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[justinm at ucr.edu]

Thanks to Bonnie Brereton for sending this article:

POJAMAN AND PREM
'Inappropriate' meeting

People will wonder about hidden deals and Privy Council chief's
influence, critics complain


Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda landed himself in
hot water
yesterday for allowing the wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin
Shinawatra to meet him at his residence, as many observers saw the
meeting as inappropriate.


General Oud Buengbon, Prem's close aide who is member of the
National
Legislative Assembly (NLA), sent his Mercedes-Benz sedan for
Khunying
Pojaman Shinawatra and her brother Bhanapot Damapong to see
Prem at
his residence in the morning.


Pojaman and Bhanapot spent 15 minutes at Prem's house before
leaving
without giving any interview.


Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD) secretary-general Suriyasai
Katasila said the meeting between Prem and Pojaman was
unsuitable as
Prem had a prominent role in the military coup on September 19.


He said that after the coup, representatives from many groups had
asked for Prem's help but Prem had his secretary receive the
petitions
and tried to keep a distance from politics. However, he added,
Prem
made a mistake by allowing his close aide Oud to pick Pojaman
up to
see him at his residence.


Suriyasai said it could make people wonder if there was a hidden
agenda. Moreover, it might have a psychological effect on the
military
and agencies investigating the Shinawatra family's misdeeds. They
could lose confidence over whether the top brass had made any
agreements. Prem was taking an unnecessary risk, he said.


Plus, Pojaman and Thai Rak Thai Party members, including those
with
links to underground groups, would greatly benefit from the
meeting.
They would feel more encouraged that Thaksin and the party
were fine
and may return to power at an appropriate time, as the leaders had
held political talks.


"Prem has to explain to people what happened. At the same time,
Pojaman should stop lobbying or attempting to launder her family's
faults as the investigation is still running. I'd like to warn the
Council for National Security (CNS), the government and people
involved not to hope they can solve the country's problems if they
can't distinguish between good and the evil," he said.


The anti-Thaksin group People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) would
rally if Thaksin was allowed to come back before his innocence was
proved, he said.


A politician from the Democrat Party believed the meeting
would help
Pojaman gain the upper hand. "It creates a picture of the
little woman
fighting against the coup for her family and husband to reunite in
their hometown."


Pojaman's strategy was to make the public feel sympathetic to her
family - having been bullied by powerful figures and the military.
"Nobody could represent Thaksin better than Pojaman," he said.


Pojaman also wanted to discredit Prem and the coup makers. It
appeared
that she was sending a signal to Thai Rak Thai supporters that
Prem
played a crucial role in the coup and had influence over the
junta,
the source said.


"And if Thaksin can't return to Thailand they [his supporters]
would
think it was because of Prem [for refusing permission]," he said.


Deputy rector of Silpakorn University Chareon Khampeerapap
said if the
meeting was aimed at bargaining for Thaksin's return to the
country,
which was the government's authority, it would confuse people.
"The
two have to be careful otherwise people will wonder if Gen
Prem has as
much power as the government. If so, every Thai who is in
trouble can
go to see him and ask for help," he said.


Oud admitted he made an appointment for Pojaman to see Prem at her
request. However, he said Pojaman didn't talk about politics, or
investigations into corruption by Thaksin's government, or her
husband's return.


"There was no discussion about politics or power seizing. Khunying
Pojaman met General Prem in a respect-paying manner and simply
asked
about each other's well-being. Moreover, Khunying Pojaman told
General
Prem about her daily life while she was in the United Kingdom," he
said.


Prem asked her about Thaksin, she said he was fine and played golf
regularly, Oud said.


"I understood that one day I would have to accept I would no
longer
occupy the position of a prime minister's wife," Pojaman was
quoted as
saying.


A source, who asked not to named, said no one in Prem's house had
acknowledged the planned meeting before, except Oud. His
oldest son
works for a Shinawatra company and is also married to
Pojaman's niece.


Another source claimed Pojaman tried to ask Prem for
permission for
Thaksin to return, and she apologised for everything because
she had
not meant for things to turn out as they did. She said Thaksin had
spent his time abroad soul searching and admitted there were both
people loving him - and otherwise.


Prem was quoted as responding: "It's not my duty to allow
anybody to
return. You have to talk to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the Army
chief and chairman of the Council for National Security, and Prime
Minister Surayud Chulanont. I am only a mediator. I cannot order
anyone. I had never interfered in politics or anyone's work, but
people have said so."


Sonthi, meanwhile, insisted yesterday that if Thaksin wanted
to come
back he would have to notify him first. Even if Thaksin
chartered a
flight back to Bangkok, "I will not allow him to land without
informing me," he said.


The time was not right for Thaksin to return , he said, but
the former
PM still had a chance.


Sonthi denied that Pojaman contacted him after meeting with
Gen Prem.
He said she had not arranged to meet Prem through the CNS but
through
a well-respected figure.


Asked if the meeting put pressure on the CNS, he said: "You
have to
ask Gen Prem what they discussed."


A source from Thai Rak Thai Party, who asked not to be named,
said it
was the third time Pojaman had visited Prem. She promised Prem
that
Thaksin wouldn't cause any political trouble in the near
future and
asked for permission for him to return to Thailand. But Prem
didn't
say anything about her request.


The first two times she visited him were before the military
coup. She
had told Prem that Thaksin would take a break from politics if
he won
the election, and had asked that a military coup not happen. Prem
hadn't responded, the source said.


Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadol Pattama, who did not join Pojaman
during her visit, said Pojaman just went to pay respects to
Prem, the
way a young person pays respects to a senior. She had visited Prem
before and wanted to visit him quietly. She didn't talk to him
about
politics and didn't visit to ask for permission for Thaksin to
return,
as the media reported.


Noppadol held a press conference earlier this week at a
Bangkok hotel
to say Thaksin had no plan to return to the country in the near
future.

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu