This is further to my No. 23 posts when I said that under Thaksin, Thailand was headed to some ‘extra-constitutional’ remedy, a coup to be blunt, and it could NOT be avoided gentlemen.
Review what you all know about Thaksin Shinawatra gentlemen and you will see the light. Thaksin Shinawatra we all know was is the man of non-stop ‘honest mistakes’ of ever expanding and more outrageous proportions. Thaksin would NOT stop at murder (extrajudicials remember?) or disregarding the constitutional rule of law. And Thaksin would raise the ante, Thaksin being the high-stakes high-risk high-return gambler he is, to protect himself, his ill-gottens and perpetuate his deeply flawed rule.
That means, a-la Marcos, Thaksin would have executed the military coup himself (as was alleged by Nation News editor Thanong) because he was already in too deep with all his criminal corruption and extrajudicial crimes.
The military coup was unavoidable gentlemen and it was in Thailand’s flawed Thaksin’s democracy’s path. That the military coup was pre-empted by anti-Thaksin forces, instead of pro-Thaksin, was a godsend.
Nice work Citeh-Citeh. I think the move for the Thai players has some City fans who otherwise are pleased with Thaksin’s investment scratching their heads. However, I don’t think the fans will get all that upset about this though unless they are actually pushed into first team duty ahead of other players. To be honest I can’t see Sven standing for that either, but we’ll see.
Imperfect democracies are common and imperfect leaders are even more common. Countries adjust to such imperfections, and carry on with their democratic aspirations, FOR SO LONG as constitutional mechanisms to correct, remove and punish imperfect leaders are not only in place but are also seen to be observed fairly and with due regard to rule of law and the country welfare.
But when a country’s constitutional system have been completely broken with its highest elected leader seen as disrespecting the spirit of the very constitution he was elected to protect and upheld, to perpetuate his rule and to protect himself and his family from having to answer to serious criminal allegations of abuse of power and conflict of interest, and rending the country apart in the process, that is a sure formula for some extra-constitutional remedy of sort.
Citeh-Citeh: don’t hold your breath waiting for Thaksin to get the message on the fans being the club. He never quite understood that the population in Thailand were the nation. He’s a businessman used to fast and slippery deals. That’s how he ran the country. I suspect that City will be run the same way. Bringing in second-rate players is his nationalist ploy.
As usual, Jeru judges everyone else as either black or white. “Western standards of democracy” is used by Jeru as an ideal type that simply does not match reality. There are plenty of examples of “Western” leaders who got away with all kinds of alleged and real crimes. Srithanonchai gives some appropriate examples. One could add to them. And jeru also says “But Andrew Walker and the rest of the bloggers at New Mandala would make a reader believe that Thailand’s democracy was working, and working well, when Thaksin Shinawatra was so disgracefully booted out.” That is plainly untrue. But it is a black/white world that jeru inhabits. Even jeru’s beloved military leaders do a better job of seeing shades of grey. David W. says that jeru (and Republican) will never understand or change. I agree, however jeru’s posts need responses for their narrowness of their perspective alone. On Western democracy, jeru’s views are quaint but wrong. Western democracy’s are not perfect, and any reading of the history of the development of Western democracies shows struggle, compromise, corruption, crime, money politics, pork-barrel politics, political murder, regression into authoritarianism, and so on. Real democratic development is not easy, but supporting a military dictatorship because they got rid of someone you personally dislike is probably not the most productive of strategies.
Grasshopper – I think you are missing the point. This is a blatent political move by Thaksin, an attempt to maintain his public profile back home. It may provide an ‘avenue of hope’ of hope for Thai players, but let’s hope it doesn’t raise expectations only to have them shattered at a later date. Note carefully – I did say that I would be delighted if Suree (or any other Thai) made the first team based on ability. Time will provide us with the answers.
Bangkokpundit – It seems strange that City’s excelllent scouting system didn’t pick-up Suree, even after the Asian Cup. Your argument is semi-plausible, until we consider the comments of the Thai coach in yesterday’s Bangkok Post/Nation saying that City will sign all three players despite the fact that two of them are clearly not good enough (presently) for the premiership. Are you still saying that this isn’t interference. Re the point about Grashoppers, the Swiss league occasionally produces a decent side, but to compare the standard with the Premier League is totally wide of the mark.
