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Published on August 4, 2007

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, being the cunning politician that he is, can hardly be faulted for his mastery of manipulation and his willingness to use it to his advantage. A case in point was the launch of the book "Thaksin, Where Are You?", a harmless little gossipy book penned by an impressionable female junior army officer who professes to harbour journalistic ambitions, if not also a desire to go after a bit of fame and fortune.

But the Council for National Security (CNS), the all-powerful military junta that toppled Thaksin in a bloodless coup last September, has no business running around like a bunch of panicky people every time the former prime minister, now in self-exile abroad, feels like getting up to a little mischief.

That is, however, what CNS Chairman Sonthi Boonyaratglin and his fellow coup-makers invariably do. And the mass media has a field day serving up stories on Thaksin's latest pull from his bag of tricks, while members of the public, with their insatiable appetite for juicy news, lap it up. Thaksin may have fallen from grace and be facing prosecution for a series of high-profile corruption scandals, but with his still considerable clout, the man is still a celebrity nonetheless.

Who could resist the spectacle of a weepy Lieutenant Sunisa Lertpakawat, as she described herself as a "little woman" struggling to find her way in the world, who somehow got caught up in a titanic struggle between Thaksin and the military junta?

General Sonthi has ordered an investigation into Lt Sunisa's trip to London a few months ago to interview Thaksin for the book, for which her immediate supervisors did not grant prior approval. If it is found that she had committed any wrong, Sunisa will face disciplinary actions. Sunisa's budding career as a journalist at the Army-run TV Channel 5 has already been cut short and she has since been transferred back to the Office of the Army Secretariat.

"Thaksin, Where Are You?", which hit bookstores on Wednesday, offers a glimpse into the daily life of the former prime minister in London. Mass media can be forgiven for giving prominence to the pictures of doe-eyed Sunisa and her tearful protestations of innocence, and her denial that she had allowed herself to be used as a tool by Thaksin to cause a political disturbance in this country. After all, it was a human-interest story.

It appears that some members of the public have no problem giving the poor woman the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it was all due to her persistently seeking out an interview with Thaksin, travelling to London at her own expense to conduct it, and then making arrangements to have it published using her own funds, as she claims in the book, which has now become a best seller.

And perhaps Thaksin did not even do his usual calculating to figure out how he could best ruffle up the generals' feathers. Or perhaps Thaksin set the whole thing up, and paid for everything to conjure up a little drama that would keep him in the headlines while at the same time casting the military junta in a bad light.

But that is beside the point. The point is that the military junta should not still be getting worked up by the slightest provocation from Thaksin.

That is not to say Sunisa should not be punished for her wrongdoing. Far from it, if the investigation committee finds that she violated workplace rules or the code of conduct, she should be penalised like any other officer who committed similar offences.

The question is why should Sonthi have to come out to publicly order the investigation when such a probe into a petty offence like taking leave without permission could have been handled by her immediate supervisors? Why can't Sonthi and the CNS see this charade and recognise it for what it is, and perhaps stop making fools of themselves and helping Thaksin to achieve his devious objectives, for a change?

Thaksin needs this kind of drama to convince the public, particularly those who are still sympathetic to his cause, that he is being persecuted by the military junta and his political enemies in order to divert public attention from the real issue, which is the court proceedings concerning his alleged involvement in large-scale corruption cases, which are about to begin.