Yingluck's European tour: Strictly business as usual

Originally published at Siam Voices on July 23, 2012

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited Germany and France last week, her first visit to Europe since she took office a year ago. While the trip was primarily aimed at improving economic ties and regaining confidence among investors from the two most important economies in the European Union for the Thai government, other issues, such as the still unstable political situation and the continuously deteriorating freedom of speech, were mentioned in passing at best.

Over the course of five days, Yingluck completed a packed itinerary with lots of meetings and shaking hands with government officials, dignitaries and business representatives. She was accompanied by her entourage, including Foreign Minister Surapong Towijakchaikul,  and Suranand Vejjajiva, who know works for the government as her secretary-general. She also had 73 Thai private sector representatives in tow, underlining the main emphasis of this trip.

The first destination was the German capital Berlin, where she met with Chancellor Angela Merkel who greeted her with customary military honors at the Chancellery  for a working lunch and a joint press conference - which was pretty much the only chance for the German press to see her. Not much was reported about it - despite the fact it is the first visit by a Thai Prime Minister to Germany since 1995 and the German-Thai diplomatic relations are celebrating their 150th anniversary, as emphasized by both leaders. That said, the German media generally pays little attention to Southeast Asia (unless it is about Burma and involves Aung San Suu Kyi),

And so the official website of the Chancellery was the only outlet where interested followers could see the full press conference, which is available in German only. In the 17 minutes long presser, the German leader outlined the economic ties between the two countries pointing out that Germany is the "most important economical partner in the EU" and with about "600 German companies" already in the Kingdom, not to mention a popular tourist destination. The most important and interesting issue during this press conference and the meeting in general was the call to speed up the process for an ASEAN-EU free trade agreement, something Merkel has been advocating for some time already.

Prime Minister Yingluck said the two leaders have "trust in each other" and that the two countries will expand their relations "on all issues" including democratization, rule of law and human rights - which was pretty much one of the very few times these three words have been mentioned publicly during this trip. In general, nothing much else was talked about and the interest by the German press was virtually non-existent, as there was only one question directed to Yingluck by a Thai journalist and the other German colleagues asking Chancellor Merkel about the Euro crisis and the situation in Syria - and also a female reporter gushing over the apparent women power present at the stage (we talked about Yingluck and the issue with feminism before here and here).

And with that there was subsequently very much nothing reported in the German media outlets and the rest of Yingluck's stay in Germany can only be reconstructed via the official Flickr account of the Prime Minister (a great source for press photos licensed under Creative Commons btw!). Nevertheless, some interesting notes can be made from them: from giving a speech to a business forum, meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and meeting Thai citizens in Germany at the Thai Embassy and also at a Thai Buddhist temple during a short sojourn to Munich.

Yingluck also met with a group of German MPs dubbed the "Friends of Thailand" consisting of the German-ASEAN parliamentary group. But the picture also shows another familiar face: the grey-haired man left from the table with the water bottles is Michael Glos, MP of the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), who has been to Thailand earlier this year. Glos also belongs to a group of conservative MPs that have lobbied at the Foreign Ministry to revoke the entry ban of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year and have been campaigning for a policy change towards Thailand with "Thaksin as a strong figure" (we reported).

On Thursday, Yingluck traveled to France to do essentially the same: meeting with President François Hollande to talk about economy and ASEAN and meeting with business representatives to drum the roll for French investors. However the small difference was the slightly higher media coverage in France: the Prime Minister gave interviews to Le Figaro - where she was also asked about the role of the non-democratic military, her usual denial over changing anything about lèse majesté and her rejection over the notion that she's the puppet of her bigger brother - and a TV interview with France 24, recorded before her departure.

The trip ended on Sunday and a pleased Prime Minister announced on her own TV show that it was a good opportunity to build trust and goodwill towards Thailand and its economy. For the two European heavyweights, ASEAN is likely to be a majore economic partner in the not-so-distant future as both sides have strong interest in a free-trade agreement. However, the question remains about Thailand's role because, contrary to what Yingluck told Merkel and Hollande, the political outlook for the Kingdom looks less than stable and still could drive investors away to regional neighbors, despite all the efforts to mask a long-simmering political crisis as a short-term problem. For the economic and political future, Thailands needs strong partners like the EU, but do these strong countries equally need Thailand that much?

Thai delegation examines alternatives to nuclear power in Germany

Originally published at Siam Voices on March 5, 2012 Note: This article was originally published in German on February 9, 2012 and written for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the political foundation affiliated to German Green Party.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011 has raised doubts over the security and reliability of nuclear power once again and showed that even in a highly advanced country like Japan such accidents can happen.

Shortly thereafter, the German Federal Government reversed a recently made decision to extend the running period of nuclear power plants and, as the world's first industrial nation, wants to end its dependency on nuclear energy by 2022. Meanwhile in Thailand, the plans to build such nuclear power plants was still openly considered to meet the increasing energy demand, where natural gas is the main source to generate electricity, followed by coal and imported electricity from neighboring Laos and Malaysia.

More important is the development of alternative energy sources. But only 1.6 per cent of the country's electricity comes from renewable energy. That is not enough, say environmental activists and experts for alternative energy. In a cooperation between the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin and the regional office in Bangkok, a Thai delegation of experts on renewable energy and energy market regulation traveled to Germany to learn more about the energy turnaround and the challenges that comes with it.

Petra Zimmermann, project coordinator for Southeast Asia at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, says: "The aim of this trip was to inform the members of the delegation as much as possible about the challenges of Germany's energy turnaround and the implementation of the transition, especially on the legislative level."

On the program were meetings and panel discussions with proponents (such as the Federal Association for Wind Energy, Greenpeace and the Citizens' Group of Asse) and critics (German Atomic Forum) of the energy turnaround.

Civil movements brought in the change

One of the most crucial lessons is the involvement of civic society in the turnaround. "At first I thought that the Federal Government themselves took the initiative - very progressive," says Rosana Tositrakul. The Thai senator was a long-time environmental activist and now tries to path the way for renewable energy on the political level. "But now I see that it was civil movements that pressured the stakeholders," she adds.

Santisukh Sobhanasiri, another Thai veteran activist and now an advisor to several Senate committees, agrees with her: "The work of citizens' groups seems to be more systematic and steady. They succeeded to work together with the policy makers and in the end brought in the change."

Many delegates lament the lack of cooperation. Boonyuen Siritam works as the head of the Provincial Power Consumers Commission of Ratchaburi Province in favor for the people's participation in the regulation of the energy market: "We cannot wait for politicians until they have passed some bills, because there is no green, environmental party. But we need green citizens, with whom we can work together on a legislative initiative."

Her colleague Wanun Permpubul from the Heinrich Böll Foundation's regional office in Bangkok recalls some citizens' movements, especially from the South, which have been successful in the past, but on a national level not all are equally effective. Nevertheless, she sees great potential for alternative sources of energy, such as solar cells. "The more important it is that more people are involved to give the push into the right direction and to make a change in the energy policy possible."

However, it also needs a rethinking in society, says Lieutenant Commander Borpit Thossatheppitak of the Royal Thai Navy's research and development department. "Here in Germany, people are being made aware of the environment from very early on. For example, kids in school learn about such things like waste separation and that stays on over the course of their lives. Thailand has still a lot to catch up in that regard."

Another hurdle in Thailand for an energy change is politics and the legislation when it comes to energy issues. "It has always been difficult to work with the Thai government, no matter who was in power," says Saree Aongsomwang, general-secretary  of the  Federation of Consumer Protection.

Local energy supply as a role model

Also on the program was a visit to the town of Dardesheim in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, which gets its energy from 33 nearby wind turbines at the Windpark Druiberg - it produces more energy than the 1000 inhabitants consume within a year.

Boonyuen sees this kind of energy supply for small communities as an ideal role model for Thailand and goes even one step further: "The goal of our organization is that villages are able to supply themselves with energy from local, renewable sources - independent from energy companies, who would take away the properties of the residents to build a power plant on it."

One point of concern is that after the nuclear phaseout this very technology could be exported abroad to build nuclear power plants elsewhere. Thailand recently had several offers from China, Norway, France and especially South Korea.

In the end, Thailand's nuclear ambitions were for now pushed to 2026 after heavy criticism in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. "We hope that until then Thailand will not go the nuclear route," says Senator Rosana at the end of the week-long delegation trip.

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and on Facebook.

2011 - Some Personal Thoughts

Originally published at Siam Voices on December 31, 2011 2011 is history and looking back on Thailand this past year, it has been yet another eventful year that brought some answers, but many more questions to the wide-spread problems that continues to plague the country in many aspects. However, 2011 brought many chances and changes, shed light on issues and topics left in the dark before, voices echoed by many and opinions uttered by a few, whether you agree with them or not.

This is a (definitely incomplete) list of these stories that happened in 2011...

Lèse majesté sees December surge

Let's start off with the most recent topic that has unfortunately brought Thailand into the world headlines for all the wrong reasons again and that is none other than the problematic issue of lèse majesté that is gripping freedom of speech. The whole month of December was filled with stories about high-profile cases and countless victims of this draconian law, the discussion to amend it and the (irrational) defenders of this law and the institution that is meant to be protected by it.

The recent surge of lèse majesté began in late November with the dubious sentence against Ampon "Uncle SMS" Tangnoppakul, despite doubtful evidence. The 62-year old grandfather is now being jailed for 20 years, five years for each alleged SMS sent. On December 8 the Thai-born US citizen was  sentenced to two and a half years prison for posting translated parts of a banned biography on the King. On December 15 'Da Torpedo', despite winning an appeal resulting in a restart of her trial, was punished to 15 years prison for alleged remarks made in 2008. These are just a few cases that happened in November and December compared to the countless other (partly ongoing or pending) cases over the past 12 months.