Thai Chat – Thaksin is the temprary custodian of Manchester City FC. The fans are the football club. Thaksin would be well advised to get this simple, basic point and quickly.
This recent DPA article (Bangkok Post editorial, August 25th) delved into the role of influences outside Thailand:
“…The BRN-Coordinate has been recruiting followers from the Thai Students Association of Indonesia,” claimed Colonel Shinawat Maendej, Commander of the Army Infantry Unit 1 in Narathiwat.
“Shinawat told a recent press briefing that the BRN-Coordinate has for years been recruiting Thai graduates from Indonesian universities in Bandung, Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and then providing them with ideological and military training with help from the Indonesia’s Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) – the radical Java-based Islamic group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombing… ”
A close reading of Desmond Ball’s books, however, provides some hints about how the conduct of security forces can keep a conflict going. Terror as a response to terror just creates a never ending see-saw of tit-for-tat. The only thing that will solve the problem in the end is a strategic application of good ole Buddhist metta.
Thaksin too appeared disturbed enough to threaten to sue the Swiss banks he said was freezing his Swiss bank accounts, which a day later Thaksin denied explaining that he ‘forgot’ he possessed no Swiss bank accounts.
Is that too much ado about something then nothing . . . or maybe really something????
Even Thaksin himself do forget all his many honest (accounting) mistakes whether in Thailand or in Switzerland, it seems.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader enriching himself (or his family) by more than 20% of his declared assets during office would have made to answer to public or parliamentary scrutiny at the first hint of impropriety
By Western standards of democracy, a Thai Rak Thai party continuing to shield their criminal leader from many criminal allegations would have been an abomination.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader enriching himself (or his family) by more than 20% of his declared during office would have to answer to public or parliamentary scrutiny at the first hint of impropriety.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader whose family was seen as evading taxes or complicit to concealing assets, et al would have been subjected to public or parliamentary scrutiny.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader seen as publicly directing or prodding the police to commit extrajudicial killings would have been immediately criminally prosecuted for each and every extrajudicial killing committed, then locked up.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader seen as concealing assets through offshore vehicles or possessing offshore Swiss bank accounts (hinted later denied) would have been toast and criminally prosecuted.
Had Western standards of democracy been immediately in effect to punish Thaksin Shinawatra for his ‘first’ honest mistakes, even more Godzilan mistakes later on would not have been possible . . . and the generals would have not been provoked to extra-constitutional remedies.
nganadeeleg -The blowback from American stupidity, arrogance, invasions, torturing etc is just used by Islamic extremists to further their cause. These Islamic fascists and murderers are trying to gain their caliphate through any means possible. They are not out to avenge American policy. Do not excuse their behaviour because of American policy.
“Western standards…” >> It is the other way round: In Thailand, people such as Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl (Pasuk’s “president for life”), Silvio Berlusconi, and George W. Bush would have been putsched out of office by the countries’ militaries, in conjunction with their bureaucratic-academic elites. What does it tell us that all of these people actually stayed in office, and that nobody even remotely considered a military coup against them?
Western standards of democracy would not have tolerated, must lest voted a Thai Rak Thai party, into power. Western starndards of democracy would have locked up a criminally inclined Thaksin Shinawatra, his wife and his gang of TRT crooks.
But Andrew Walker and the rest of the bloggers at New Mandala would make a reader believe that Thailand’s democracy was working, and working well, when Thasin Shinawatra was so disgracefully booted out.
Re: ngandeeleg> Well, I am currently working on the analysis and hope to finish it by the weekend. I, for one, do not say that American foreign policy has nothing to do with the rise of Islamic fundamentalist violence; however, they are not related in ways most people think and America has very little to do with what’s going on down south. I mean, when Police Senior Sergeant Major Niran Kunprah died yesterday in Yala, was he killed as a protest to the American war in Iraq? or was he killed as a show of solidarity with the Palestians?
