pitsuwan.
The southern-provinces issue was the topic 25 editors from Asian and European publications broached most frequently when they met the leading politicians from both sides of the aisle. Sabam Siagian, editor at large of The Jakarta Post, started the question-and-answer session with Thaksin: "How would you describe the situation on April 28?"
Thaksin, while assuring the international visitors that the problems in the south were domestic problems, said in English: "Its a wake-up call to the officials that they should not leave any area undeveloped."
"The teenagers sometimes can get radical. In Bangkok they do the motorcycle racing; in the South they were very brave and they killed the officers in the province," Thaksin said.
He added that the government was corralling its resources to improve education and the communications to respond to southerners' basic needs.
Surin, a Democrat MP, said in a separate meeting at the headquarters of the Democrat Party that the problems were the result of the government's failure to handle people of different cultural backgrounds with sensitivity.
He cited the history of Pattani, which was an independent kingdom until 1902. Pattani is like granite which refuses to be ground down by bureaucracy, he said. "Leave them alone and leave them their cultural space."
Asked about the implications of the violence for the Asean region, Surin said: "There's a bit of tension that can spill over."
In spite of the ongoing debate in Parliament, the editors were more interested in the problems of Muslims, the question of whether the killings of drug dealers violated human-rights principles and Thaksin's decision to acquire a 30-per-cent stake in Liverpool Football Club. Thaksin said the stake would encourage Thai youths to spend their energy more productively. Otherwise they would turn to drugs, he said. "The performance of our football team is not good enough to be their inspiration. I want to leap-frog . . . to inspire them."
The question of human rights was also raised several times during the meeting with the PM. Thaksin dismissed the issue, saying: "I got a PhD in criminal justice. Every murder case or case of abnormal death must be autopsied by various agencies. If they have the evidence, interrogation will take place."
Jeerawat Na Thalang
THE NATION
posted by Bob Boonhod @ 12:53 PM
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