But the surge was also accompanied with growing and publicly displayed concern by the European Union, the United Nations and the United States Embassy in Bangkok over the increasing blatant usage of the lèse majesté law, only with the latter to be flooded with irrational, angry hate speeches and also the venue for a protest by royalists in mid-December (and also in a nearly instant iconic display of royal foolishness, the protesters are wearing Guy Fawkes masks, most likely inspired by the #Occupy-movement, but totally oblivious to its historical roots). It was not the first time this year that this issue got attention from the international community, as seen in October.

The government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected into office last July (see below), and while she would have liked to see some change on the application of the law, not to the law itself though, the new ICT minister has vowed to exploit this to the fullest. He was only to be topped by deputy prime minister Chalerm Yubamrung a few months later, who went into full combat mode and declared war on lèse majesté web content with a THB400m ($12,6m) strong war chest, right after a meeting with the military's top brasses. The hopes of many supporters of the Pheu Thai Party, especially the red shirts, are at latest by now fully gone, as this government already has a tainted record on this issue.

But there was also an important protest by opponents of lèse majesté - the "Fearlessness Walk" shows that this issue can no longer be ignored and the consequences of its enforcement are doing exactly the opposite of what it is supposed to do. It is drawing attention to the ambiguous nature of Article 112 of the criminal code (as well as the Computer Crimes Act), it is drawing attention to the signs of changing times and those who refuse to see them, and ultimately it will draw more opposition - we will (unfortunately) hear more about this issue in 2012!

(Non-)Culture: Baring the unbearable and monopolizing "Thai"-ness

While we're on the subject on being subjected to the anachronistic ideas of a few, there were several stories in 2011 in the realms of culture that were disconcerting, to say the least. It wasn't so much the incidents themselves rather the reactions by those self-proclaimed cultural heralds of everything "Thai"-ness - a phrase I've been using too often in each of those stories: three girls dancing topless on Songkran, the then-culture minister calls for a crackdown on them as if they have attacked everything "Thai"-ness stands for. A few months later the same culture minister suddenly notices that infidels foreigners are getting Buddhist tattoos and calls for a ban (and back paddles after some considerable uproar). Shortly after his ministry senselessly attempts to crack down on a senseless internet meme because it's "inappropriate" and "not constructive". Later this year a rather curious guide for parents was published on their website. And finally a singer's rather raunchy video gets a ton of hits online and a sanctimonious scolding on national TV.

See a pattern here? The selective outcry borders on ridiculousness and fuels Thailand’s National Knee-Jerk Outrage Machine (“กลไกสร้างปฏิกิริยาอย่างไร้ความยั้งคิดแห่งประเทศไทย”, trademark pending), claims to uphold the only valid definition of "Thai"-ness, that isn't even fully spelled out yet, while they have not noticed that the world beyond their minds has moved on and come up with new and different definitions of what else Thailand could be. The problem is that these cultural heralds, by political office or class, claim monopoly on this. Everyone below their wage level is not entitled to even think about it. And if something doesn't fit their point of view, as guest contributor Kaewmala put it brilliantly, "Only taboo when it's inconvenient!"

The 2011 General Elections

Will he or will he not? In the end, Abhisit Vejjajiva did dissolve parliament and paved the way for early elections in May and also set off quite a short campaign season, which not only saw a few strange election posters and illustrious characters running for office, but it also saw the emergence of Yingluck Shinawatra as the lucky draw for PM candidate of the opposition Pheu Thai Party. After much skyping to Dubai discussion within the party, the sister of Thaksin was chosen to run and it turned out to be the best pick.

The Democrat Party were banking heavily on negative campaigning (a precursor to the upcoming, inevitable Thaksin-phobia in 2012), which reached its climax in the last days with their rally at Rajaprasong, the same venue where the red shirts protested a year ago. In this event, then-deputy prime minister Suthep Thuangsuban claimed to give the "full truth" on what really happened during the violent crackdown of May 19, 2010. What followed were hours of fear-mongering in case of a Pheu Thai win and an incident that almost caused a major misunderstanding:

The big screens flanking the stage on the left and the right are bearing a gruesome view. Footage of at times badly injured people from last year’s rally are being shown when suddenly at the sight of blood people started cheering – as it turns out, not for the brutally killed victims of the anti-governments protests of 2010, but for a woman with an Abhisit cut-out mask waving to the crowd behind her.

"Thailand’s Democrat Party rally: Reclaiming (the truth about) Rajaprasong", Siam Voices, June 24, 2011

The last days of the campaign were spent outside of Bangkok, for example Pheu Thai in Nakhon Ratchasima before the big day. On Sunday, July 3, election day of course meant a full-day-marathon for a journalist. Not only did it mean covering as many polling stations around town as humanly possible, not only to crunch the numbers of exit polls (which turned out to be total BS!), but also of course running the live-blog at Siam Voices. In the end, it went very quickly: Abhisit conceded, Yingluck smiled and at a lunch meeting later there was already a new five-party coalition.

The worst floods in decades: a deluge of irrationality

790.

This is the current death toll of the what has been described as the "worst floods in decades". Floods are an annual occurrence in Thailand during the rainy season. When the water was sweeping through Chiang Mai already back in late September, this natural disaster was somehow going to be different. But it took some considerable time, despite the unprecedented damage it has created in Ayutthaya to the ancient temples and the vital industrial parks, until the capital was drowned in fear of what was to come.

It was curious to observe that those who were least likely to be affected (read: central Bangkok) were losing their nerves the most. Back in November I attempted to explore one possible reason:

One of the real reasons why the people of the city react the way they did though is this: After a military coup, countless violent political protests and sieges of airports, government buildings and public roads, this city has a sense of anxiety not unlike New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks: a sense of being constantly under siege by something or somebody that separates Bangkok from the rest of the country even more. An incident at Klong Sam Wa Sluice Gate (we reported) is a perfect example of the conflict between inside and outside Bangkok in miniature form.

"The Thai floods and the geographics of perception – Part 2: Certain fear of uncertainty", Siam Voices, November 23, 2011

On an anecdotal note I remember people around me hoarding bottled water, moving their belongings upstairs and barricading their houses waist-high - while I can understand these precautions, I was astonished to say the least when I started to read social media updates that accuse the government so much so to the point of deliberately drowning the people of Bangkok and other outlandish conspiracy theories, including the now ubiquitous "blame it on foreign media"-card.

There's no doubt that this natural disaster has not only shown the worst in people, but also it's helpful and charitable side (not only towards humans exclusively). During my work reporting from the floods for foreign news crews (hence there weren't many posts on Siam Voices), I admired the apparent resilience and defiance I saw from many victims of the floods - some of which are now struggling with rebuilding their lost existence. And a lot of clean-up will be needed to be done, both literally as well as politically, in order to prevent such a disaster from happening again!

What else happened in 2011? (in no particular order)

- Then-prime minister Abhisit urging then-president of Egypt Honsi Mubarak to respect the will of the people - while being totally oblivious that he exactly did not do that a year ago because, well, "They ran into the bullets" themselves!

- Half a dozen Thais walking through the border region with Cambodia and surprised that they're being arrested, in an arbitrary way to dispute the border demarcations between the two countries. This ongoing conflict, largely fueled by the ever-shrinking PAD, sparked into a brief armed battle. Two of the strollers are still sitting in a Cambodian prison.

- The one-year-anniversary of the crackdown of May 19 and my personal thoughts on this.

- The somehow strangely toned-down five-year-anniversary of the 2006 coup.

- Army chef General Prayuth Chan-ocha going completely berserk at the press.

- The fact that Thailand got its first female prime minister and the (un)surprisingly muted reactions by Thailand's feminists.

- The saga of the impounded Thai plane on German ground, the curious case study on how Thai media reported it, the juristic mud-slinging, and how this mess was eventually solved. Which brings us to...

- The German government allowing Thaksin back into Germany, after heavy campaigning by a bunch of conservative German MPs. Still boggles my mind...!

- And while we're on topic, we are saying good-bye to a regular contributor of outrageous quotes - no one has been so focused to do a different job than written his business card than Thaksin-hunter and former foreign minister in disguise Kasit Piromya!

I'd like to thank my colleagues at Siam Voices for building a diverse and opinionated collective, our editor who keeps everything in check and YOU, the readers! THANK YOU for the support, feedback, criticism, links and retweets!

Here's to an eventful, exciting 2012 that brings us news, changes, developments to discuss for all the right reasons! Happy New Year!

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist based in Hamburg, Germany again (*sigh*). He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Now Germany and soon Japan: More countries let Thaksin back in

Originally published at Siam Voices on August 15, 2011 We all know Thailand's ex-prime minister and on-the-run fugitive, Thaksin Shinawatra, is pretty busy traveling the world ever since he's out of Thailand. When he's not at his new home base in Dubai, he mostly goes on business trips, for example in Uganda. But the list of countries he can visit has kind of shrunk, despite his new citizenship of Montenegro and his Nicaraguan diplomatic passport. For example, when Thaksin sneaked into Germany and got a permanent residence permit in late 2008, the European country had thrown him out after they have found out about it a few months later.

It is now Germany again, who has recently revoked the entry ban for Thaksin (see previous coverage here), thanks to heavy lobbying by German conservative MPs and officially to the new political “situation in Thailand”, which of course enraged chief Thaksin-hunter Thai foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, on his last days. Well, he might want to cool down now because he won't like what the Thai media have reported recently.