I doubt either of those reasons were central to the motivation of yesterday’s bombing; and yet, they do all share a common thread, that is the concept of fard(both ayn and kifaya to struggle against fitnah both within dar al-Islam and without (i.e. dar al-Harb) and expand the borders (both politically and geographically) of the Umma , as authorized by all four recognized madhhib of fiqh and the various muhadditheen. I’m not translating all the Arabic jargon to make a point; that is most scholars, indeed, most people, who discuss if Islam, as a religion, is connected to the geo-political goals of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, have no idea what they are talking about. And those who do make an effort to delve into the primary sources and invest years of study into it are labeled “Islamophobes” if they don’t report back the most glowing praise in their research.
Indeed, this state of willful ignorance is what allows a Surat Horachaikul (whom I bet, couldn’t tell a fard from a haram) to assure us that certain, orthodox and widely held tenets of Islam have nothing to do with events in the south of Thailand. While many people have the knowledge to refute his claims; very few people have the chutzpah (pun intended).
It is one thing to be critical of American policy, God knows I am often critical of it; however, in his article Prof. Horachaikul indulges in venomous Anti-Americanism as a rhetorical smokescreen to cover up the paucity of evidence that “transnational terrorism” has nothing to do with the Southern insurgency. Prof. Horachaikul is correct in that very little “transnationality” occurs in the transfer of men or material; however, he misses the point that there exists a shared ideology throughout the Islamic world that, in combination with the current technology that makes globalization possible, allows the terrorism occuring in the south of Thailand to be part and parcel of a larger, ‘open-source’ movement.
Umm.. What about the Chinese players who have been signed or given trials by Premier league teams and Chinese team affiliations with some Premiership teams which seem to have been done solely to improve their marketability. I also don’t think LA Galaxy signed Beckham and are paying him so much money solely because of his footballing skills. It is his marketability.
There is a market, albeit relatively small although certainly not insignificant, for Manchester City to exploit in Thailand. Any team which was to sign or give a Thai player a trial run would receive even more press coverage in Thailand. Simply signing a player or giving a player a trial, who even the blogger acknowledges has recently showed skill, is not a fatal sign of interference. No doubt that Man City are paying more attention to Thai players with Thaksin in control, but this is certainly not interfering with team selection which is something different. There is speculation of Suree being loaned to the Swiss team Grasshoppers (is Grasshopper a supporter?). Surely, they wouldn’t take him on loan if they didn’t think he was good enough?
As an Indian woman contemplating travel to Burma via Thailand where I live, I find this discussion about Travel Boycott amusing and your point on deterring (or not) Asian tourists to Burma relevant.
Burma is an integral part of the Asian and ASEAN fabric – a support of as well as deterrent of the military junta comes from within this faqbric. Tony Blair boycotting Burma is about as relevant as Dalai Lama boycotting travel to USA (another military regime).
Fact remains that for Asians, Burma is part of our lives (my Grandfather died fighting in the British Army against the Japanese and his body never found and so I must go). Travel is organic in that it does percolate down to microeconomies run by ordinary people. Why boycott, when one does not have solutions? It is like boycotting a party where there are drugs in the upper bedroom but the rest of the house is rocking fun and it would be great to go!
Re: Jon> The only solution to Christian missionaries is Buddhist missionaries.
When talking about desire, the Buddha said something to the effect of, “one can’t fight fire with fire.” Even though I consider myself to be a devout Buddhist, I shudder to think of the damage Buddhist missionaries would do up in hill-tribe country. Most Buddhist missionary groups that I am familiar with indulge in the same sin that missionaries of all religions are prone to…overzealousness. Can you imagine what would happen to the hill-tribes if groups like Soka Gakkai, the Dhammakaya Foundation, Santi Asoke, or even Falun Dafa got a hold of them?
No. The only solution is to instill in the members of the hill-tribes a sense of pride in their traditional folk-ways.
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Six threats and one opportunity
This is further to my No. 23 posts when I said that under Thaksin, Thailand was headed to some ‘extra-constitutional’ remedy, a coup to be blunt, and it could NOT be avoided gentlemen.
Review what you all know about Thaksin Shinawatra gentlemen and you will see the light. Thaksin Shinawatra we all know was is the man of non-stop ‘honest mistakes’ of ever expanding and more outrageous proportions. Thaksin would NOT stop at murder (extrajudicials remember?) or disregarding the constitutional rule of law. And Thaksin would raise the ante, Thaksin being the high-stakes high-risk high-return gambler he is, to protect himself, his ill-gottens and perpetuate his deeply flawed rule.
