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Date:         Mon, 14 Dec 1992 14:36:00 CDT
From:         Henry D Delcore <DELCOREH@MACC.WISC.EDU>
Subject:      Re: TH: 13 Dec: Weekly news roundup

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>From:    IN%"SEASIA-L@MSU.BITNET"   "Southeast Asia Discussion List"
>To:      Multiple recipients of list SEASIA-L <SEASIA-L@MSU.BITNET>
>Subject: TH: 13 Dec: Weekly news roundup
>
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>Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 08:00:04 EST
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>Subject: TH: 13 Dec: Weekly news roundup
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>=======================  Forwarded  Message  ===========================
>Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 23:09:10+0700
>From: Kamol Hengkietisak <kamol@ipied.tu.ac.th>
>
>Why senators rebelled
>
>WITH the disintegration of the Samakkhi Tham Party, the Senate now
>constitutes the strongest focus of the support for the former National
>Peace-keeping Council (NPKC), according to "Cherng-at Datchanee",
>writing in Matichon daily.
>
>The Senate's action in not passing a bill to abolish the post of
>Director of Internal National Peace-keeping was not just a defiance at
>the Chuan Government, but also a defiance of the National Defence
>Council which is traditionally considered to be the controlling
>influence behind the military faction within the Senate.
>
>The whole incident demonstrates that in actual fact the NPKC still has
>sympathisers in Parliament as well as within the Government itself.
>These people make themselves evident every time there is a debate on
>the bloody May incident.
>
>In addition to the Senate's delay of the bill to abolish the Internal
>National Peace-keeping Director Act, the NPKC's persisting influence
>was also demonstrated by the Constitutional Tribunal's interpretation
>of the Amnesty Decree earlier.
>
>The only comfort was the fact that the Senate only delayed the
>processing of the bill and only bought time, although this can be seen
>as a worrying show of force in defiance of the new elements within the
>National Defence Council.
>
>The daily Naew Na was more pessimistic and predicted that the bill
>will never be passed within the lifetime of this government.
>
>The daily pointed out that all the senators had been appointed by the
>NPKC. While the Senate appointed a 29-man committee to scrutinise the
>bill, an overwhelming majority of the committee members are known to
>have strong ties with the NPKC and several had spoken out against the
>bill within the Senate.
>
>Academics and students saw the appointment of the scrutinising
>committee as a deliberate attempt to delay the passage of the bill in
>defiance of public opinion. The rules dictates that the committee will
>have to finish scrutinising the bill within 30 days, after which the
>bill will have to be sent to the House of Representatives to be
>considered within 180 days.
>
>The delay and problems with the passage of the bill will give
>satisfaction to many people who want the power to remain within the
>hands of the prime minister since more than a few of them have
>aspirations to become prime minister themselves.
>
>MP Sansern Kraichitti was philosophical in commenting that most of the
>senators had been appointed by the NPKC Chairman Gen Sunthorn
>Kongsompong, so their thinking may not correspond with that of the
>Government.
>
>After all, he reasoned, the 260 senators had been appointed with the
>expressed intention of coordinating with the "military parties" to
>push for the appointment of Gen Suchinda Kraprayoon as prime minister.
>Chart Thai Pattana Party
>
>WHILE Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang has been trying hard to entice Mr
>Anand Panyarachun to become Palang Dharma Party leader, the Chart Thai
>and Chart Pattana parties have apparently reach agreement in principle
>to merge under the name Chart Thai Pattana Party.
>
>Under the proposed arrangement, Chart Pattana leader Gen Chatichai
>Choonhavan will become party leader, Chart Thai secretary-general will
>become secretary-general of the new party while Chart Thai leader Gen
>Pramarn Adireksarn will become chairman of the party advisory team.
>
>The arrangement will give the new party 137 votes in the House while
>it may not be difficult to ask for the cooperation of another 22 MPs
>from the Social Action Party.
>
>But the path will not be strewn with rose petals. The proposed new
>party will have to reckon with the "Therd Thai" faction of former
>Samakkhi Tham MPs as well as the thorny problem of what to do with
>Chart Thai secretary-general Prachuab Chaiyasarn. While Mr Prachuab
>may not be up to Mr Banharn in political stature, he still controls
>many votes in Parliament, particularly those from the Northeast.
>
>Sources in Chart Thai and Chart Pattana said that it is time for the
>parties to end their split since the influence of the NPKC is receding
>while at the same time the boundary between the "good" and the "evil"
>parties is becoming very blurred, particularly with the strong
>in-fighting within the New Aspiration Party.
>
>Another consideration is what the two parties conceive to be an
>uncertain future for the government of Chuan Leekpai who has proved to
>be a better politician than he is an administrator. This may give the
>opposition an opportunity to combine forces and launch an attack.
>
>Certain to feel a chill from the proposed merging of the Chart Thai
>and Chart Pattana parties is the Democrat Party which may have good
>reasons not to feel 100 per cent confident in the Social Action and
>New Aspiration parties.
>
>There certainly have been less than full solidarity between the
>government coalition and the proposed merger may prove very tempting
>for the SAP and the NAP whose leader Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh had
>always aspired to be prime minister. The Chamlong dilemma
>
>THAILAND has a large area, but is short of people of high calibre.
>
>The stream of democracy is strong, but there is a dearth of
>leadership.
>
>Thailand has many followers, but few leaders.