Matichon and Khao Sod have reported that Thaksin recently has made a trip to Germany and met Thai expat red shirts supporters there, both referring to the website "Thai Red EU" (caution: the website is overloaded with several audio livestreams going off at the same time!). According to the website, Thaksin visited Munich on August 5, on the same day that Yingluck was voted in as prime minister in parliament.

A few days later, on August 9, Thaksin arrived in Hamburg via his personal jet before he met with 'officials of the UDD EU' organization. Thaksin then attended a red shirt meeting at Wat Buddhabharami, a local Thai Buddhist temple, where a religious memorial service was held for the victims of last year's protests. In a speech after the service, he expressed delight to meet "so many Thais at once" and demanded his supporters to remain "patient" about "seeking justice". He was later seen at a Thai restaurant, dining with fellow red shirts and red organizers from many European countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France and Finland. Thaksin then left Hamburg after having spent about five hours in the North-German city. (Source: YouTube video 1, video 2)

Hamburg has a well-organized group of red shirts and it is quite possibly the center of the movement in Germany. The people behind have apparently good connections to Thaksin and are also well-connected to other red shirts all over Europe (although the total number of any group has not been verified yet), as seen during their rally on the eve of the anniversary of the military coup of 2006. What is also striking is that the German red shirts have a heavy focus on Thaksin as their personal champion. When comparing the red shirt rallies worldwide on September 19, 2010, you'll see that only the rally in Hamburg has references to the former prime minister - let alone a phone-in by him.

Thaksin has also previously entered Finland in mid-July. Reporters of the Helsink-based Helsingin Sanomat have spotted Thaksin during a private shopping trip in the Finish capital and quoted him praising the Scandinavian country and to have come for "over the tenth time." Finland is part of the Schengen Agreement, which does away with the internal border controls for most of continental Europe. Friends of the infamous Finland Conspiracy will take notice of this.

In related news, the Japanese government has reportedly granted Thaksin a special entry permit. Thaksin hopes to visit the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami later this month, since he has donated an unspecified sum for disaster relief. This comes after the new Thai foreign minister, Surapong Towijakchaikul, had politely addressed the Japanese ambassador to Thailand, whether or not Thaksin could be let in to Japan - to which the ambassador asked if Thailand would mind. It also coincides with reports from Japan that its lawmakers have expressed their wish to let Thaksin in, even having met the former prime minister before last year - see something similar here?

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Thai govt pays €38m to Walter Bau, gets royal plane back

Originally published at Siam Voices on August 10, 2011 Bangkok Post reported on Tuesday night:

A court in Germany has released the Boeing 737 seized from HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

Mr Abhisit told reporters the government has posted the full 38 million euros demanded by Walter Bau company in an account to be controlled by the German court.

As a result, the court released the jet. Terms of the agreement were unclear, as was the role of Mr Abhisit.

The government used public money for the deal. (...)

"Germany 'releases royal jet'", Bangkok Post, August 9, 2011

AP's take:

A Munich airport official confirmed that German authorities on Tuesday had released the plane used by the Thai crown prince. "It has been released, he just has to tell the airport when he would like to fly," Edgar Engert, a spokesman for the airport, told The Associated Press.

"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011

This is quite yet another intriguing turn of events, which probably ends an awkward spat between Thailand and Germany, that started almost a month ago over an issue that dates back even further, when a German construction firm built a tollway to Bangkok's old international airport in Don Muang in a jointventure with the Thai government. The Thai government has broken several contractual obligations, including toll hikes and not building other roads that would compete with the tollway.

This German construction firm later merged with Walter Bau AG, another German construction firm that went bankrupt in 2005 - it was then when liquidator Werner Schneider found the old contract and demanded compensation from the Thai government. An international arbitration court ruled against Thailand in 2009 and ordered them to pay €30m ($42m or THB 1,2bn) - which has grown to almost €38m thanks to interests and the Thai government simply ignoring the order for years.

That's when Werner Schneider had enough, decided to up the ante against the Thai government and seeked to impound the Boeing 737 of Thai Crown HRH Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. That set off a bilateral spat in which Thailand, partly thanks to the confusing domestic media coverage, but also active disinformation and an apparent failure to distinguish a German court from the German government, had a weak case on their hands in not only trying to release the plane, but also fight against the order to pay the hefty sum to WalterBau AG.

The main legal battle focussed on whether or not the royal 737 plane is owned by the Thai government or is personal property of the Crown Prince. A German court has then decided to release the plane only for a €20m ($28.4 or THB 851m) deposit, which still kinda led some Thai news outlets to believe that the plane is actually freed, since there has been no verdict on the ownership status, which was supposed to take place later this August at a German court.

The lastest developments (which were also the last acts of the now former Thai government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and then-foreign minister Kasit Piromya) consisted of who was going to pay. Of course, it started off with Kasit refusing to pay the deposit, the Crown Prince then announced to pay from his own fund, to which Kasit was suddenly ready to flip the bill so the Crown Prince doesn't have to until Abhisit overruled him and said no - as summarized here by Bangkok Pundit.

Now apparently the Thai government is actually paying the whole bill to Walter Bau after all. But why so suddenly? Was it an attempt to score one last 'victory' by the outgoing government by not only getting the royal plane back? Was the realization that the 'new information' presented to the German courts was neither new nor informative enough to be in favor of the Thai government? Apparently the Thai side ran out of arguments:

DLA Piper, the law firm representing Thailand in the case, said the country is committed to honoring its obligations and wants to rule out premature actions against assets of it or others.

"Thailand has strong grounds for challenging the confirmation of the award," a DLA Piper lawyer, Frank Roth, said in the firm's statement. "However, if the Berlin court finally concludes that the award against the Kingdom of Thailand is enforceable, the Kingdom of Thailand has made the funds available."

"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011

This statement by this law firm is particularly interesting, since just a week ago they have released a press release sounding very confident and trying to convince that the €20m deposit to be a 'victory'. But according to one Thai official, this whole thing is not done yet:

Thai Foreign Ministry official Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said a German court ordered the release of the aircraft Tuesday after the Thai government posted a 38 million euro ($54 million) bond, equal to the Walter Bau claim.

He said Thailand would continue to contest the claim on the tollway dispute until a definitive court ruling. Abhisit stepped down from the prime minister's post last week after his Democrat Party lost a July general election.

"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011

Chavanond probably refers to an ongoing appeal at a New York court, even though the award itself is already final, unappealable and enforceable worldwide - the chances are reportedly 'very slim' (source) though that the Thai government would actually get anything from this procedure.

There's of course at least one Thai news outlet that gets it wrong - you can all probably guess which one it is...

German authorities have agreed to withdraw impoundment of two 737 Boeing jets belonging to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn parked at the Munich airport, after Thai government placed 38 million euros as guarantee, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

The Thai embassy in Germany is working further on the issue to retrieve the two aircraft [sic!], and a lawsuit will be soon lodged with German court, said Chawanong Intharakomalsut, secretary to former foreign minister Kasit Piromya. He did not give details over which grounds over the issue the lawsuit would appeal against.

"Germans to free jet as govt pays Bt1.6-bn surety", The Nation, August 10, 2011

Wait, wait - TWO impounded planes?! Who said that TWO planes have been impounded?! Yes, there was a second Thai royal plane landing on the runway in Munich, but the German liquidator was only considering to impound the second plane - if that would have happened, we would have already known about this, if not from the Thai press, then at least the German press! Even the Thai Embassy in Berlin has said nowhere about a second plane!

This leaves now the question with what they actually mean when they said that 'public money' has been used...?

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part VII: Kasit’s last rant

Originally published at Siam Voices on August 2, 2011 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.

Outgoing Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has been one of the most vocal, if not the most colorful representative of this now past government, and given his position, also the whole of Thailand. During his tenure, Kasit has surprised the public and the international community for his erratic outspokenness and apparent fixation to hunt down Thaksin. One of the most infamous flare-ups was last year, when he lashed out against half of the world and suspected a world-wide, pro-Thaksin and anti-Thailand conspiracy.

Since this is this his last day, let's look at the most likely last public comment by Kasit - unless he threw a last-minute tantrum we haven't heard about yet.

The government is demanding answers after Germany reportedly re-granted a visa to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday said the German government should explain to the international community the reasons for its decision, after revoking Thaksin's visa in 2008. (...)

"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011

Hold on, hold on - who's talking about a visa here? As previously reported here (and before anybody else did), the German government has revoked the entry ban for Thaksin a few weeks ago, not a word about a visa. That is something entirely different than, say, a country inviting somebody and granting him a visa in order to be able to enter the country!

But that didn't stop him from railing on:

Mr Kasit said the Germans were pursuing a double standard.

The German government had called on the Thai government to respect its law and justice system, after the German court seized a Thai Boeing 737 owned by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn at Munich airport.

"But in Thaksin's criminal case, the German government cites the changing political climate here as the basis for re-granting a visa to him," said Mr Kasit. (...)

"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011

Again, it's not a visa! Kasit is referring to a statement by the German Embassy in Bangkok made last week in connection to the Walter Bau saga that has become the impounded plane saga. It is one thing when government or its embassy comments on a certain issue or case, it is another thing though if a government refuses to follow a verdict by an international tribunal and also not fully explain the pending appeal at a New York court (more details at Bangkok Pundit).

For the double standard accusation, even Thai officials disagree with him:

Attorney-General Julasing Wasantasing said it was Germany's right to decide whether to allow Thaksin to enter the country. The Thai government could not interfere, he said.