That means, a-la Marcos, Thaksin would have executed the military coup himself (as was alleged by Nation News editor Thanong) because he was already in too deep with all his criminal corruption and extrajudicial crimes.
The military coup was unavoidable gentlemen and it was in Thailand’s flawed Thaksin’s democracy’s path. That the military coup was pre-empted by anti-Thaksin forces, instead of pro-Thaksin, was a godsend.
Now I invite your rebuttal gentlemen.
Own goals at Manchester City?
Nice work Citeh-Citeh. I think the move for the Thai players has some City fans who otherwise are pleased with Thaksin’s investment scratching their heads. However, I don’t think the fans will get all that upset about this though unless they are actually pushed into first team duty ahead of other players. To be honest I can’t see Sven standing for that either, but we’ll see.
Six threats and one opportunity
Imperfect democracies are common and imperfect leaders are even more common. Countries adjust to such imperfections, and carry on with their democratic aspirations, FOR SO LONG as constitutional mechanisms to correct, remove and punish imperfect leaders are not only in place but are also seen to be observed fairly and with due regard to rule of law and the country welfare.
But when a country’s constitutional system have been completely broken with its highest elected leader seen as disrespecting the spirit of the very constitution he was elected to protect and upheld, to perpetuate his rule and to protect himself and his family from having to answer to serious criminal allegations of abuse of power and conflict of interest, and rending the country apart in the process, that is a sure formula for some extra-constitutional remedy of sort.
Six threats and one opportunity
Jeru: So, should we then blame Prem for everything that has happened since the Constitution Court ruling after the election in 2001?
Own goals at Manchester City?
Citeh-Citeh: don’t hold your breath waiting for Thaksin to get the message on the fans being the club. He never quite understood that the population in Thailand were the nation. He’s a businessman used to fast and slippery deals. That’s how he ran the country. I suspect that City will be run the same way. Bringing in second-rate players is his nationalist ploy.
Six threats and one opportunity
As usual, Jeru judges everyone else as either black or white. “Western standards of democracy” is used by Jeru as an ideal type that simply does not match reality. There are plenty of examples of “Western” leaders who got away with all kinds of alleged and real crimes. Srithanonchai gives some appropriate examples. One could add to them. And jeru also says “But Andrew Walker and the rest of the bloggers at New Mandala would make a reader believe that Thailand’s democracy was working, and working well, when Thaksin Shinawatra was so disgracefully booted out.” That is plainly untrue. But it is a black/white world that jeru inhabits. Even jeru’s beloved military leaders do a better job of seeing shades of grey. David W. says that jeru (and Republican) will never understand or change. I agree, however jeru’s posts need responses for their narrowness of their perspective alone. On Western democracy, jeru’s views are quaint but wrong. Western democracy’s are not perfect, and any reading of the history of the development of Western democracies shows struggle, compromise, corruption, crime, money politics, pork-barrel politics, political murder, regression into authoritarianism, and so on. Real democratic development is not easy, but supporting a military dictatorship because they got rid of someone you personally dislike is probably not the most productive of strategies.
Own goals at Manchester City?
Thanks for comments all.
Grasshopper – I think you are missing the point. This is a blatent political move by Thaksin, an attempt to maintain his public profile back home. It may provide an ‘avenue of hope’ of hope for Thai players, but let’s hope it doesn’t raise expectations only to have them shattered at a later date. Note carefully – I did say that I would be delighted if Suree (or any other Thai) made the first team based on ability. Time will provide us with the answers.
Bangkokpundit – It seems strange that City’s excelllent scouting system didn’t pick-up Suree, even after the Asian Cup. Your argument is semi-plausible, until we consider the comments of the Thai coach in yesterday’s Bangkok Post/Nation saying that City will sign all three players despite the fact that two of them are clearly not good enough (presently) for the premiership. Are you still saying that this isn’t interference. Re the point about Grashoppers, the Swiss league occasionally produces a decent side, but to compare the standard with the Premier League is totally wide of the mark.
Thai Chat – Thaksin is the temprary custodian of Manchester City FC. The fans are the football club. Thaksin would be well advised to get this simple, basic point and quickly.
