Ousted PM hires US lobbyist firm

Hong Kong - Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has signed up a firm of American political lobbyists to seek support in Washington, a report said Friday.

Thaksin, who was unseated in a military coup in September, met with lobbyists from Barbour Griffith and Rogers (BGR) in Hong Kong last week, the South China Morning Post reported.

BGR describes itself on its website as America's "leading Republican government affairs and consulting firm" and has close ties with the Bush administration.

Among the BGR team that met Thaksin was Stephen Rademaker, the former US assistant secretary of state for international security, said the newspaper, quoting unnamed sources.

Also present was Ed Rogers, the firm's co-founder and previously a staffer in the White House of former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior.

He has denied having any further political ambitions but the junta has been infuriated by his travels to capitals across Europe and Asia since he was deposed.

The Thai government has withdrawn Thaksin's diplomatic passport, and this week it issued a strong rebuke to Singapore for allowing him meet a top cabinet member there.

Alan VanderMolen, Asia-Pacific president of Edelman, which Thaksin has recently hired as his public relations consultants, confirmed he had been in Hong Kong but gave no details on the purpose of the trip.

"He was here last week. As far as I know, he was here as part of his travels around the world since he left office," VanderMolen told AFP.

Thaksin Shinawatra, was in Tokyo on Friday, but Japanese officials said they had no plans to meet him out of concerns over relations with the current Bangkok government, according to Associated Press.

Thaksin arrived in Tokyo late Thursday on his first visit to Japan since being toppled from office in a Sept. 19 bloodless military coup.

"Now is time for me to relax, get together with my family, see my old friends,'' Thaksin said Thursday after arriving at Narita international airport outside Tokyo.

Meanwhile Japanese officials said they were aware of Thaksin's visit but had no plans to meet the former leader.

"There are no meetings scheduled between Mr. Thaksin and Japanese government officials,'' said Foreign Ministry official Masahiro Yoshida.

"We have our relations with the current Thai government to consider. ... We are aware that the government is very sensitive about this issue,'' he said.

AP quoted Chika Takada, an official at the Thai embassy in Tokyo, as saying Bangkok was aware of Thaksin's visit but had not plans to interfere. "His visit is purely private and does not concern us,'' Takada said.

Thai media reported Friday that the former leader was scheduled to give a speech at the prestigious Tokyo University and receive an honorary degree there.

University spokeswoman Kayoko Hayashi, however, said none of the school's main departments had plans to receive Thaksin. She said the university was checking with its professors about the reported visit.

The former leader's private visit to Singapore earlier this week sparked a diplomatic row between Thailand and Singapore.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday withdrew an invitation to Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo to visit the country and suspended an exchange program of civil servants following Thaksin's meeting with a top Singaporean official.

Thaksin planned to stay in Japan for about a week, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The Nation

Defiant Thaksin denies junta's corruption allegations

Deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra denied allegations of corruption and abuse of power in an interview broadcast Saturday, in an apparent attempt to undermine the rationale for his ouster.

A defiant Thaksin told CNN that the junta, which overthrew his elected government on September 19, had yet to provide any evidence of illegal activity during his premiership despite its best efforts.

"(They are) baseless allegations, it's just a political tool. And I cooperate very well with all relevant agencies, but now they still cannot find any evidence against me," he said.

Military leaders have repeatedly justified their bloodless coup by saying widespread corruption during Thaksin's five years in office undermined democracy and divided the kingdom.

"I never bend the rules," said billionaire businessman Thaksin, who has been accused of corruption, nepotism, fixing elections and heavy-handed tactics against separatist insurgents and drug dealers.

"Everything is through the rule of law, not just trying to set up my own law, set up my own rules, no, I'm not a dictator," he added.

Thaksin insisted that he obeyed the law during a controversial business deal involving Shin Corp, the telecom giant he founded.

Thaksin's family sold their 49 percent stake in Shin Corp to Singapore's state-linked Temasek holdings for 1.9 billion dollars under a tax-free deal in January 2006.

The deal triggered months of street protests demanding Thaksin's resignation over alleged corruption, culminating in the putsch. Investigations into the sale are still underway.

"In selling equity through the stock exchange, it's tax exempt by law," Thaksin told CNN.

"It's not because of you are a prime minister or not prime minister you have to pay tax or not pay tax. The law said that you don't have (to)," he added.

In the interview -- blocked by Thailand's main cable operator UBC following a request by the junta -- Thaksin said he was ready to return to Thailand to answer the allegations in court.

The toppled leader appeared to be rubbing salt into the wounds of the junta, which has faced criticism for not yet proving any wrongdoing against Thaksin, despite reviving key anti-graft bodies.

Junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin in October said investigators had failed to uncover solid evidence of corruption. Investigations are ongoing.

Thaksin also said he did not regret his policies in the Muslim-majority south, where his heavy-handed tactics were blamed for exacerbating a three-year separatist insurgency which has killed more than 1,800 people.

"For those terrorists you have to use iron fist ... sometimes they just try to focus on my iron fist, but actually I have done a lot on the velvet glove side," he told CNN.

In excerpts of the interview first broadcast Monday night, Thaksin denied involvement in the December 31 bombs that killed three and injured dozens in Bangkok, and said he had had enough of politics.