"Thaksin no longer banned from Germany, says Noppadon", The Nation, July 30 2011

Kasit concludes his rant:

"The German government was pressured by one of its coalition parties from the southern part of [Germany]," he said. Someone wanted to give Thaksin the right to re-enter the country. "I requested a meeting with members of that [German] party, but they refused to meet me."

"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011

He is right about the intense lobbying by conservative, Bavarian MPs which is undoubtedly very, very fishy and doesn't make those MPs look good. On the other hand, given Kasit's reputation (not only during his tenure as ambassador to Germany), it is hardly surprising why that German party had refused to him.

And now for the punchline:

Germany is obliged to answer why it appears sensitive to 15 million votes cast for a party to take power but ignores opposing votes, he said.

"Thaksin no longer banned from Germany, says Noppadon", The Nation, July 30 2011

Oh farewell, Foreign Minister Kasit - your tirades will be missed...!

Just because we will have a new government, it doesn't mean they all suddenly stop saying stupid things. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Conservative German MPs help Thaksin enter Germany again

Originally published at Siam Voices on July 24, 2011 The Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper reports that former fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is allowed to enter Germany again. Some excerpts from the newspaper:

Thaksin Shinawatra can enter Germany again. The entry ban against Thaksin, in effect since 2006, has been already revoked on July 15 by the order of Foreign Minister Guido Westerwellse, as this paper understands. The ministerial order has been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which will direct all subsidiary authorities, including the federal police [which also patrols the borders of Germany], to implement the ruling immediately. (...)

The decision by Berlin, which isn't publicly known in Thailand yet, might further put a strain on the relations of both countries. (...)

The reason for the revoking of the entry ban by Germany is the "changed [political] situation in Thailand" according to government circles in Berlin.

"Thaksin darf nach Deutschland", Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung, July 22, 2011 - translation by me, note: Article is behind a paywall

Even though there has been an entry ban for him since 2006, Thaksin was still able to sneak into Germany in late 2008 and even got a residency permit in Bad Godesberg, near the former Western German capital Bonn (which also happened to be the place of residency of the then-ambassador of Thailand) - with help of some very suspicious German friends, including a former spy, a former local police chief, a lawyer and with recommendation letters of conservative German MPs. Both state and federal authorities were unaware about Thaksin's sojourn to Germany, even to the point blaming their own foreign intelligence agency to have helped him. When this incident came to light, the permit was immediately revoked in May 2009. This was the subject of my first ever blog post, where you can read more details about this case.

The question is now why Thaksin's entry ban has really been revoked after all? The Süddeutsche Zeitung has reported in June about increased attempts of German MPs, all apparently members of the Christian-conservative Christlich Soziale Union (the Bavarian sister-party to the nationwide, governing CDU), to convince Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (member of the center-right Freie Demokratische Partei, which is a government coalition partner) to allow Thaksin to enter the country again:

The phantom [Thaksin] also keeps the Foreign Ministry and the Chancellor's Office busy. In the past few months, several conservative politicians have campaigned behind the scenes that Thaksin can travel hassle-free to Germany again. In a comparatively diplomatic way, former Minister of Economics Michael Glos (CSU) has asked Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, if the entry ban for Thaksin still exists.

His colleague on the hand, MP Hans-Peter Uhl (CSU), is already starting to get on many diplomat's nerves with his pro-Thaksin initiatives. Several conservative politicians are campaigning in Berlin for a policy change towards Thailand, in which Thaksin should become a stronger figure again. (...)

"Thailands Ex-Premier Thaksin: Dubioser Besucher", Süddeutsche Zeitung, June 22, 2011, translation by me

The article goes on to hint at possible visits by Thaksin in the very recent past (thanks to his new citizenship of Montenegro and his Nicaraguan diplomatic passport) to meet somebody, who also visits Germany pretty often.

This reported revoking of the entry ban for Thaksin couldn't come at a worse time for Thai-German bilateral relationships, thanks to the impounded Royal Thai Air Force plane-saga (see previous coverage here and here), which by the way is apparently far from over. While most likely the Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will fume with anger over the reports and insist that the bilateral relations will take a huge hit, more focus has to be put on the conservative German MPs.

Thailand has never prominently popped up on the radar of German foreign policy (if at all) ever since the current administration took over in 2009 (critics say that the Foreign Minister has not much interest in anything) - the more interesting it is to see the MPs pushing for a change. The questions remain though: why do they want a pro-Thaksin policy towards Thailand? What are they hoping to gain from? Were they that influential on the Foreign Ministry? And why are these all conservative MPs of a Bavarian-affiliate governing party?

One has to keep an eye on another prominent Thai's activities, who will come to Germany more often in the very near future.

The impounded Thai plane is free - but not for free

Originally published at Siam Voices on July 21, 2011 A German court has decided on the fate of a Royal Thai Air Force aircraft, belonging to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn - or to the Thai government, depending on who you listen to - which was impounded last week by a liquidator for the bankrupt Walter Bau AG construction company. For more background, see Bangkok Pundit's posts here and here. From Reuters:

A German court on Wednesday ruled Thailand's Crown prince would have to pay a 20 million euro deposit ($28.40 million) for the return of his plane, impounded during a long running commercial dispute.

The Landshut court in Bavaria said in a statement on Wednesday the 20 million figure was based on the estimated value of the plane. It said a deposit was necessary as it had not yet decided on the ownership of the plane.

"German court wants $28 mln to free Thai prince's jet", Reuters, July 20, 2011

AFP further details the verdict:

But a court in nearby Landshut said it had received an assurance under oath from the Thai Department of Civil Aviation's director that the plane belonged to the prince, not the Thai state, as well as a 2007 registration certificate.

The vice president of the court, Christoph Fellner, said however that since these documents provided only a "presumption of ownership," 20 million euros ($28.2 million) had to be deposited in the form of a bank guarantee.

"No guarantee means no take-off," he said. "If everything goes well for the prince and we establish that the aircraft really belongs to him, than he will get his bank guarantee back."

"German court releases Thai prince's plane", AFP, July 20, 2011

In a nutshell the court gave the Thai government the benefit of the doubt over the ownership of the plane and if this assurance would be decided as wrong, it will cost the Thais 20 million Euros.

But how do the Thai media outlets report on this, given how gingerly they handled this story in the past week? The Nation goes with the headline "German court releases Thai plane", Bangkok Post writes "Royal jet released", which both wrongly imply that the plane can now leave Germany. But the biggest offender is MCOT who went with:

German court rules royal jet doesn't belong to Thai government: Thai Foreign Ministry (MCOT, July 13, 2011)

But the court said its decision was only preliminary so a bond was requires and 20 million euros (US$28.2 million) must be deposited as a bank guarantee. When the court finally establishes that the aircraft does belong to the Crown Prince, it will return the bond.

A German court on Wednesday ruled that the impounded aircraft used by Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn does not belong to the Thai government and agreed to release it on condition that a 20 million euro (over US$28 million) bank guarantee must be deposited, according to Foreign Ministry's Information Department deputy director-general Jesda Katavetin. (...)

He said the Thai legal team was working on the details of the ruling and could not reveal the details at the moment, but the ruling could be considered as a successful crucial step for the lawyers. (...)

You couldn't be further from the truth! That's what you get when you only speak to government officials: you only get opinion soundbites that aren't necessarily true - and of course they will try to sell this as a success, which clearly isn't. This whole piece is only topped by the last paragraph, which basically contradicts the whole article! Even the Thai language media, both press and TV, were more accurate in their reporting.

All in all, this is not to be considered a victory by the Thai side but the final verdict has not been delivered yet - until then, the plane will remain grounded and with it hopefully the rabble rousing by all people involved as well.

[UPDATE] The liquidator Werner Schneider has issued a statement in German through his law firm (PDF here), some excerpts:

"Even though the plane has been released, with the deposit of 20 million Euros we have achieved an important, successful interim result. It will be interesting to see who will pay the security deposit," says Werner Schneider, liquidator of the WALTER BAU-AG. Eventually, the point of the impoundment was not to turn the Thai plane into account, but to push [the Thais] for the required payments. In the point of view of Schneider, Geiwitz & Partner [the law firm], we have gone one big step ahead. (...)

Schneider sees the responsibility for potential diplomatic disturbances between Thailand and Germany only at the Thai government, because of their refusal to pay. "Thailand violated a bilateral intergovernmental agreement to protect investments for years - without any effective reactions from the [German] Federal Government," continues Schneider.

From: "Pressemitteilung: Insolvenzverwalter Schneider: Pfändungsaktion war ein Erfolg" (PDF), Kanzlei Schneider, Geiwitz & Partner, July 20, 2011 - translation by me

I think Schneider can now really forget about a holiday to Thailand anytime soon...!

The impounded Thai aircraft and lessons from the Thai media

Originally published at Siam Voices on July 20, 2011

You may have heard by now that last week a Boeing 737 airplane of the Royal Thai Air Force was impounded by a German liqudator and is now in a hangar at Munich airport. And by now you might have also heard that this plane belongs to Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn - or does it? The outgoing Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya is claiming and trying to prove to the German judiciary that this plane is not Thai government property, but the Crown Prince's personal aircraft. The German court is not convinced and sees this plane as of the Royal Thai Air Force plane and thus as a government vehicle.

This is where things stand at the moment before said German court will, after the examination of countless documents provided by the Thai side, decide on Wednesday if the plane remains impounded or not. For more on the background on why this plan was seized in the first place, read Bangkok Pundit's coverage here and here.

