11 June 2003

Excerpt from a Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speech on Senate floor

Thaksin is Sustaining Outlaw Junta's Regime, McCain Tells US Senate

“Under Thaksin, Thailand has moved aggressively to deepen Thai business ties with
Burma, provide substantial economic assistance to the junta, collaborate with the
Burmese military against Burmese ethnic groups who oppose rule by the generals,
arrest and repatriate exiled Burmese democrats across the Thai-Burma border, and
pursue a policy of cooperation and conciliation with a regime that is opposed by the
vast majority of its people and known to much of the world as an outlaw.

Bangkok’s coddling of Rangoon has gone well beyond passive acceptance of the
regime next door to something approaching active sponsorship of the junta.
Thailand has made no effort to reach out to the Burmese opposition, which is
especially unfortunate since some of its most fearless leaders reside in the Thai-
Burma border region. Under Prime Minister Thaksin, Thailand has supported and
sustained its historic enemy, at the very time when it could use its influence to help
bring about the negotiated transition to democracy in Burma.”

13 December 2004

Thaksin Convinced Suu Kyi Detention by Junta Regime is Necessary

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says he understands why the Burmese government
continues to hold opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

Speaking in his weekly radio address, Thaksin said he found the reasons given by the Rangoon
government for Suu Kyi’s continued detention “reasonable enough and convincing.” Burmese
leader Sr-Gen Than Shwe had told him Suu Kyi remained under house arrest “because the last
three times that (she) has been released it would always lead to difficulties.”

Thaksin noted that “there was always political violence and turmoil following (the) two or
three previous releases of Aung San Suu Kyi.” Thaksin also said he thought it “necessary for
Myanmar’s government to have political stability, because there are more than 100 minority
groups who want to be independent.”

Thaksin’s statement was sharply criticized by Sunai Phasuk, of the Asian Network for Free
Elections, or ANFREL. Sunai, the organization’s executive director, said the Thai Prime
Minister either failed to understand political conditions in Burma or deliberately chose words
to support the Rangoon regime.

Sunai concluded that Thaksin had taken the “lying words of the junta as his own” and had
made them on an international stage. “I don’t understand why.”

Why?

I can make a wild gue$$...

02 March 2009

Supreme Court Rules on Thaksin's Burma Loan

A majority verdict determined that Thaksin had abused his power by providing 4
billion baht to Burma to buy broadband Internet to the benefit of Thaksin
controlled enterprises, while simultaneously damaging the national budget and instructing
the Export and Import Bank to open a credit line to Burma at a low interest rate.

Thailand’s Finance Ministry revealed it had to provide 670 million baht [20.3 million USD] to
the Export and Import Bank to cover losses resulting from a 4 billion baht [121 million USD]
low interest credit line granted to Burma by Thaksin, in part to purchase equipment and
services from the former Prime Minister’s Shin Satellite company.

The court subsequently ordered the seizure of 46.37 billion baht [1.4 billion USD] of 76.6
billion baht [2.3 billion USD] in frozen assets.

13 November 2010

Aung San Suu Kyi freed

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader and Nobel laureate, has been
released.

A delighted looking Ms Suu Kyi appeared at the gate of her house in central Rangoon on
Saturday afternoon to greet cheering crowds who had been gathering for two days in
anticipation of her release.

Ms Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the last 20 years under house arrest, but as the crowds on
Saturday illustrated, she remains the most potent threat to the military junta which has run the
country for almost 50 years.

14 November 2010
Fugitive Thaksin Congratulates Junta, Urges Thailand's to
Follow Myanmar's Example

Fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra wants Thailand to follow

Myanmar's example of freeing political prisoners after the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The situation in Myanmar shows that the release of political prisoners “will be a starting point
towards national reconciliation and creation of genuine social justice”, he said in a press
release.

Thaksin is seen as a hero for many 'Red Shirts", whose rallies on the streets of Bangkok left
over 90 people dead. Most of the Red Shirt leaders are in prison on terrorism charges.
14 November 2010

Excerpts from Daw Suu Kyi's first speech after her release
Aung San Suu Kyi's Public Address at NLD HQ

“It’s not enough to know what you want but also to know how to achieve it with
integrity. I say this not to patronize, I say from experience that no matter what the
goal, if the path is without integrity, it will lose its way and be destroyed.”

“I don’t think that any country can survive as a prosperous and dignified nation
unless there is rule of law. The people cannot have security unless there is rule of
law. So for that I shall always struggle.”

“If we are not in agreement, we will let you know. This is the basis of democracy –
that of freedom of speech. But freedom to speak is not the same as freedom to be
abusive.”

“Please don’t have the attitude that politics does not concern you. My father has
said that before, that you may not be concerned with politics but politics
will be concerned with you.”

Reporter: “You’re now free, Daw Suu Kyi, your people aren’t. What are you
going to do next?”

Aung San Suu Kyi: “Some people are not free, how can you say that I am free?
Either we are all free together or we are all not free together!”

Questions for Thaksin supporters:

1. When Hun Sen offered him a position in Cambodia's government, he was warned if he accepted,
he must forfeit his Thai citizenship as the laws only allow single citizenship. But he accepted the
position anyway. Thaksin forfeited his Thai citizenship to serve in the Cambodian government in
the hope of starting a conflict between the two nations. Do you think Daw Suu Kyi would ever
betray her people and her country like that?

2. Many of Thaksin's supporters believe he is the only politician who cares about them. But if he
really cared, why would he leave his supporters to fight for him, whilst he escapes overseas with
hundreds of billions of baht he stole from Thailand? Why were his lawyers caught bribing the
Supreme Court judges in his wife's corruption case if the charges were politically-motivated as he
claims? Why would he run to safety and a life of luxury and shop for 60,000 baht purses with his
daughter in Paris at the very moments when Red Shirts died on the streets whilst Bangkok burned?
He ran away to his new homes in Nicaragua, Montenegro and Lebanon. Do you think Daw Suu
Kyi would ever desert her people to fight and die whilst she laughed and shopped?
3. Thaksin makes empty promises but he will not deliver. He promises his supporters if they fight
and risk their lives for him, he will “make them rich”. Why do you think he will keep his promises
when there are hundreds of Red Shirt protesters in prison who he ignores! Phuea Thai Party MPs
have billions of Thaksin's baht, but they spend it all on the Red Shirt leaders and on themselves.
Why would he actually “make you rich” if he refuses to even spend a few baht on bailing UDD
fighters like Surachai Phringphong (19) left in prison without bail? He'd rather just forget about the
guys who fought and risked their lives for him. Do you think Daw Suu Kyi would leave her
people to suffer in prison without caring?
“Theeradech Sangkhathat, 44, and Sommai Inthanakha, 32, were bailed for 60,000
baht each, while Bunyarit Sodakham, 24, was bailed for 200,000 baht as he was
charged with carrying a gun.

Surachai Phringphong, 19, and Krishna Thanchayapong were not released as their
cases were on appeal. The Justice Fund promised Surachai's mother that it would
resubmit its request for her son’s release.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had approved the bail. The Phuea Thai Party had
twice failed to get bail for him. Surachai's parents borrowed 500 baht from their
neighbour to make this trip.”

Government to do more to help innocent Red Shirts - but Phuea Thai & Thaksin?

“If the Prime Minister can deliver what he has promised – to help bail out some 40
other red-shirt detainees who did not commit any serious offences during the
protests – then the move represents a healthy start in the long and winding road
towards national reconciliation.

Nirand Pitakwatchara, a member of the National Human Rights Commission and a

former senator, said at a recent seminar that he had visited red-shirt detainees in
their various prisons and found out that several of them were not real trouble-
makers and did not take part in violence, such as the torching of provincial halls.

They were arrested merely for breaking the conditions of the emergency decree.
Many red-shirt protesters merely joined the protest and were not involved in the
violence at all, but some of them were caught and jailed for simply defying the
emergency decree.”

4. So Thaksin obviously does not care about the Red Shirts. He

only wants them to fight for him. Thaksin obviously does not care
about Isan. He only wants you to vote for Phuea Thai Party. Unless
your last name is Shinawatra, Thaksin won't care about you. If you
compared what Thaksin has promised to give you if you fight for
him, with what PM Abhisit has already delivered (no matter who
you vote for), you will see that your friend is not Thaksin.

Your friend is Prime Minister Abhisit, Thailand's first PM who has

a spotless reputation and is not corrupt. He is trying to give all
Thais a Welfare State with “Cradle-to-Grave” coverage. But he
needs your help! That is how democracy works. Votes, not
violence. And I know Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would agree!