IHT : Junta acts to firm up its control in Thailand

Junta acts to firm up its control in Thailand

By Thomas Fuller | International Herald Tribune | September 21, 2006

BANGKOK The first signs of trouble on Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was then still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.

The general did not show up.

"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary, whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."

Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.

On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities" and summoning Thai media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an apparent but vague reference to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing press commentaries. The junta also summoned Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.

Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation.

Three days after the military effected its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remain about how the military will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.

But a more immediate question is what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The Thai media speculated Thursday that to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Showing financial malfeasance could justify the coup in the eyes of foreign governments who criticized the power seizure.

In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, who previously had sparred with Thaksin. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.

Thaksin was in New York when the army took over and one of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.

"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn , chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.

But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.

He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his conglomerate consisting of telecommunications, airlines and satellite businesses to an investment company owned by the Singapore government.

The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.

In a briefing Wednesday the leaders of the junta told reporters that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.

"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."

Thailand's fortune is obviously too large to be withdrawn at ATM machines in London, leading to questions about how he could move the money abroad, if it is indeed still in Thailand.

The country's central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's January windfall out of the country. Special permission is required for sums larger than that. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.

Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the Central Bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in the country.

"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.

"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, who is currently chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform the bank where your money will be deposited and where the money's going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."

Also complicated would be any investigation against Thaksin, according to Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Counter-corruption Commission.

"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Counter- corruption Commission no longer exists. The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law," he said, referring to the name the junta has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council.

The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.

"Right now, the council is the law," he said.

Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting from Bangkok.


BANGKOK The first signs of trouble on Tuesday emerged when Thaksin Shinawatra, who was then still Thailand's leader, called an early-morning teleconference with the country's top army general.

The general did not show up.

"Sonthi was absent," said Rongpol Charoenphan, the cabinet secretary, whose job it is to organize the nation's most important political meetings. "He asked his aide to inform everyone at the meeting that he was busy in the south."

Actually, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the chief of the army, was busy organizing a coup that he would begin 14 hours later, sending tanks into the streets and rescinding, with nothing more than a televised announcement, the country's Constitution and dissolving its Parliament.

On Thursday, Sonthi sought to strengthen the grip of his junta, banning political gatherings and "activities" and summoning Thai media executives to army headquarters in Bangkok to warn them against publishing "expressions of public opinion" - an apparent but vague reference to opinion polls but perhaps also encompassing press commentaries. The junta also summoned Thaksin's closest political allies, without disclosing why.

Thaksin, meanwhile, issued a statement from London, saying he would take a "well-deserved rest" and that he hoped for national reconciliation.

Three days after the military effected its first coup here in 15 years, many questions remain about how the military will carry out its stated desire to return democracy to Thailand, a country that before a political crisis erupted in January was a sort of beacon of democracy for its neighbors.

But a more immediate question is what will happen to Thaksin and his fortune of more than $2 billion. The Thai media speculated Thursday that to appear more legitimate in the eyes of foreign governments, the junta would open investigations against Thaksin. Showing financial malfeasance could justify the coup in the eyes of foreign governments who criticized the power seizure.

In a surprise move, the junta retained the country's auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, who previously had sparred with Thaksin. The military gave her more power to investigate government corruption.

Thaksin was in New York when the army took over and one of his closest advisers said he planned to stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.

"We won't just stay in London. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," Pansak Vinyaratn , chief policy adviser to Thaksin, said by telephone from London.

But the question of his money is more complicated. One of Thailand's richest men, Thaksin made his fortune in the technology business, initially by selling IBM computers to the police force.

He cashed out of his business empire in January, selling his conglomerate consisting of telecommunications, airlines and satellite businesses to an investment company owned by the Singapore government.

The sale netted $1.9 billion for his family, an amount so large that the Thai baht appreciated against the dollar as the money was being brought into the country.

In a briefing Wednesday the leaders of the junta told reporters that there were no plans to freeze Thaksin's assets but that investigations were possible.

"It depends on the information we have at hand," Kowit Wattana, the country's national police chief, said at the briefing. "At present, he already has many lawsuits, so we might look into them again and see what to do."

Thailand's fortune is obviously too large to be withdrawn at ATM machines in London, leading to questions about how he could move the money abroad, if it is indeed still in Thailand.

The country's central bank limits personal remittances to $1 million a year per person. At that rate it would take 1,900 years to transfer Thaksin's January windfall out of the country. Special permission is required for sums larger than that. If the money is for investment purposes, however, an individual is allowed to wire $10 million without central bank permission.

Vichit Supinij, a former governor of the Central Bank and a former adviser to the Thaksin government, said he believed Thaksin's fortune was still in the country.

"The money is probably still in the banks at the moment," Vichit said. Getting it out of the country would be tricky, he said.

"It's true that if the amount of the transfer is less than $10 million, there's no need to inform the central bank," said Vichit, who is currently chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. "But you still have to inform the bank where your money will be deposited and where the money's going. Transferring such a huge amount of money is complicated."

Also complicated would be any investigation against Thaksin, according to Klanarong Chantik, the former head of the National Counter-corruption Commission.

"The current situation isn't normal," he said. "All the laws were revoked and the committee of the National Counter-corruption Commission no longer exists. The problem is everything now depends on the council's interpretation of the law," he said, referring to the name the junta has chosen for itself, the Administrative Reform Council.

The act governing the country's anti- corruption commission was part of the Constitution and the Constitution has been rescinded, Klanarong said.

"Right now, the council is the law," he said.

Uamdao Noikorn contributed reporting from Bangkok.