What's interesting to see was how the Thai media handled this story - or not at first, given the sensitivity of the subject. This story broke exclusively on Financial Times Deutschland (google for “Der Insolvenzverwalter des ehemaligen deutschen Baukonzerns Walter Bau streitet sich mit Thailand um Millionen”) last Tuesday, which quickly was reported in German and international media - only in Thailand the media was predictably silent.

This was until outgoing foreign minister Kasit Piromya called in for a press conference on last Wednesday evening shortly before he got on a plane to Germany (a regular Thai Airways flight, mind you!) to get this plane back, thus effectively making this issue a state affair. Still, despite explaining the legal reasons (the debt to be paid by the Thai government), many Thai media outlets were treading a fine line on what to mention and what not. Let's take this article from The Nation as an example:

Thailand will make all efforts to release a Thai national's Boeing 737 impounded in Germany due to a payment conflict between the government and a German construction firm, outgoing Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

"Germany made the great mistake of confiscating property that does not belong to the Thai government," Kasit told reporters yesterday. (...)

"I made it clear that this matter has nothing to do with the royal court," he said. "It is a huge mistake for Germany to do this and we will not allow this issue to jeopardise relations between the two countries."

"Thailand's making 'all efforts' to end aircraft spat: FM", The Nation, July 15, 2011

As you can see, no references to the Crown Prince were made here. But slowly over the course of the next day the newsrooms realize they couldn't tell the story without the owner of that plane. So bit by bit they started to mention the Crown Prince as the owner of this aircraft, for example Thai Rath, Bangkok Post and also the evening news on Thai TV (with ThaiPBS even leading in with this story on Friday).

Only The Nation was most likely the last media outlet to hold off mentioning the Crown Prince's name - even when they put articles together from foreign news agencies as they referred to it only as a "Thai national's personal plane". It took them until Sunday, two whole days after everyone else, when they have finally mentioned his name, albeit again only with agency material.

The only original content from The Nation on this whole plane saga was an opinion piece by a certain Alexander Mohr, who wrote:

(...) first of all, the seizure of a plane from a royal fleet is simply not the most straightforward approach. One cannot help thinking that the insolvency manager went for the most sensational approach. Seizing a plane from the Thai royal fleet guarantees media attention and exposure. (...)

But while the identity of the aircraft's owner may remain unclear, the action of seizing a vehicle used by a member of the Royal Family exceeds all bounds of a reasonable approach towards a solution. The damage is done.

The Thai side tried to solve the issue on a political level last week. Foreign Minister Kasit flew to Germany where he met with Cornelia Piper, an under secretary of the German foreign ministry. The German side does not want to intervene in the case and refers to the independence of the judiciary. (...)

It is very likely the dispute will be settled soon. However, the avoidable damage caused to bilateral relations between Germany and Thailand is done, with both the economic and also political ties suffering.

"Plane stupid: the damage is done", by Alexander Mohr, The Nation, July 19, 2011

First off, the author is billed as a "partner for International Relations at the government relations firm Alber & Geiger in Brussels", which is a "political lobbying powerhouse (...) known for representing foreign governments" - so pretty much this was most likely written for the Thai government who wants to get their message across. What this piece reveals as well is that the Thai side seems genuinely astonished that the German government cannot influence its judiciary whatsoever and that only the they see the bilateral damage, since they made it a state affair.

It was an interesting lesson in how the Thai media handles such sensitive stories - if at all. After the void of total silence at first was mostly filled by the international media and the internet, the floodgates opened as soon as this was made into an affair of upmost national importance by the foreign minister. Granted, due to the legal restraints no one is allowed to publicly say why the Crown Prince and that plane is in Germany in the first place...

Thai Navy plans to buy submarines from Germany

Originally published at Siam Voices on January 23, 2011 The Bangkok Post reports

The Royal Thai Navy wants to buy two second-hand submarines at a cost of 6-7 billion baht [$195m - $228m].  [...]

The specifications of the submarines have not been determined but the navy is expected to buy them from European suppliers, probably Germany.

The navy has stressed the need to acquire submarines because Thai sailors have little knowledge of submarine technology, which is constantly upgraded.

"Several neighbouring countries have submarines at their disposal. But Thai sailors have never come into contact with submarines. We are still backwards in terms of submarine technology," said the source. [...]

The plan has the backing of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who wants the armed forces to improve their capabilities in what is seen as a return of favours to the military for standing by the government in dealing with the red shirts during last year's protests.

"Navy wants to buy 2 subs", Bangkok Post, January 22, 2011

A local German paper, Kieler Nachrichten, reported recently that the Thai Navy wants to buy six used type 206 submarines from Germany. It continues:

Thailand's ministry of defense has promised their navy 500 million Euros [$681m] for the construction of a submarine flotilla in last March.

Bilateral talks between Berlin and Bangkok have already taken place. When the purchase contract with Thailand is ready to be signed is not known by this time. But the boats have already been inspected. The planned relocation of the submarines from Eckernförde to Wilhelmshaven for decommissioning has been stopped shortly thereafter.

"Chancen stehen gut: Großauftrag für HDW in Sicht", Kieler Nachrichten, January 18, 2011, translation by me

The story goes on that the Kiel dockyard company HDW is tipped to be contracted with the maintenance and preparation for the handover of the submarines, which is scheduled after March.

The Royal Thai Navy has long desired to buy new submarines for some time now (read here and here), including the suspected involvement of arms dealer Viktor Bout. The necessity though is debatable to say the least. Navy officials are repeatedly citing various reasons ranging from economic reasons (in the sense of securing trade routes by sea) to a "strong bargaining power in international negotiations" (source), which is clearly an offensive, if not aggressive, stance against its neighboring countries. While Thailand is so far the only one in the region that maintains an aircraft carrier, others like Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore have or are in the process of acquiring submarines, leading to the suggestion of an arms race.

That said, according to Richard A. Bitzinger, Senior Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, even though it is not an arms race per se, it has its consequences:

If Southeast Asia is in the midst of an arms dynamic, as it would appear, it may still have a deleterious effect on regional security. Relatively considerable sums of monies are being spent on weaponry, perhaps with little regard to their actual usefulness in military situations (at least, the kind of likely military situations that would occur in the region), and the deployment of these weapons are no less potentially distressing to the regional security dynamic, especially if some event were to push the region into conflict. On the other hand, the acceptance that the region is in an arms dynamic and not an arms race means that the situation is not immutable and that the problem of arms proliferation in the region is resolvable, [...] easily comprehended, bounded and constrained. The cycle can be broken or mitigated, and it is certainly within the power of the local states to do so, should they choose to do so.

Bitzinger, Richard A.: "A New Arms Race? Explaining Recent Southeast Asian Military Acquisitions", in: Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, Volume 32, Number 1, April 2010

From a domestic angle, this is another one in a long list of the proposed equipment procurement of the army (see previous story on Ukrainian APCs and German engines to Thailand). In the greater scheme of things, this is also the result of the Thai government granting the army a bigger budget in order to secure their support. A Bangkok Post story from March 2010 (in anticipation of the red shirts protests) suggested that the armed forces were to file in their wish lists. Since the protests have been dispersed by the army, the government is now owing the rewards to them - no matter how useless, impractical or dubious these soon-to-be mothballed big toys will be.

Exclusive: European Red Shirts Rally in Hamburg, Thaksin Phones In

NOTE: The author is NOT affiliated with the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and it's affiliated supporter groups or any other political group of any kind.

Around 120 Thai anti-government protesters from various European countries have gathered on Saturday in the German city of Hamburg to commemorate the forth-year anniversary of the military coup in Thailand and the four-month anniversary of the military crackdown against anti-government protesters in Bangkok.

The participants in this political protest, coming from Germany, France, Denmark and Belgium, are sympathizers of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as "red shirts", a political pressure group demanding the current Thai government to step down and call for new elections, justice for the 91 victims during the anti-government protests earlier this year among other various demands. Many of them are supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been toppled in said coup in 2006.

The atmosphere was largely jubilant, even though short bursts of the typical Northern German rain showers have interrupted the rally for a short period of time. Over amplifiers the protesters have made their stance over the current Thai political situation. Despite some announcements in German, most contributions over the loudspeakers were made in Thai, leaving many Hamburg onlookers asking what this event was all about.

Part of the rally was a phone-in by Thaksin, who thanked all European red shirts for the support and was overall in a conciliatory tone. He said that misunderstanding has to led conflicts and divisions among Thai people. "Today I think all sides should stop looking after themselves and look forward, no matter if they were wrong or not, and move towards each other", he said, "Bring back unity, bring back joy to the Thai people and let's make our country stronger." He continued: "The four months [since the protests' end in May] where people have killed each other, the four years [since the coup] where people made each other's lives difficult - they should come to an end." Thaksin further states that "today should be a day where we think about the mistakes made in the past and we should resolve them."

When asked by the supporters what he thinks about reconciliation he answered: "Reconciliation means to approach each other [...] and help together to move the country forward. No more yellow, no more red! But all things that were done wrong should face justice. [...] Also, there should be elections so that the people can vote their own government." Thaksin also claimed that the current political situation in Thailand "can't sustain itself for much longer." Thaksin's phone-in was cut short after nearly 11 minutes when the power generator ran out of fuel.

[audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/531991/Thaksin-PhoneIn.mp3]

Listen to the full recording of Thaksin's phone-in here (MP3)

Undelivered Ukrainian APCs and German Weapon Exports to Thailand

Originally published on Siam Voices on September 13, 2010. In 2007 the military interim government has announced the purchase of 96 BTR-3E1 armored personnel carriers (APCs) worth THB 4bn (about $117m). And how many have been delivered to Thailand until now? None! The reasons were supposedly that the engines by German manufacturers Deutz tend to overheat.

