Thai diplomacy has been exposed to ridicule following revelations that Thaksin Shinawatra, the caretaker prime minister, wrote at least two letters to foreign leaders, including US President George Bush, seeking their sympathy for his own political predicament. By doing so, he has deliberately, and most inappropriately, internationalised Thai politics in his own interests.

Kantathi Suphamongkhon, the caretaker foreign minister, tried to defend Thaksin by arguing that he had written to Bush on a personal - as opposed to an official - basis because they were good friends. But Surin Pitsuwan, a Democrat and former foreign minister, said Thaksin had tried only to protect his own interests with a one-sided story that damaged Thailand's overall image. He branded Thaksin a hypocrite for his democratic rhetoric.

Earlier, former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said Thaksin should not have written to Bush explaining the state of Thai politics because Thailand was not a colony of the US.

Indeed, Thailand has a long-standing reputation for its wise and balanced diplomacy, which has enabled it to remain independent for almost one thousand years. Even when there have been political conflicts in the country, Thai leaders have never gone overseas to tell their foreign counterparts about the nation's problems, which are, after all, required to be solved by Thais on their own.

Thaksin is the first Thai leader to have attempted a departure from the practice to enhance his own political standing. Thaksin has been feeling insecure about his political future as he has lost the support of the middle-class, intellectuals and the Thai elite.

Thaksin's letters to the foreign leaders cannot be considered personal as the letterheads carried the garuda emblem, the official symbol of the Royal Thai Government.

It was also not appropriate for Thaksin to have written the letters while he was serving as caretaker prime minister. Thaksin wrote the first official letter, dated April 17, 2006, and believed to have been addressed to the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China and South Korea. He informed them of his decision not to take up premiership although his Thai Rak Thai Party had won the majority support in the April 2 snap elections.

On April 4, when he had an audience with His Majesty the King, Thaksin said he would not take over as prime minister in order to safeguard national unity.

At that time, the anti-Thaksin sentiment was swelling, with 9.1 million people marking "no-vote" on their ballot sheets. The following day, he announced that he would take leave of absence and leave the day-to-day running of the caretaker government to Chidchai Vanasatidya, a deputy prime minister.

Claiming a resounding victory by 16.4 million votes, Thaksin said in his April 17, 2006, letter: "In any democracy, this should be more than a convincing victory. However, foremost on my mind is the need to preserve Thailand's democratic traditions and national unity, which must come before our electoral victory. Priority now is on how to proceed with political reform, including constitutional amendments, as called for by various parties," he said.

Towards the end of his letter, Thaksin said: "As for myself, once the political reform process is completed, I shall make a decision on my political future. Until then, I shall continue to lead the TRT and carry out my duties as a member of Parliament."

In effect, Thaksin not only went on national TV to announce his decision to take leave of absence until a new prime minister was picked, but he also officially informed the foreign leaders of his political move.

On June 23, Thaksin followed it up with another letter to Bush, explaining the political situation in Thailand.

He attacked his political opponents for trying to undermine democracy and preventing his return to power although his party had won the elections.

Thaksin informed Bush of his decision to resume an active role as caretaker prime minister because of a need to fight the war on terror, manage the economy and to keep the government apparatus running. Bush's reply on July 3 was very neutral, compared with Thaksin's negative tone about what was going on in Thailand. Thaksin blamed his political opponents for all the problems and painted a bleak picture of Thai democracy.

But Bush said he believed that "the Thai people are resilient and Thai democracy is strong, and I know that your country will emerge from the current situation with a renewed focus on that which makes Thailand great."

Thanong Khanthong

 The Nation