Demo[of]Crazy: A blog from Surat Horachaikul
This recent DPA article (Bangkok Post editorial, August 25th) delved into the role of influences outside Thailand:
“…The BRN-Coordinate has been recruiting followers from the Thai Students Association of Indonesia,” claimed Colonel Shinawat Maendej, Commander of the Army Infantry Unit 1 in Narathiwat.
“Shinawat told a recent press briefing that the BRN-Coordinate has for years been recruiting Thai graduates from Indonesian universities in Bandung, Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and then providing them with ideological and military training with help from the Indonesia’s Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) – the radical Java-based Islamic group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombing… ”
A close reading of Desmond Ball’s books, however, provides some hints about how the conduct of security forces can keep a conflict going. Terror as a response to terror just creates a never ending see-saw of tit-for-tat. The only thing that will solve the problem in the end is a strategic application of good ole Buddhist metta.
Own goals at Manchester City?
Thaksin too appeared disturbed enough to threaten to sue the Swiss banks he said was freezing his Swiss bank accounts, which a day later Thaksin denied explaining that he ‘forgot’ he possessed no Swiss bank accounts.
Is that too much ado about something then nothing . . . or maybe really something????
Even Thaksin himself do forget all his many honest (accounting) mistakes whether in Thailand or in Switzerland, it seems.
Six threats and one opportunity
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader enriching himself (or his family) by more than 20% of his declared assets during office would have made to answer to public or parliamentary scrutiny at the first hint of impropriety
Six threats and one opportunity
By Western standards of democracy, a Thai Rak Thai party continuing to shield their criminal leader from many criminal allegations would have been an abomination.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader enriching himself (or his family) by more than 20% of his declared during office would have to answer to public or parliamentary scrutiny at the first hint of impropriety.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader whose family was seen as evading taxes or complicit to concealing assets, et al would have been subjected to public or parliamentary scrutiny.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader seen as publicly directing or prodding the police to commit extrajudicial killings would have been immediately criminally prosecuted for each and every extrajudicial killing committed, then locked up.
By Western standards of democracy, any elected leader seen as concealing assets through offshore vehicles or possessing offshore Swiss bank accounts (hinted later denied) would have been toast and criminally prosecuted.
Had Western standards of democracy been immediately in effect to punish Thaksin Shinawatra for his ‘first’ honest mistakes, even more Godzilan mistakes later on would not have been possible . . . and the generals would have not been provoked to extra-constitutional remedies.
By Western standards of democracy etc. etc. etc.
Demo[of]Crazy: A blog from Surat Horachaikul
nganadeeleg -The blowback from American stupidity, arrogance, invasions, torturing etc is just used by Islamic extremists to further their cause. These Islamic fascists and murderers are trying to gain their caliphate through any means possible. They are not out to avenge American policy. Do not excuse their behaviour because of American policy.
Six threats and one opportunity
“Western standards…” >> It is the other way round: In Thailand, people such as Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl (Pasuk’s “president for life”), Silvio Berlusconi, and George W. Bush would have been putsched out of office by the countries’ militaries, in conjunction with their bureaucratic-academic elites. What does it tell us that all of these people actually stayed in office, and that nobody even remotely considered a military coup against them?
Own goals at Manchester City?
Thaksin paid for the club so he can do what it wants.
There’s is no point in dwelling on this.
It’s much ado about nothing…
Six threats and one opportunity
Western standards of democracy would not have tolerated, must lest voted a Thai Rak Thai party, into power. Western starndards of democracy would have locked up a criminally inclined Thaksin Shinawatra, his wife and his gang of TRT crooks.
But Andrew Walker and the rest of the bloggers at New Mandala would make a reader believe that Thailand’s democracy was working, and working well, when Thasin Shinawatra was so disgracefully booted out.
Demo[of]Crazy: A blog from Surat Horachaikul
Re: ngandeeleg> Well, I am currently working on the analysis and hope to finish it by the weekend. I, for one, do not say that American foreign policy has nothing to do with the rise of Islamic fundamentalist violence; however, they are not related in ways most people think and America has very little to do with what’s going on down south. I mean, when Police Senior Sergeant Major Niran Kunprah died yesterday in Yala, was he killed as a protest to the American war in Iraq? or was he killed as a show of solidarity with the Palestians?
