Abhisit, Hun Sen, Thaksin -- and what the three PMs shouldn't have done

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
By Atiya Achakulwisut
Bangkok Post

That you have three Prime Ministers interacting does not guarantee you will have a brilliant meeting of the minds. As events during the past few days regarding the Thai-Cambodian relations have suggested, you can have three Prime Minister materials and still end up with no wise man.

Since it is impossible to try to look into the future and predict how the diplomatic spat would culminate -- too many factors are involved and some of them are either fickle or unfathomable, such as the depth of the human mind -- I would rather look back to the recent past and do a quick review of what shouldn't have been done. Hopefully, the reexamination of the past deeds could point out to what should actually be done for the future.

I will start with the formation of the Abhisit government.

PM Abhisit should not have made a core member of anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) Kasit Piromya his foreign minister. His baggage, the tirade against PM Hun Sen and praise for the airports seizure, is simply unbearable.

Mr Kasit Piromya should have declined the appointment himself knowing where he is coming from and what he will have to face in future. He can still consider leaving now. He might be able to do more for his conviction if he would continue his tirade against PM Hun Sen outside of the bounds of his government duty. For now, his presence in the foreign ministry makes every diplomatic move dubious, suspicious of being laced with personal bias.

PM Hun Sen shouldn't have been so bent on unilaterally registering the Preah Vihear temple as the World Heritage site without a clear plan on how to develop the surrounding area. He should have realised that while the temple is decidedly the Cambodian property, there is no other solution to the area claimed by both sides except to jointly develop it as a common property, a natural park or peace monument under both countries' care.

The PAD shouldn't have been so hellbent on claiming ownership of the Preah Vihear area and fanning up extreme nationalism. They should have known that such a narrow-minded view of the issue would lead to nowhere and benefit no-one.

PM Hun Sen should not have meddled in the Thai internal politics by siding with former PM Thaksin. He could appoint the convicted ex PM as his advisor but shouldn't have gone so far as to offering shelter and rejecting the Thai government's attempt to extradite him. He shouldn't have told PM Abhisit to dissolve the House. Thai politics is not exactly his affair.

Thaksin shouldn't have accepted to be Mr Hun Sen's advisor. While there is nothing illegal about it, it is a matter of etiquette. He should have known better.

But as it is now obvious, the three PMs, former and current, do not seem to know better. That is why the peoples of both countries have to hold their breath and pray that a cooler head will prevail before the situation deteriorate further.