But apart from the technical problems made in Germany according to Thai news sources there were also political ones.

Army representatives told ministers that the German government decided not to sell Deutz engines to Ukraine for the APCs because of Berlin's policy of not selling armament to any country subject to political unrest, according to the source.

"Cabinet backs purchase of APCs from Ukraine", by Piyanart Srivalo, Satien Viriyapanpongsa & Samatcha Hoonsara, The Nation, September 8, 2010

However, the Thai government has cited additional reasons why the Germans refused to deliver the engines:

Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwannakiri said he had learned that a Muslim organisation had asked Germany not to sell the engines for the APCs because the vehicles could be used in suppression of Muslims in Thailand's deep South.

"Cabinet backs purchase of APCs from Ukraine", by Piyanart Srivalo, Satien Viriyapanpongsa & Samatcha Hoonsara, The Nation, September 8, 2010

The policy mentioned has been adopted by the whole European Union (EU), as it has been pointed out by the German government in an answer to a minor interpellation by opposition MPs (PDF here, it is a really interesting read for those who can read German), it states in particular:

1. Each Member State shall assess the export licence applications made to it for items on the EU Common Military List mentioned in Article 12 on a case-by-case basis against the criteria of Article 2. [...]

Article 2 - Criteria

2. Criterion Two: Respect for human rights in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country of international humanitarian law.

- Having assessed the recipient country’s attitude towards relevant principles established by international human rights instruments, Member States shall:

(a) deny an export licence if there is a clear risk that the military technology or equipment to be exported might be used for internal repression; [...]

- Having assessed the recipient country’s attitude towards relevant principles established by instruments of international humanitarian law, Member States shall:

(c) deny an export licence if there is a clear risk that the military technology or equipment to be exported might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law.

3. Criterion Three: Internal situation in the country of final destination, as a function of the existence of tensions or armed conflicts.

Member States shall deny an export licence for military technology or equipment which would provoke or prolong armed conflicts or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts in the country of final destination.

Source: "COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008: defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment" (PDF)

Taking the criteria into consideration any EU member country would find a case against Thailand and looking into the arms export reports of the German government, there were indeed rejected requests of arms exports to Ukraine in 2006 (PDF, page 23), 2007 (PDF, page 21) and 2008 (PDF, page 18), but no details were given about what was rejected and how much it was worth.

Additionally in 2007, the German government has also rejected requested exports to Thailand - again, it is unknown what was rejected and how much it was worth it.

However, despite all the political doubts and delivery delays, it did not stop the current government to make the sensible decision to order more - 121 additional APCs to be precise. But there'll be some changes made from the original order:

The head of the Army's ordnance department told Cabinet a recent test showed the MTU engine was of better quality than the Deutz unit. He also said a contract term allowed the Thai side to cancel the deal if any of the delivered vehicles did not meet standard requirements.

"Cabinet backs purchase of APCs from Ukraine", by Piyanart Srivalo, Satien Viriyapanpongsa & Samatcha Hoonsara, The Nation, September 8, 2010

The Thais want the better MTU engines in their new APCs, even though MTU is a German company. What is even more stunning is that during the weekend the Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand came out and gave an exact delivery date for the first units, which is this Friday. Also:

"The Thai military, in conjunction with us, selected the MTU Mercedes," [Ambassador] Chuchuk said. "It has better specifications than the original engine - better speed and acceleration - and we conducted tests and trials witnessed by the Thai military, and they were satisfied."

"First Ukrainian APCs here on Friday", Bangkok Post, September 12, 2010

Just to recap, the original Deutz engine, made in Germany, were not delivered because of political concerns by the German government. The new engines are by MTU, also made in Germany. What's the difference here?

When the first APCs will arrive in Thailand, a small chapter in the ongoing secret stories of arms procurement will be closed for now. But it is accompanied by other dubious army purchases such as grounded airships, jet fighters and the classic bogus GT200 device.

One last question: Why is the Thai army in a rush to buy over 100 more APCs with the first batch barely delivered? Possible answer:

The source said [Commander-in-chief] Gen Anupong wanted to push through the purchase of the additional 121 APCs before he retires in September.

"Army wants more APCs from Ukraine", by Wassana Nanuam, Bangkok Post, July 27, 2010

„Der Spiegel“ Interviews Foreign Minister Kasit

NOTE: This post was originally published on July 16, 2010 in a series of guest blogger posts for Bangkok Pundit at AsianCorrespondent. During his diplomatic tour through Europe (previously mentioned here), foreign minister Kasit Piromya gave an interview to the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. Some lines are familiar to observers of him like these:

SPIEGEL: What is your explanation for the protests?

Kasit: The Marxist-Leninist interpretation was used by some protest leaders to paint a picture of disparity in Thai society -- between the rich and poor, rural and urban areas -- to attract supporters. This notion has also been accepted by the leftist media around the world. (...)

SPIEGEL: How have the leaders succeeded in gaining so much support?

Kasit: The protest is coordinated, organized and financed by Mr. Thaksin and his people. It is not something that happened naturally like in other countries, where demonstrations are spontaneous, like in Greece.

"Interview With Thai Foreign Minister - 'I'm Not Going to Run Like Mr. Thaksin'", Der Spiegel, July 15, 2010

Kasit actually made some solid remarks about the lèse majesté law ("Of course it has been abused! (...) I must now go to court!") and also named "Ethics, and good governance issues" to be the problems of Thai politics, but on the other hand he blames Thaksin in every second answer, whether it's about the failed November 14 election date proposal by the government during the protests ("Mr. Thaksin refused it. And then he started to have this armed insurrection."), the alleged main cause of the red shirts ("to support [him], to bring him back to Thailand without having him serve the jail sentence he has received for corruption and conflict of interest while in office.") - Kasit apparently can not let go of the idea that Thaksin is the ultimate root of all things evil. He also took a jab at German history:

SPIEGEL: What do you think? Who shot the people, if not the army?

Kasit: Look at German history: What happened when Joschka Fischer was on the streets in Frankfurt? Wasn't there shooting at that time? It is also possible that the Red Shirts were shooting among themselves in order to pass the blame to the government.

Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer was involved in the student movement of the 1960s that was protesting against the conservatism and ignorance towards its past of post-war Germany. The government at that time tried to counter this movement i.e. by using the media to form a public opinion against the students. Due to the over-reaction by the police the protests escalated and turned violent. Even though it initially failed to cause any short-term results, it had long-lasting effects and influence on German society and culture.

In the 1970s the remains of the students movements either disappeared or have taken a radical route that also partly resulted in the formation of the Red Army Fraction that took out several armed assaults and was known as the first domestic terrorist group. During the same time frame Fischer was a leading member of the radical "Putzgruppe" (cleaning squad) that took on the police in several street battles. In 2001, when Fischer just became foreign minster, pictures dating back to 1973 were published, which shows him clubbing a policeman. Fischer later regretted this but also denied claims that he endorsed the use of molotov cocktails against the police. (More in this NYT article)

Getting back to Kasit's original claim: Neither sides, the "Putzgruppe" or the police, have used firearms during the street battles. All in all this historic comparison seems odd to me, but this is not the first time he has shown his selective historical knowledge. Talking about German history, Kasit once more came up with another comparison:

SPIEGEL: There have been 18 military coups since 1932. Can you really call Thailand a democracy?

Kasit: That is a very unfair question. It takes a lot of time to become a full-fledged democratic society. We are struggling with ourselves. Having said that, despite the challenges we have faced, we have never deviated far from the road to democracy which is what the Thai people want. Look at Germany: How did you end up with Hitler?

There we have it, Godwin's law has been used here in full effect! It seems to me that for one reasonable statement and he is spilling at least two or three ill-advised rants that ruin everything, as previously witnessed at an event in the US earlier this year.

By the way, since he mentioned the criminal past of a foreign minister, what about Kasit's past? Oh, yeah right!

Good German Reports on Thailand For A Change

Those of you who follow me on Twitter might have read that I have not been a big of German journalism when it comes to Thailand. Especially during this political crisis, finding some decent reports in the German media resulted in just a few ones. So, it is more remarkable to find a good one. NDR, a regional affiliate to the national public-funded ARD channel, which also operates the South-East asia bureau, has aired a report on the victims of the deadly clashes. They interviewed friends and families of protester who was killed during the April 10 clashes and the solider who was probably killed by friendly fire during the clashes on April 28, who were both from the Isaan region. Even though the video is in German, the pictures speak for themselves (even though I'm willing to do subtitles if there're enough requests).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zLE4vb960&w=600&h=360]"Thailand: Gewalt eskaliert" Weltbilder, Norddeutscher Rundfunk via YouTube

Another remarkably good piece can be read at he website of Deutsche Welle in an interview with the experienced freelance reporter Nicola Glass. She points out a few issues that have not been discussed that much before. Key excerpts:

[Asked about the importance of the month September] (...) The current Commander-in-Chief Anupong Paochinda is going to retire at the end of September and his current second-in-command [Chief of Staff of the Army Lt. Gen. Prayuth Jan-ocha] would be his successor. While Anupong repeatedly said he would not use force against the red shirts, his number two judged differently, as seen during the crackdown on April 10. And if there will be elections before September, and should the reds win, then they would not want to accept the current number two to be Commander-in-Chief. (...)

New elections are an important solution. They will cool down the conflict for now. (...) Normally the political opponents must accept the outcome of the votes, but in the current mood I'm not sure if that is likely.

