absolutelyBangkok archive · Culture & Arts
Originally published Oct. 24, 2009
Headaches at Hua Hin’s Asean gathering. A Thaksin rift mars the Asean solidarity. The host, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, cancels a press conference mid-summit and no bilateral meeting with Cambodia. Well, ignoring the simple fact that he had been installed by a de facto judicial coup — a root of Thailand’s current problems — and that his power is not necessarily based on strictly democratic principles, the Thai premier had taken the freedom to lecture his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen about the dos and don’ts of democratic principles, regional solidarity and moral leadership.
The issue at stake is simple: Hun Sen thinks that not only his good “eternal friend” Thaksin Shinawatra is a victim of “unfair Thai politics.” Hun Sen sees himself as a victim of Thailand. Everybody in the world knows, we were recently reminded by his ambassador to Thailand, that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. And as the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Thaksin will always be welcome in Hun Sen’s Cambodia. An extradition treaty does not apply to the political offender Thaksin.
Because this here, Hun Sen seems to imply, is the false world of Thai politics where neither democratic principles nor brotherly solidarity nor moral leadership rule — and Hun Sen has lots of unfinished business with Thailand, just to mention the in the Khmer psyche still not forgotten quiet “humanitarian”
alliance between Thailand and the Khmer Rouge. When Abhisit was enjoying cozy British life, Hun Sen was hardened by war. The then Vietnamese-backed, world’s youngest prime minister since fought many other silent wars with Thailand. The latest éclats are nothing out of the ordinary.
To complicate matters — as a reader wrote in an email — take the vastly different characters of the two men into account:
Abhisit was born soft with a silver spoon and tender years of education at Eton and Oxford. Hun Sen was educated by the Vietnamese generals who crushed the American military despite taking two million casualties and then Hun Sen went on to be the guy who organized the defeat of Pol Pot and the fanatically brutal Khmer Rouge. In the later political game, he also excelled against very violent opponents in a society totally on the edge, no softness, no silver spoons…
When it comes to a one-on-one mano-a-mano contest, who is going to win? Hun Sen or Abhisit? I don’t think the Democrats, Kasit or Abhisit, know what a hornets’ nest they have stir up in Cambodia or how vulnerable a disorganized, divided Thailand really is…
Within minutes of landing in Hua Hin, Hun Sen (Thaksin’s voice in Hua Hin) opens his mouth and starts to take revenge on Abhisit and his foreign minister for all the trouble they’ve been causing around the Hindu temple… he seems to be really good at that game and also thoroughly enjoying his immunity to speak his mind under the auspices of the Asean umbrella… it must be driving Abhisit and the Democrats completely crazy and I have a feeling Hun Sen’s going to keep it up…
… and Thaksin joined in:
Minutes after Abhisit concluded his statement criticizing Hun Sen’s provocative arrival in Hua Hin, Thaksin told Abhisit via Twitter to be more polite:
As the leader of Asean, Mr. Abhisit should act mannerly and try to provide warm hospitality for the country’s very important guests. The premier must also be concerned about international relationship.
And how Thaksin must have enjoyed Hun Sen likening him to Myanmar’s democracy figure and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Human Rights Watch Thailand presented us with this glorious quote:
Only two people in the world would liken Thaksin to Aung San Suu Kyi: Thaksin and Hun Sen.
That’s where Hun Sen lost his slight 0:1 advantage. And does any Asean leader truly respect ASSK? Losers on all sides.
The old Thai-Cambodian feud drags on and the sacrosanct Asean harmony has yet to be found.
If you still can’t get enough of the topic, here’s Abhisit’s presser on Hun Sen and Aung San Suu Kyi. Abhisit doesn’t look too happy, haunted by such un-Asean issues like human rights and unelected governments that have become so core-Asean. Senior statesman? Hmm:
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