>
>Given these facts, observers may be forgiven for becoming excited over
>reports that Palang Dharma Party's de facto leader Maj-Gen Chamlong
>Srimuang may turn down official leadership of the party at the
>scheduled January 23 party meeting, said Thai Rath daily.
>
>The report prompted much speculation about what will happen, whether
>Maj-Gen Chamlong will really turn down the position and what the
>future of Thai politics in general and Palang Dharma Party in
>particular will be like without Maj-Gen Chamlong in the scene.
>
>This all goes back to an open letter hand written by Maj-Gen Chamlong
>and distributed to probably over a million people. The letter was
>written just one day before the general elections and said, in effect,
>that if the Palang Dharma Party loses out to "dirty power" he would
>cease his political role and be MP for just one term, after which he
>will devote his time to develop a school to train political leaders.
>
>The action back-fired however and Palang Dharma won only 47 seats, far
>short of expectation.
>
>A political hick-cough on the part of Maj-Gen Chamlong is nothing new
>and we have noted his refusal to accept a position in the Chuan
>Cabinet, choosing to stay apart from the political circuit.
>
>Thai Rath commented that Maj-Gen Chamlong is adept at creating
>conditions to justify his action. One example was the writing of the
>letter which unfortunately back-fired on him. The goal had been to get
>as many people as possible to vote for his party.
>
>He may now be creating another condition to build up public pressure
>for his return as party leader. If things work out, then he is likely
>to return to the political arena as PDP leader and the condition he
>had set in that letter will be washed away like his earlier vow to
>fast unto death in May.
>
>Thai Rath predicted that there will be an overwhelming pressure for
>Maj-Gen Chamlong to return and that he will not abandon the party he
>had given birth to. He may be tempted to return since his whole
>political activities had been geared to making him prime minister.
>
>It may be possible that he really wants to cease his involvement in
>the political vicious circle with endless vote-buying and
>mud-slinging. It may also be true that he wants to create a new
>dimension in Thai politics namely that political parties should not
>adhere to personalities.
>
>But if Maj-Gen Chamlong refuses to be party leader, who can assume the
>role of Palang Dharma leader?
>
>Me Anand Panyarachun has already turned down the offer and the fact
>that he had been approached implies that Maj-Gen Chamlong does not
>have much confidence in people within the party, be they Mr Suthep
>Attakorn, Col Vinai Sompong, Mr Boonchu Rojanasthien or Sqdn Ldr
>Prasong Soonsiri. If the choice should fall on party members, however,
>Col Vinai will be the most likely choice.
>
>But then the PDP has always been the Chamlong party in people's mind.
>It was born out of a Chamlong fever at the time. Should Maj-Gen
>Chamlong pull out now, the PDP is likely to become a political bonsai
>while his return is sure to rejuvenate the party as well as Thai
>politics in general.
>
>While Thai politics will not disintegrate in the absence of Maj-Gen
>Chamlong, he is a symbol of goodness, cleanliness, honesty and purity.
>If this symbol should pull out now it will have an adverse effect on
>the people who want to see more good people participating in politics.
>Footnotes THE border bandits are in most cases undisciplined soldiers
>of the Sihanouk faction, according to Maj-Gen Prasert Pakcharoen who
>pointed out that Kabcherng village in Surin Province -- the area
>adjacent to the Sihanouk faction-controlled region -- has been
>repeatedly plundered.
>
>"It is least likely for the strictly-controlled Khmer Rouge to be
>behind the frequent border pillages as those found guilty of such
>offences or caught trading weapons will be executed on their return to
>the camp," said the commander of the Sixth Infantry Division in his
>capacity as chief of the Suranari Force. * * * THE new naval Chief is
>tipped to be a "dark horse". Contrary to speculations that either Adm
>Pravit Sivarak or Navy Chief of Staff Adm Suravutthi Maharom is
>heir-apparent of Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vichate Karunyavanij
>who is due to for mandatory retirement next year, a highly reliable
>source has it that the top naval post will be filled by Adm Prajatana
>Siridet who was recently promoted Assistant Navy Chief. * * * OUT of
>the 10 Khmer Rouge areas, six are in western Cambodia adjacent to the
>southeastern Thai border. The 25-km stretch of Khmer Rouge-dominated
>regions run deep into Cambodia -- from Borai District's Chumpol border
>checkpoint, Trat Province, to Panom Markhin opposite Aranyaprathet
>District, Prachin Buri Province.
>
>Bordering Trat Province, the territory guarded by the Navy's Marine
>Corp, the six Khmer Rouge-controlled logging and gem regions comprise:
>
>-- Panom Tahuk and Panom Kanrenrom adjacent to 4-m wide, 15-km long
>Highway 58 which runs from Soi Dao District, Chanthaburi Province, to
>Sisopon -- the gateway to Battambang reputed for logging and gem
>trades.
>
>-- Gem-rich Pailin including the whole of the circular 80-square-km
>Panom Terang region.
>-- Panom Kampongtuk which is half the area of Pailin.
>
>-- Panom Samroot, adjacent to Panom Kampongtuk and opposite Borai
>District, including the area to the east of Nanom Samroot. This Khmer
>Rouge-controlled territory is 15 km from the Thai border.
>
>-- Panom Tansoke, as big as Samroot, and part of the area -- between
>Samroot and Panom Tuksoke -- is a stone's throw from the Free Khmers'
>former refugee camp at Chumpol border checkpoint. .