Originally posted by hloc:
Took Thailand more than 5 mths and they still can't charge former PM of anything. So now bully little S'pore because WE don't know our place

Look at the south of thailand..... bombing still going on, and yet they blame former PM for failing to bring peace.
The problems of the southern parts of thailand started as early as the 1970's, and the violence died down in the 1990's, maybe some of you were too young to remember the chain of events and only know what happened starting from 2004. There was a return to violence since 2004 and the thai people cannot expect their new leaders to eradicate the problem overnight, since it has been around for decades.
Thaksin is to be blamed for some of the violence which started in 2004.
''Since Thaksin came to power in 2001, a rising number of attacks have been attributed to Islamic separatist groups. Their growing influence has been fuelled in large part by ThaksinÂ’s heavy-handed methods and his governmentÂ’s support for WashingtonÂ’s so-called war on terrorism. As in other parts of the country, there is widespread opposition in the south to BangkokÂ’s decision to send troops to bolster the illegal US-led occupation of Iraq.'' quoted from:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/may2004/thai-m05.shtmlAfter the April 28, 2004 massacre which killed 112 people, mostly teenagers, he tried to downplay the involvement of islamic extremists, saying that those killed were drug addicts and local criminals.
''Thaksin’s “war on drugs” in early 2003 involved the widespread extra-judicial killing of alleged drug dealers by police. It was a crude attempt to divert attention from growing economic and social problems by exploiting popular hostility to drug trafficking. The result was at least 2,274 deaths after government agencies drew up blacklists. Few people believed police claims that the murders were the result of inter-gang feuds, not least of all because there was not a single arrest in any of the cases.
There is also a strong element of diversion in the suppression of Islamic separatists in the countryÂ’s south. Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party won the 2001 elections by playing on deep resentment over the impact of the economic restructuring program of his predecessor Chuan Leekpai. Having postured as a defender of the poor, he then proceeded to implement similar open market policies. The popular discontent over declining living standards has been compounded by growing opposition to the war in Iraq.
On Saturday, more than 60,000 people joined the May Day rally in Bangkok, one of the largest ever, with workers joined for the first time by rural groups. The rally demanded an end to the governmentÂ’s privatisation program of electricity, water and other utilities. For months, workers have been protesting against these measures.
Other demands included a higher minimum wage, more health and child care centres, protection for the right to organise and the protection of migrant labour. Significantly, these economic demands were connected to a call for the withdrawal of Thai troops from Iraq.
By raising of the spectre of terrorism, the Thaksin government is creating the climate for the use of the most draconian methods against any opposition—in the south or elsewhere in the country.''quoted from:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/may2004/thai-m05.shtmlGen Sonthi may have made allegations such as '' the eavesdropping claim'', but I believe that it is just an attempt to justify why the thai gov should take back the telco. He probably wants to use this issue to increase his political rating in thailand (someone in the forum has mentioned this already).
But he still managed to lead a 'bloodless' coup against thaksin, which is commendable, unlike thaksin, who's policies have caused recent bloodshed in southern thailand. Anyway, it is still early days, it's too soon to judge Gen Sonthi for his words and actions (What actions anyway, besides the coup?)