EDITORIAL: Surakiart should shelve UN bid

Deputy PM's hopeless campaign to oversee the world body is keeping better candidates out of the race

For some reason that perhaps only he can understand, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai continues to think he can somehow achieve the impossible and go on to win the bid to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations. This is even after he received a major snub in an initial but crucial test to sound out the UN Security Council on candidates seeking the top post at the international body.

The Thai candidate is reeling from the blow inflicted by some members of the Security Council who denied him a passing grade. Out of 15 Security Council members, only seven reportedly encouraged him to stay in the race. But Surakiart has so far refused to throw in the towel.

It has never really been made clear why he wanted this position so badly. The man has no domestic or international achievements that would have placed him in the same league as world-class statesmen to begin with. Is he sticking his neck out just to please his mentor, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, or is he acting out of a personal conviction that he actually has a shot at the position?

One quality that would make Surakiart attractive in the eyes of international leaders is his obedience. In fact, Thaksin has reportedly told US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the reason why these two permanent members of the UN should support Surakiart is because he is so obedient. Well, that is certainly true.

Throughout his political career, Surakiart has never failed when it came time to demonstrate his loyalty to his political master at any given time.

Incidentally, that type of courage to follow the leader won him a title of "rogue minister" from Time magazine. A furious Surakiart threatened to sue; a deal was struck when the magazine gave him permission to present his side of the story by publishing a short letter he had written.

At first, many thought Surakiart was trying to live up to some quirky ambition that his prime minister had. But eventually it became clear the law professor-turned-politician believed in his own fantasy - that he actually had what it takes to run the world body.

He ran an aggressive campaign with the full backing of the Thaksin government, which granted him a special budget and a team of loyalists that kept showering him with praise. Along the way, statements from various international quarters were spun to his advantage. For example, China's "applause" became an official endorsement for the Thai candidate, while Asean's official endorsement became something much bigger than that.

For domestic consumption, Thaksin has unabashedly gone on and on in his weekly national radio addresses to boast about how many countries the world over support Thailand's bid.

His spin has spun so out of control that it has become the butt of jokes at diplomatic cocktail parties throughout the region. As with his approach to domestic politics, Thaksin didn't realise he had bitten off more than he could chew until it was too late.

Surakiart's campaign for the top UN job over the past year and a half has already cost Bt300 million in taxpayers' money, an amount that could be used to open two new medium-sized embassies abroad.

If nothing else could have persuaded him to spare himself this embarrassment, history should have taught Surakiart a sobering lesson. Many previous secretary-generals were people who emerged late in the game, often at the last minute - never candidates who campaigned vigorously for the post.

With or without Asean endorsement, Surakiart fully understands that the final decision is really made by the five permanent members of the Security Council: the US, Britain, France, Russia and China. This race shouldn't be exploited for domestic consumption. Ultimately, it is a result of intense diplomatic haggling between the five permanent members.

Surakiart needs to show he is a good sport and get out of the race, so other Asean or Asian candidates with better qualifications and higher popularity ratings can step into the arena.

The Nation

Surakiart to push for democratic reform in Burma if elected

Kuala Lumpur - Thailand's candidate for UN top post said on Wednesday he would push for democratic reforms in Burma if elected.

Speaking on the sideline of Asean's foreign minister meeting, Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, said he would also press the junta for the release of Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Definitely. I believe in the role of the Secretary-General in good offices," Surakiart told reporters when asked if he would lean on Rangoon for more democracy.

"(Kofi Annan) has done a lot, and we would pick up from the work he has done and continue to work closely with Asean," he said.

Surakiart, who reportedly polled third in a recent UN Security Council straw poll of four candidates for the UN job, said he understood local "complications" because he was from the region.

"We know it is important that democracy must take place in Myanmar (Burma) as soon as possible and Aung San Suu Kyi should be released as soon as possible," he added.

Kofi Annan completes his second five-year term as Secretary General at the end of the year. An informal consensus is that it is Asia's turn to assume the job, in line with an unwritten rule of regional rotation at the world body.

In Monday's secret Security Council poll, South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon came first followed by Indian candidate Shashi Tharoor, the UN's undersecretary in charge of communications, according to Indian media.

Agence France Presse/The Nation