If Thailand’s new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is true to his word, cronies, friends and Thai criminals on the run should soon feel the fallout of Thaksin’s actions. For the first time in a long time, there may be a closing of a double standard.
When non Thais look at Thailand they see a double standard, and in some cases a triple standard. This for the most part is not a good thing, and particularly so for people who look to invest in Thailand. However that is not what this entry is about. This entry is about the double standards between Thais that at least for now looks to close.
For at least a year Abhisit Vejjajiva has stressed the need to follow the law, and that no Thai is above the law. It is this position that got the democrats through the December 2007 elections with little or no problems. Enforcing this after his election as Prime Minister is where we pick up.
As Abhisit was being elected, Thaksin’s red diplomatic passport was being revoked. That simply was the right thing to do. However to not make it appear that Thaksin was being singled out, other fugitives who also have diplomatic passports must also meet the same fate. There is at least one now and a few more in Que who’s final status is due up in court in the near future.
This now becomes a must to do or it will hurt Abhisit’s government and how the rest of the world sees Thailand. So the jump has been made. Failure to do so will be seen as a double standard and reek of cronyism.
The next thing in consideration is Thaksin’s ordinary passport. That too is in the works to be pulled. However here is the dilemma, there are several convicted people who are doing exactly what Thaksin is doing. To not show that they are just going after Thaksin, those passports also must be canceled by the Thai government. Without saying there are a lot out there. Considering the word flee is so common when it comes to Thais facing the music, it is not hard to guess that thousands if not more Thais are out of Thailand on the run. That could give a small team at the Ministry work for a while.
Doing this is very important to everyone to restore the face of Thailand. Unfortunately the Thais in government are not comfortable with this, particularly if their name is in Que in the courts. As it would be, people associated with Thaksin make up a lot of them. It certainly sounds like the encore dance with the devil.
Abhisit’s hands are tied and the first domino has fallen. How far the domino line will continue to fall will depend on how long Abhisit stays in power. This position is a very positive view from the outside. The next step is ending the Thai vs non Thai double standard, but there is doubt that will happen before the education system is fixed. It seems that double standard is a form of compensation for the shortcoming of the Thai education system.