I doubt either of those reasons were central to the motivation of yesterday’s bombing; and yet, they do all share a common thread, that is the concept of fard(both ayn and kifaya to struggle against fitnah both within dar al-Islam and without (i.e. dar al-Harb) and expand the borders (both politically and geographically) of the Umma , as authorized by all four recognized madhhib of fiqh and the various muhadditheen. I’m not translating all the Arabic jargon to make a point; that is most scholars, indeed, most people, who discuss if Islam, as a religion, is connected to the geo-political goals of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, have no idea what they are talking about. And those who do make an effort to delve into the primary sources and invest years of study into it are labeled “Islamophobes” if they don’t report back the most glowing praise in their research.
Indeed, this state of willful ignorance is what allows a Surat Horachaikul (whom I bet, couldn’t tell a fard from a haram) to assure us that certain, orthodox and widely held tenets of Islam have nothing to do with events in the south of Thailand. While many people have the knowledge to refute his claims; very few people have the chutzpah (pun intended).
It is one thing to be critical of American policy, God knows I am often critical of it; however, in his article Prof. Horachaikul indulges in venomous Anti-Americanism as a rhetorical smokescreen to cover up the paucity of evidence that “transnational terrorism” has nothing to do with the Southern insurgency. Prof. Horachaikul is correct in that very little “transnationality” occurs in the transfer of men or material; however, he misses the point that there exists a shared ideology throughout the Islamic world that, in combination with the current technology that makes globalization possible, allows the terrorism occuring in the south of Thailand to be part and parcel of a larger, ‘open-source’ movement.
I’m running out of time….I’ll explain more later.
Own goals at Manchester City?
Umm.. What about the Chinese players who have been signed or given trials by Premier league teams and Chinese team affiliations with some Premiership teams which seem to have been done solely to improve their marketability. I also don’t think LA Galaxy signed Beckham and are paying him so much money solely because of his footballing skills. It is his marketability.
There is a market, albeit relatively small although certainly not insignificant, for Manchester City to exploit in Thailand. Any team which was to sign or give a Thai player a trial run would receive even more press coverage in Thailand. Simply signing a player or giving a player a trial, who even the blogger acknowledges has recently showed skill, is not a fatal sign of interference. No doubt that Man City are paying more attention to Thai players with Thaksin in control, but this is certainly not interfering with team selection which is something different. There is speculation of Suree being loaned to the Swiss team Grasshoppers (is Grasshopper a supporter?). Surely, they wouldn’t take him on loan if they didn’t think he was good enough?
Burma boycott – some questions about “avoided tourism”
As an Indian woman contemplating travel to Burma via Thailand where I live, I find this discussion about Travel Boycott amusing and your point on deterring (or not) Asian tourists to Burma relevant.
Burma is an integral part of the Asian and ASEAN fabric – a support of as well as deterrent of the military junta comes from within this faqbric. Tony Blair boycotting Burma is about as relevant as Dalai Lama boycotting travel to USA (another military regime).
Fact remains that for Asians, Burma is part of our lives (my Grandfather died fighting in the British Army against the Japanese and his body never found and so I must go). Travel is organic in that it does percolate down to microeconomies run by ordinary people. Why boycott, when one does not have solutions? It is like boycotting a party where there are drugs in the upper bedroom but the rest of the house is rocking fun and it would be great to go!
McDaniel’s new wheels
Re: Jon>
The only solution to Christian missionaries is Buddhist missionaries.
When talking about desire, the Buddha said something to the effect of, “one can’t fight fire with fire.” Even though I consider myself to be a devout Buddhist, I shudder to think of the damage Buddhist missionaries would do up in hill-tribe country. Most Buddhist missionary groups that I am familiar with indulge in the same sin that missionaries of all religions are prone to…overzealousness. Can you imagine what would happen to the hill-tribes if groups like Soka Gakkai, the Dhammakaya Foundation, Santi Asoke, or even Falun Dafa got a hold of them?
No. The only solution is to instill in the members of the hill-tribes a sense of pride in their traditional folk-ways.
Six threats and one opportunity
Just speculation, but I think Thaksin is a lot poorer now than when he entered politics.
If that’s true then the rest of his family (and his maid) must be a lot richer!