There's another point. It very difficult to conduct a new election under the conditions. Currently the political atmosphere is heavily emotionalized. The red shirts blame the government for the victims of April 10 and I cannot imagine that government personnel to go campaigning in the Northeast of Thailand, the stronghold of the red shirts. On the other side it will be difficult for the red shirts in the strongholds of the government supporters. I think it's currently very problematic.

"Entspannung, aber kein Durchbruch", by DW-World.de, May 6, 2010

Solid arguments here, it is the first time I have read in the international media that Lt. Gen. Prayuth has been specifically named as the next possible Commander-in-Chief. I also agree with Glass that it will be difficult to see how or if tempers will cool down coming election day.

German News Coverage of Saturday's Clashes

Thailand normally doesn't appear very often in the headlines in Germany. If so, it is in most cases the cliché stories on either the sandy beaches, farangs behaving badly in Pattaya, elephants in distress or other quirky and weird stuff. The so called 'hard news' are rarely to be found - except when there are color-coded anti-government protests with optional violent clashes like we have now. Here's how some German media outlets are seeing the current political situation. Bernd Musch-Borowska, South-East Asia correspondent for the public ARD radio affiliates, thinks that the clashes could have been avoided but the rifts between the government and the red shirts are growing more and more.

Both sides are as well right as they are wrong. They are all fighting to democracy, but nobody is ready to listen to the other side's opinion at the least. (...)

A few weeks ago he [Abhisit] could have saved the situation with genuine negotiations with the red shirts and a brave decision for fresh democratic elections. But now the damage has been done, Thailand's reputation is heavily ruined and an easy way out of the political crisis is now almost unreachable. Too big is the mistrust in each other.

(...) The Thai province has awaken under Thaksin and the rural people are not willing to let the elites in Bangkok, the military and the conservative royalists disenfranchise them of their basic democratic rights. Under Thaksin the Thais have understood, to use their voice in order to influence political decisions and can contribute for their improvement of their lives.

(...) Respect for each other would be the first step to a true democracy in Thailand.

"Kommentar: Die Eskalation hätte vermieden werden können", Bernd Musch-Borowska, tagesschau.de, April 11, 2010

Nicola Glass, an experienced German freelance journalist, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that even if new elections are announced, the crisis is far from over.

Q: Would a dissolution of the parliament mean the end of the crisis in Thailand?

A: I don't think so that the crisis would end. Should parliament be really dissolved and new elections are called - which the red camp would very likely win - then we can be in for a déja-vu. Because then the opponents of the red shirts [the yellow shirted PAD] - like back in 2008 - would go on the streets and try to chase out a Thaksin-allied government.

"Die Krise ist noch lange nicht vorbei", DW-World.de, April 12, 2010

The weekly newspaper Die Zeit has a profile of the red shirts, written by Dr. Wolfram Schaffar from the University of Hildesheim discussing the origins, describing them as a grass root movement, but also...

But even if it appears so, the democratic consciousness does not always run deep at the red shirts. They skillfully play on populist motives: for example they attacked a gay-parade in Chiang Mai. And the donated blood and spilled it "for democracy" in front of government house. (...)

At last it is unclear, if the reds are able to set up a functioning government and if a return of Thaksin does any favor for the Thai democracy. (...) Nonetheless, their demand for new elections are neither hyperbolic or inequitable. The more the elites are hiding behind coups, politically motivated court decisions and military state of emergencies, the more they drive them to the reds.

"Aufruhr In Bangkok: Thailands Erste Opposition", by Dr. Wolfram Schaffar, Die Zeit, April 12, 2010

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes the sombre mood during the Thai New Year festivities (aka Songkran) in Bangkok, but somehow life goes on in the big capital.

Bangkok is very large. The pictures, that go around the world, are horrible. Fights, gunshots, deaths. But they are a small, albeit dramatic excerpt. The city is affected in two zones - that is tragic, but the rest is not directly affected. (...)

And the Thais? (...) at central places like Silom Road or the kilometers-long traffic vessel Sukhumvit people take it in a laid-back manner. They don't talk about it, at least not with the farangs, the westerners. They are more excited. Sure, there is a deep division running through Thailand, but they are more focussed to earn some money again, you often hear. And the taxi drivers are, as long as they speak English, more interested that Bayern Munich has beaten Manchester United than in the violent clashes. They simply avoid Ratchaprasong. They laugh.

(...) The traffic is less busy these days. It might be because of Songkran, since many are on vacation, it might be because of the tense situation. You won't get the answer from the Thais. They don't like to talk about uncomfortable things. If you ask them, they laugh nervously. "Don't know", they say. Those who do say something, think it looks more dramatic than it really it - typical Thai.

"Thailand: Es Wird Schon Gutgehen, Es Geht Immer Gut", by Hartmut U. Hallek, FAZ.net, April 14, 2010

Willi Germund writes a very critical editorial in the Frankfurter Rundschau and sees times in Thailand are changing.

Welcome to Thailand, the "country of smiles", where nothing will be like it has been in the last 60 years. (...)

The times where the province votes the government and Bangkok topples it, are slowly over. The rural people are demanding equality in the emerging Thailand, what the feudal aristocracy does not want to accept so far. The storm of the red shirts falls into a phase of the decline of the old regime.

"Analyse: Die Macht der Generäle", by Willi Germund, FR-Online.de, April 11, 2010

Germund has also mentioned a person who he thinks ordered the crackdown on Saturday. I will not name the person, but it's written in the second to last paragraph - you still can throw the article into Google translation to see the context it's written in. He did the same claim in the regional paper Badische Zeitung (sixth paragraph). Even though he says that Thai media have reported (indirectly) it, I cannot remember having read this anywhere. There's no way to verify his claim - or his credibility!

Foreign Minister Kasit Goes Berserk, Suspects Worldwide Pro-Thaksin Conspiracy UPDATE Audio posted

UPDATE: The John Hopkins University, where the talk was held, has posted the full audio of Kasit's speech. We haven't been talking about Thaksin for a while, have we? Well, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya thinks so as well and has used the next best opportunity in front of a microphone to lash out against Thaksin and everyone that helps him - which is in his opinion almost the whole world. AFP summarizes what must have been some astonishing quotes (to be enjoyed in all it's entirety for entertainment purposes).

Thailand's Foreign Minister lashed out at the international community Monday for failing to take action against fugitive ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom he blamed for the country's political unrest.

"Everyone is washing their hands but he is a bloody terrorist," said Kasit Piromya, citing countries such as Russia and Germany for turning a blind eye over Thaksin's corruption conviction and allowing him in.

He also cited Dubai, which the billionaire Thaksin had reportedly used as a longtime base after being overthrown in a military coup in 2006, as well as Nicaragua and Montenegro, both of which he recently visited.

"There is this act of interference by third countries -- how can the Russians allow him there for two days or the Germans before that?"

"Everyone is playing naive, closing their eyes and so on, simply because he was once an elected leader," Kasit said.

He likened Thaksin to an Al-Qaeda terrorist and past "elected" leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini.

"Hitler was elected, Mussolini was elected, even Stalin could say that he was elected also but what did they do to their very society? This is the question," the top Thai diplomat said at a meeting with a small group of reporters and think tank heads.

Kasit, in Washington attending a landmark nuclear summit called by President Barack Obama, accused Thaksin of orchestrating demonstrations by his so-called Red Shirt supporters last week that led to 21 deaths in the bloodiest political unrest in 18 years.

The 60-year-old Thaksin exiled himself to avoid imprisonment on a 2008 corruption conviction and occasionally addresses the Red Shirts through Internet video links.

Kasit lamented that Thailand was "not getting any international cooperation at all" over Thaksin's case, saying even Interpol "just simply refused to work with us." (...)

While the world demanded for more democracy in Thailand, it "allows Thaksin to run loose as if nothing happens," he said.

Kasit called on the Obama administration to prod the Red Shirts to come to the negotiating table. The United States and Thailand are treaty allies.

"Thai FM slams international community over crisis", AFP, April 13, 2010

Good Lord, where do I even start?

It is an open secret that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' unofficial top priority is to hunt down Thaksin wherever in the world he pops up. And since he seems to travel anywhere without any apparent problems, one might understand Kasit's outburst if (in his opinion) the one man who is solely to be blamed for a the big political mess that has happened in over the last five years cannot be apprehended and even seems to get international assistance.

I have previously blogged about Thaksin's stay in Germany and also mentioned his trip to Montenegro. Since then, Thaksin has claimed to have been in Russia as well. Additionally the Foreign Ministry has stated that he was in Sweden before that. But it should be noted that they got it wrong before when they suspected Thaksin to be expelled from UAE and to have flown to Siem Reap when the most recent red shirts protest begun.

It is astonishing how a branch of the government, or even a single person, can be so morbidly obsessed with one person desperately trying to hunt him down. So desperate that Kasit thinks he can afford to alienate nearly everybody.

As for the Hitler-Mussolini-Stalin-comparison and Kasit's claim that the most notorious figures in history were 'elected' into power, a simple look into Wikipedia might have saved him from this spectacular claim. Mussolini rose to power through intimidation of public authorities and political opponents with a large mob until he was appointed to lead the country by the king, Stalin was able to push out Lenin and later his own closest allies away from power, and even though Hitler's nazi party has won at the ballots, he was appointed Chancellor in hope by his coalition partners to be contained with a framework of conservative cabinet ministers - we all know how well that worked.

And how got Abhisit to power, again?

