Kurt Bassuener September 10th, 2008

Thailand has seen its share of bizarre political turmoil, and it shows no signs of letting up in a society riven with what amounts to a rural-urban divide on former Prime Minister and magnate Thaksin Shinawatra, and his successor in a revamped version of his Thai rak Thai (Thais love Thais) party, now called the People Power Party.  Protestors, mostly the urban middle class who resented Thaksin’s populist and redistributive measures, have for nearly two weeks occupied government buildings and have mounted a concerted effort to oust Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.  They seem to hope to provoke another military coup, like the one that ousted Thaksin in 2006, which was supported by the urban middle class and - in most eyes - the monarchy as well.

Yet today is a new milestone in weirdness.  Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was found guilty of moonlighting while in public office by being compensated for appearing on a television cooking program.  Al Jazeera English, which has comprehensive coverage of the protests, reports:

Chat Chonlaworn, head of the nine-judge court, said that Samak had “violated Article 267 of the constitution” and that “his position as prime minister has ended”.

Thailand’s constitution bans government ministers from private employment while in office.

The court said the cabinet will remain in a caretaker position until a new administration is installed.

But wait for the fun part:

The forced resignation does not, however, ban Samak from standing as prime minister again and his ruling People Power party (PPP) has vowed to re-elect him.

“I insist that our party leader will be the prime minister,” Wittaya Buranasiri, chief government whip for the PPP, said shortly after the verdict.

Apparently, Samak hosted his own cooking program, “Tasting and Grumbling,” for seven years.  The BBC had some footage from the show that got him in trouble, showing PM Samak cooking some meat chunks in what looked to this Thai-food deprived Sarajevan like a dynamite peanut or coconut sauce.

It’s worth noting that Samak has hardly distinguished himself as a democracy poster child in his brief stint in office, at least regarding the democratic struggle in neighboring Burma, which is a major trading partner of Thailand.  In researching the Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support earlier this year, I lost my illusions quickly that a Thailand returned to democratic rule after yet another military coup would stick up for democracy in Burma.  In his first visit to Burma as Prime Minister, he even praised junta leader Senior General Than Shwe:

Following his first visit to Burma, Samak made statements that have had many Burma watchers in Thailand and across South-east Asia reacting in disbelief. ‘’Killings and suppressions are normal there but we have to know the facts,’’ the premier said on Sunday during his weekly TV programme, ‘Samak’s Talk’.

He then went on to praise the Burmese dictator, Sr. Gen. Than Shwe, who ordered Burmese troops and riot police to fire at the peaceful street protests, led by thousand of Buddhist monks, in September last year, leaving scores dead. ‘’And Senior (Gen) Than Shwe practices meditation. He says he prays in the morning … and the country has been in peace and order,’’ said Samak, who spent one-day, Mar. 14, visiting Thailand’s western neighbour.

That’s quite an appetite suppressant, Chef Samak!

But silly is silly.  Unless the Prime Minister was moonlighting to make big bucks, this seems an awfully trifling matter to turf out an elected government.  And it raises questions about the independence of the Thai judiciary to even hear such a piddling case.

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Kurt Bassuener September 10th, 2008

In an excellent op-ed in Monday’s Financial Times, the Center for European Reform’s Tomas Valasek wrote that the EU should end Ukraine’s limbo on the Union’s periphery, and finally open the door for eventual EU membership:

At the summit, the EU should begin to restore its influence in eastern Europe by putting Ukraine on a track to accession. The EU should call its new partnership deal with Ukraine an “association agreement” – this would echo past arrangements with the now-new member states of central Europe. The EU should also say that it wants closer relations with Ukraine. This would tell the Ukrainians that they are not destined to be eternal neighbours, and will be welcome to join the EU once they meet the accession criteria.

British Foreign Secretary David Milband had made his view clear that this was the course he favored:

Britain is among those backing eventual Ukrainian membership. “It is important that Europe’s leaders make clear that we are determined on a long-term relationship with Ukraine with membership as a long-term goal,” David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said at the weekend.

Unfortunately, at the Ukraine-EU summit today in Paris, where Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, the EU took Valasek’s advice about the “association agreement,” which was the opening step toward membership of the Central and East European members of the EU, but without openly stating that membership is the goal.  Ukraine’s ongoing political instability among erstwhile “orange” allies, but now bitter rivals for the presidency in elections next year, certainly contributed to this.  But one suspects that the real reasons are Ukraine’s size and fear of Russian resistance.  Sarkozy hinted at the resistance from Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands:

“It is the maximum that we could do, and I believe that it is already an essential step,” Mr Sarkozy said.

Mr Sarkozy emphasised that the accord was a recognised first step for countries with aspirations of EU membership.

Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko recognised the difficult timing of the summit and welcomed the association agreement as a successful outcome.

“We understand very well the conditions of this dialogue at present. This isn’t the best time, given the situation in the region but we’re patient,” he said.

 Another report from The Times gave the following Ukrainian reactions:

President Yushchenko called the agreement an historic step by the EU, which would likely end in membership. “It is the first step in a long road that was taken in the 1990s by all the [Eastern] states which have since become members,” he said.

Other Ukrainian officials voiced disappointment. Andriy Veselovsky, the Kiev Ambassador to the EU, said: “At this point the European Union is not ready to give what we want, because the European Union did not acquire a concerted position.”

The Financial Times reports today: 

“Be clear that this agreement shuts no door, and maybe it opens some doors. This is the most we could offer, but I believe it to be a substantial step,” Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, told reporters.

Diplomats said Germany and the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent Belgium, were the most reluctant to state clearly that Ukraine could one day join the EU.

The three Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and the UK all sympathised with Kiev’s aspirations while recognising that accession was not an immediate possibility.

To Sarkozy’s credit, he made clear his view that Ukraine’s territorial integrity is “non-negotiable,” but it is hard to see how that can be too reassuring, given the negotiations he just returned from with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Georgia’s territorial integrity.  

The pity is that EU membership, unlike that of NATO, is not controversial even among eastern and southern Ukrainians.  Most citizens see the potential benefits of membership, not least the eastern oligarchs who recognize the importance of EU markets for their steel and other products.  Chalk up another lost opportunity for the EU to help encourage Ukraine’s politicians to cohere behind a sold program to meet European standards, so as to attain membership.  Without that incentive, the persistent infighting that has squandered much of the hope generated in the Orange Revolution will no doubt continue to degenerate - and at a very dangerous time for the country.  An open door policy for the neighborhood, combined with technical assistant in meeting the EU standards for candidacy and membership, would be a far sounder policy for the EU and the countries on its eastern frontier.

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