But although Thaksin claims he has no intention of returning to politics, the South China Morning Post reported Friday that he had engaged the services of a top Washington political lobby group.

Thaksin has remained in exile since the coup, hopping between Europe and Asia.

When in Singapore last week, the twice-elected leader conducted the interview with CNN and met a deputy prime minister, prompting Thailand to issue a strong rebuke to the city-state.

Asked about why he was in Singapore, Thaksin replied: "Well you know I travelled here to play golf. And (meet) some old friends."

The government revoked Thaksin's diplomatic passport on January 10, while the junta issued a warning against broadcasting Thaksin's statements.

"Sometimes they worry too much about me," Thaksin told CNN.

Thaksin arrived in Japan on Thursday night, where his lawyer said he would spend up to five days.

Agence France-Presse

Quote:Thaksin hires high-profile Washington lobbyists

BangkokPost.com, Bangkok Post and AFP
Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has hired the Baker Botts law firm headed by former Secretary of State James Baker, according to a US lobbying registration form obtained on Wednesday by a senior Democrat Party executive.

Mr Thaksin has not quit politics as he claims, Democrat party executive Kobsak Sabhavasu said, as hiring the well-established lobbying firm shows he is seeking US support for his return to Thailand.

Mr Kobsak said that on Dec 11 last year Mr Thaksin hired Baker Botts LLP. This is the second such US firm which Mr Thaksin is known to have hired.

The law firm counts James Baker, former secretary of state under US president George Bush, among its partners, according to its website.

Mr Kobsak said in a document filed with the US House of Representatives Baker Botts LLP disclosed that it had been hired by Mr Thaksin.

It said Mr Thaksin, as the client of Mr Baker, described himself as the freely elected prime minister of Thailand.

Mr Kobsak said the firm was contracted to ensure the consistency of US government policies on Mr Thaksin's return to Thailand.

"I reveal this to tell people nationwide that Mr Thaksin has not quit politics. Mr Thaksin says one thing and does another. Mr Thaksin wants to return to Thailand as soon as possible and is trying to return by using a foreign government to support his right to do so.

"Mr Thaksin is saying he will return as the freely elected prime minister, and he is confident that he is still the prime minister," Mr Kobsak said.

He urged the Surayud government to take action against Mr Thaksin, saying that identifying himself as the prime minister as he had could be viewed as a rebellious act because His Majesty the King had already appointed Gen Surayud Chulanont as prime minister.

Earlier, Mr Thaksin hired another well-connected lobbying firm, Barbour Griffith and Rogers (BGR).

In their Sept 7 disclosure to the US Senate, BGR described Mr Thaksin's "business and activities" as "promoting democracy in Asia".

The firm said its job as contracted by Mr Thaksin was to "provide guidance and counsel with regard to Mr Thaksin's interests in Washington DC and abroad".

In response, Mr Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said yesterday that the "freely elected prime minister of Thailand" description was written by Baker Botts and the clause was part of a sentence in the past tense.

He said Mr Kobsak misinterpreted the information and he denied Baker Botts was a lobbying firm.

US ambassador Ralph Boyce said anyone had the right to hire a registered lobbying firm in the US.

What Mr Thaksin was doing could not be confused with bilateral relations between Bangkok and Washington, the ambassador said.

Late last month Mr Thaksin told Time magazine that he was "calling it quits" with politics.

In the interview, he also claimed that he had never interfered in media activities, sparking a stiff rebuke to Time from media associations, and criticism from academics.

Ali Zelenko, Time's vice-president for communications, said the magazine did not necessarily agree or endorse the views of the interviewees it published.

"It goes without saying that Time does not pay for interviews or allow money or influence to dictate what goes into the magazine."

The exiled prime minister went to Bali yesterday for golf and shopping on his second visit to the Indonesian resort island since he was ousted in the coup.

Mr Thaksin landed in a private plane and played a round of golf at the Tabanan course.

He last visited Bali for a few days with his wife in November and stayed at a secluded residence attached to a luxury hotel in the Nusa Dua tourist area.

Source: Bangkok Post Feb. 8, 2007
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/to...?id=116637

For a guy who "called it quits" he hires a lot of help
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Quote:Democrats want US to clarify Thaksin's need for a lobbying firm

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Thursday called on the United States to stay away from Thailand's internal politics and show a clear stance on former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's hiring of a powerful lobbying firm.

He said the Thai government should also ask the US for an explanation to prevent problems between the two countries.

Abhisit said the US should consider Thaksin's moves in hiring the firm to monitor the US's policies towards Thailand's interim government as abnormal. He claimed it was very different from hiring such companies to help while nominating a United Nations secretary-general or negotiating for the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)

He said the claim by Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, that Thaksin hired the firm as legal advisers couldn't be true, otherwise, it wouldn't need to be registered, while the document shown by Democrat executive Korbsak Sabhavasu had shown why Thaksin had really hired the company - which was to monitor the government.

Source: The Nation Feb. 9, 2007
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breaking...d=30026340

Guess Thaksin just thinks his ousting is a big international issue. I would say it's just as big as money can buy. When prices rise money cannot buy so much anymore . . .
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