DUBAI – Deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra launched another attack on the Abhisit government today, deriding the government’s crackdown against the press as “amateurish” and “inefficient.”
“When I was prime minister I had a dedicated team of lawyers ready to sue anyone who criticized me for a hundred million baht,” he boasted in a video message broadcast to his red-shirt supporters. “I had journalists self-censoring, instead of having to raid press offices. Much more efficient.”
Thaksin also criticized the Ministry of Communications’ efforts to block over 10,000 websites deemed dangerous to national security, including online newspaper Prachatai and links to foreign news stories that openly discussed the Thai military and monarchy.
“Blocking sites one-by-one using government bureaucrats is foolish,” said Thaksin. “I would have just bought controlling stakes in all the ISPs, just like I did with ITV, and secretly issued new editorial orders to the managers. That’s the modern way to do censorship.”
His comments were cheered by the red crowd, many of whom later praised his words as examples of his superior leadership.
“Thaksin was a visionary,” said Somluk Kriangvien, a Bangkok resident who opposes the Abhisit government. “The way he enriched himself through legal loopholes instead of normal extortion, or the way he bought votes through development instead of direct bribes. That’s the Thailand of tomorrow.”
Thaksin also downplayed the government’s silencing of anti-government radio stations and People’s TV, saying that when he returned to power he would shut down ASTV, NationTV, and Manager “in half the time and at one-fourth the cost.”
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva responded by insisting that the current government’s censorship capabilities were “state of the art.”
“It is clear that the people of Thailand see the current conflict in over-simplified, color-coded, and childishly emotional terms,” he said. “Which just proves that we’re doing our job just fine.”
