Thai generals pull plug on Thaksin CNN interview

January 15, 2007

Reuters reports on Monday January 15, 10:03 PM:

Thai generals pull plug on Thaksin CNN interview

BANGKOK, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Thailand’s ruling generals censored an entire CNN interview on Monday with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in which he promised to quit politics and return to civilian life.

“No, enough is enough,” Thaksin said in answer to a question about whether he planned another shot at power if he is ever allowed back to his home country.

[FACT: Watch the interview on YouTube.]

The millionaire telecoms tycoon who won election landslides in 2001 and 2005 has been in exile ever since the Sept. 19 coup — Thailand’s 18th in 74 years of on-off democracy. He conducted the interview in Singapore.

“Six years, you serve the country, you’ve been working hard. You’ve sacrificed your time, even your life and even your family life. So, it’s time for me to go back as a private citizen and contribute to Thai society outside the political arena,” he said.

Thaksin also denied any involvement in the string of New Year’s Eve bombings in Bangkok that killed three people and sowed fears of a turbulent year ahead for the Southeast Asian nation, rattling domestic and foreign investors.

“I would like to express my deepest sympathies for those who lost their loved ones,” Thaksin said.

The army and its interim appointed government, which is meant to be in charge for a year until fresh elections are held under a new constitution, have stopped short of blaming Thaksin explicitly for the bombings.

Instead, they have blamed the eight blasts on “politicians who lost power”, a reference that many Thais are interpreting as being Thaksin or dissident elements in his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party.

Unfortunately for Thaksin, nobody in Thailand saw the interview as cable TV provider UBC overrode the signal with a recording of the previous hour’s international sports report.

Reuters monitored the CNN interview from Singapore and Bangkok.

Last week, the Council for National Security (CNS), as the military chiefs who led the coup now call themselves, summoned domestic radio and television broadcasters to tell them to stop giving coverage to Thaksin, his lawyer or supporters.

The CNS announced the lifting of martial law in roughly half the country in November but the relaxation has yet to take effect as it has inexplicably failed to gain the signature of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

As such, the army retains the power to censor the media and prevent public gatherings it deems a threat to national security.

(Additional reporting by David Fogarty in Singapore)

source: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nBKK217219&sz=13Additional Info: On Jan 15, 2007 night, http://cnn.com/ cannot be accessible from Thailand. — Updated: Jan 16, 2007, 9:33 AM, the site is appeared to be accessible again.