P.S.: Kasit also had some interesting quotes on another subject I will not discuss here.

Red Shirt Supporters in Germany

A German blog called "Schönes? Thailand" (Beautiful? Thailand), which openly supports the red shirts, recently ran a story about a Red Shirts supporters' meeting in Dortmund last weekend with an attendance of over 50 people. Special guests were Giles Ji Ungpakorn and (via telephone) Jakrapop Penkair, both in exile after being accused of lèse majesté, who held speeches about the current political situation. Due to legal reasons I cannot translate and post many parts of the speeches (instead read it yourself), but I found this part noteworthy.

Die Rothemden haben am Ende der Versammlung einen Beschluss gefasst. Sie erklärten, sich bis zum Sieg für die Demokratie einsetzen zu wollen. Falls es eine Zerschlagung der Demokratiebewegung gäbe, würden sie sich sofort versammeln und vor der thailändischen Botschaft und den Konsulaten versammeln um dagegen zu protestieren.

(The Red Shirts have come to a conclusion at the end of the meeting. They declare to stand up for democracy until victory. In case of a crackdown of the democracy movement, they would immediately assemble and protest against it in front of the Thai embassy and consulates.)

"Solidaritätsveranstaltung in Deutschland", Schönes? Thailand, March 16, 2010 - Translation by me

Sources tell me that it was initially a birthday party of a member. It was then transformed to a political event. Pictures of the event (and a meeting of a few in front of the Royal Thai Embassy in Berlin) can be seen here.

It is difficult to conduct the political leaning of Thais in Germany, let alone the demographics of all Thai people in this country. By my own estimations and impressions (and by no way it is meant degrading), most Thais in Germany are female, above 35 years old and married to a German male. Also, the origin of most is the Isaan region, the North-Eastern.

In my opinion, like in Thailand itself, there has been a growing interest for Thai politics by the Thai expats here in Germany in recent times. The numbers are nowhere near their American counterparts (more about this in another blog post), but certainly we can expect more political activism by Thai expats.

Red March in Bangkok, Day 1 / Thaksin: "I'll travel to Europe tomorrow!"

Today marked the start of the protest weekend by the anti-government red shirts in Bangkok and according to reports, blogs and twitteres on the scene it has been, compared to the hype and the fear-mongering prior to this day, rather quiet on the streets. Even though many places of the capital were less busy than usual (even the big, always crowded MBK mall was nearly empty), no bigger inconvenience or unrest was reported and the turnout was just shy of a few hundreds at each rally point in the city, according to what The Nation's Tulsathit Taptim tweeted. Apart from an incident in Pathum Thani, it has been peaceful. So far this is not too surprising as the red shirts just started gathering in their respective provinces and then head to Bangkok. This shifts the focus on the next two days, when they are expected to arrive. ------------------------

Late afternoon reports came in that former PM Thaksin Shinawatra has left, or even expelled, from his exile in Dubai, UAE and was on his way to Siem Reap, Cambodia - which the Foreign Ministry has confirmed! But then during the night Thaksin wrote this on his Twitter feed...

มีข่าวว่าผมถูกขับออกจากUAEไปอยู่ที่เสียมเรียบ ขอโทษทีไม่จริงนะครับผมยังอยู่ท่ีดูไบพรุ่งนี้จะเดินทางไปยุโรปพบกับลูกสาวทั้งสองคนซึ่งดูงานเสร็จ

There have been news that I was asked to leave UAE and flew to Siam Reap. I'm sorry to say that it's not true. I'm still in Dubai and tomorrow I will head to Europe to visit my two daughters, who just went to a trade show.

Thaksin Shinawatra on Twitter (@ThaksinLive), March 13, 2010 - Translation and emphasis by me

Thaksin's daughters are reported to be in Germany right now, where they'll visit "an exhibition and trade fair hotels in Germany". Currently, the International Travel Trade Show in Berlin is underway.

But, is it very likely that Thaksin will travel to Europe and being permitted access to Germany, again?

Further reading:

• Newley Purnell: Red shirt protests in Bangkok: day one
• Absolutely Bangkok: Red Letdown
• Bangkok Pundit: Media reports on the red shirts
• ThaiTVNews: ข่าว เสื้อแดง 12.03.2010 (Video clips of today's TV news)

How Thaksin Got Into Germany

Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been at a lot of places. Be it in Cambodia (twice), Uganda, Montenegro, Dubai, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea and many more - the man has allocated a lot of mileage. And for good reason. Since he was toppled in a military coup in 2006, he made a brief return to Thailand in 2008 before he and his (now-divorced) wife Pojaman jumped bail (they did not come back after they attended the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. Who let them leave the country in the first place?) after a court sentenced them to three years in prison because Thaksin abused his power to help his then-wife to buy public land. They returned to London, where the Shinawatras have already fled to after the 2006 coup, but soon after the British authorities have revoked his UK visa. What then followed was the involuntarily world tour for a new asylum to the aforementioned places (and many more), somewhat reminiscent of a former children television game show.

One of the places he went to was Germany in late 2008. Half a year later the Munich-based daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported how and why Thaksin was able to fly into Germany and even got a residence permit. Since the original article is in German, I translated and emphasized the key parts.

(...) The probably most known and presumably richest fugitive refugee in Asia, who has more than half a dozen of criminal cases against him, was on that December 29 in Oxfordstrasse No. 19 in Bonn - in the municipal alien department. He applied for a residence permit for the duration of one year.

Previously he was at the [resident‘s] registration office and has enrolled an address in Bad Godesberg as his residence. Billionaire Thaksin was able to account for his own livelihood, not a welfare case then, and also had insurance. The person in charge also took a look in the central register for foreigners but found nothing [suspicious].

All foreigners in Germany have to report to the local authorities. This is handled by municipal authorities unlike other countries. Also, Bad Godesberg is the location of the former private residence of the Royal Thai Embassy when Bonn was capital of West Germany.

The approval procedure was eased because of the company of the former head of the criminal investigation department [Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) an agency within state police authorities] Gerd Steffen as well as a distinguished lawyer. In addition was a mysterious man, who introduced himself by the name Richard Nelson. The person in charge understood that he [Nelson] was working for the Federal Intelligence Service [Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the foreign intelligence agency], but he must have misheard. The agent would never said that, who is in fact named Werner Mauss and once a universal weapon of the German [intelligence] agencies. In the end, Thaksin was granted a permit.

The curios encounter in office [Amt] 33-6 has caused a stir behind the [political] scenes in Berlin, Düsseldorf [state capital of Nord Rhine-Westphalia] and Bangkok. The Federal Foreign Office [Auswärtiges Amt], which learned late of the procedure, was furious and saw the relationships with Thailand in danger; the Chancellor‘s Office [Bundeskanzleramt] and the Nord Rhine-Westphalia State Ministry of the Interior were informed.

The Federal Foreign Office thought for the time being, the BND has acted on their own and protested heavily. Didn‘t the BND used to 'pretty up' Thaksin‘s role in confidential reports for the federal government? However, the top heads of the BND assume that an agent from a foreign agency has 'sailed in under a different flag', as insiders say. But then the officers heard the name [Richard] Nelson and knew right away what happen: [Richard] Nelson is one of many aliases the now 69-year-old private investigator Mauss used in his past assignments for authorities and agencies. In his life, he was on many assignments, of which the backgrounds remain mysterious.

(...) [Werner] Mauss, formerly known as „man without face“, has received decades ago visitors incognito at the local police headquarters in presence of the head of the criminal investigation department. (...)

According to his Wikipedia page (only in German), Werner Mauss started as a private investigator but also worked as an agent for German companies and as a contact person for German intelligence services, through which he maintained contacts to high-ranking personnel inside the Chancellor's Office. He was involved with the arrest on a left-wing terrorist Rolf Pohle in the 1970s, negotiated the release of German hostage from the Hezbollah and was also connected to the both infamous and mysterious death of German politician Uwe Barschel.

An old acquaintance of him [Nelson/Mauss] was involved in this act: the former State Secretary and former MP Rudolf Kraus of the CSU party [Christlich Soziale Union, the Bavarian Christian-conservative sister-party to the nationwide CDU]. In a letter to the municipal alien department in Bonn he notified, MPs of the CDU/CSU party absolutely want to meet Thaksin this summer 2009 in Germany and thus he [Thaksin] needed a residence permit. (...) „Thaksin is a highly interesting personality“, he continued. Did Mauss [alias Nelson] pressured him [Kraus] to write the letter? „Let‘s drop it“, said Kraus [upon further questions]. (...)

This is the most puzzling part for me. Why were these German MPs so eager to meet Thaksin? Who were these MPs? And what would have the topic of the meeting been?

On pressure by Berlin and Düsseldorf the residence permit for Thaksin has been revoked on May 28.

Let's recap here: Thaksin was able to enter Germany and had zero problems obtaining a residence permit thanks to some shadowy friends, who shielded him away from the federal government and also the Thai Embassy in Berlin (which learned from his stay through said newspaper article, but mistakenly assumed Thaksin would be still in Germany by that time as a contact has told me.)! Not only does this sound like it could have been torn from a crime novel, but also the time it took until the public would know about it is astonishing. That said, some might have noticed his stay in Germany already earlier than June 2009, because in April 2009 Thaksin himself said in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro that:

[Thaksin passed his time away from Thailand] with business in Dubai, Hong Kong, Africa and Germany - a country which has given him a residency card, he said.

The mystery of his whereabouts held on for a few more months since then, even with the Thai authorities claiming to know his silly incognito name. Sometimes Thaksin and the hunt for him really appears like that former children television game show.