Thai Rulers Open Thaksin Probe
'Rampant Corruption'
By Leader Compelled
Coup, Military Says
BANGKOK -- Thailand's new military rulers -- still searching for a civilian leader to head an interim government -- have formed a team of investigators to probe allegations of corruption against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in an apparent attempt to justify last week's coup.
The military has cited "rampant corruption" as a driving force behind their decision to oust Mr. Thaksin on Sept. 19. Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who led the coup, said a new military-installed government was prepared to prosecute Mr. Thaksin if evidence of graft is found. A looming shuffle in the armed forces that could have sidelined Gen. Sondhi and promoted Mr. Thaksin's supporters also appears to have been an important factor.
Finding a basis for charging and seeking to convict Mr. Thaksin, who is currently in London with his daughter, could be a lengthy and difficult process, political analysts say. A prolonged investigation into businesses and contracts linked to the Thaksin government might unsettle investors in Thailand's nervous financial markets, they add.
Some political analysts suggest 56-year-old Mr. Thaksin, a business tycoon-turned-politician who came to power in 2001, was a talented exploiter of loopholes in laws and regulations rather than the kind of authoritarian leader who embezzled state funds. Before becoming premier, he became one of Thailand's richest men, building a telecommunications and media empire. Early this year, Mr. Thaksin's family sold a controlling stake in its telecommunications flagship, Shin Corp. to Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd, for $1.9 billion.
The military appeared to give the corruption probe top priority. "Any cases that cause serious damage to the country, we will have to investigate urgently," said Parnthep Klanarongran, the chief of the nine-member National Counter Corruption Commission in a television interview Saturday. "If anyone commits wrongdoing, they will have to be prosecuted in the courts."
Thailand's auditor-general, Jaruvan Maintaka, told reporters Friday she was finishing a report on alleged government wrongdoing by state officials in the purchase of security scanners for Bangkok's new international airport -- the first of a dozen cases that she said she will investigate.
Friday, worries of a witch-hunt about the business dealings of Mr. Thaksin and his associates triggered some anxiety in Thailand's stock market, which recovered well from the initial shock of Tuesday night's coup. Construction company Italian-Thai Development PCL's stock fell nearly 13% to 5.25 baht (14 U.S. cents) as investors speculated that it might be sucked into an investigation into government corruption. Shares of another construction company, Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction PLC, fell 22% to 4.26 baht. Traders said the company was involved in building a rail link to Bangkok's new airport.
Executives at the two companies couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The broader Stock Exchange of Thailand index, which declined 1.4% Thursday, on Friday fell another 1.4% to close at 681.71.
"The military will hope to minimize the disruption to foreign investment flows, and in that respect they will want to carry on as normal -- except for anything linked to Mr. Thaksin," suggested Song Seng Wun, an economist with CIMB-GK Research Ltd. in Singapore.
Investors are also closely watching who becomes the civilian leader of the interim government. On Sept. 20, Gen. Sondhi announced that a civilian prime minister would be appointed within two weeks, and that the interim government would draft a new constitution to prepare for elections by October 2007.
The choices appear to include two well-known legal officials -- Supreme Court President Chanchai Likhitjittha and Supreme Administrative Court President Ackaratorn Chularat -- plus central bank Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula, former bank governor Chatumongkol Sonakul, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, a former deputy prime minister who now heads the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Military officials intend to present a short list of candidates for prime minister and other top posts to King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Wednesday.
Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukpasuka has said the military's preference is to have a legal expert as prime minister to steer efforts to provide Thailand with a new constitution -- which the military says will be a primary objective of the new government.
Thailand's 1997 constitution -- abolished by the coup makers -- was widely considered the most democratic in the country's history when it was established by the government of Mr. Thaksin's predecessor, Chuan Leekpai. It was supposed to usher in an era of checks and balances while also encouraging more stable government. However, Mr. Thaksin, after coming to power, was able to flood the supposedly nonpartisan Senate to appoint supporters to key positions in the judiciary and other important agencies, while centralizing much of the government's power in his own executive branch.
At the same time, he embarked on a series of populist policies designed to give poorer, rural Thais more opportunities to participate in Thailand's growing economy. He also introduced inexpensive health care, while instituting tough crackdowns on the underground drug trade and a resurgent Islamist movement in the three Muslim-majority provinces in the south of this otherwise Buddhist country. Economists credit Mr. Thaksin for trying to make Thailand more competitive internationally.
Mr. Thaksin's skill at operating within the new political system, along with his genuine popularity among many rural Thais, made him difficult to remove from office by constitutional means. His critics say he grew increasingly confident, bringing him into open conflict with the military establishment and Thailand's influential King Bhumibol, who openly admonished his prime minister on several occasions for not listening to public criticism.
Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Palangoon Khaharn says the new government will focus on closing those constitutional loopholes which enabled Mr. Thaksin to grow so powerful in a country previously notable for a succession of weak coalition governments. But while this may prevent the rise of similarly powerful figures, it might also throw the country back into the political volatility of the 1990s, when governments were fractious, ineffective coalitions, political analysts say.
The new prime minister will also need to have a deft diplomatic touch to repair Thailand's international reputation following the coup. The military putsch has brought criticism from the U.S., European Union, Australia, New Zealand and some neighboring Asian countries.
Political analysts say Thailand's new military rulers will have to act quickly to appoint a civilian leader to help reassure both investors and the Thai people that they intend to keep their promise to hand power back to a democratically elected government.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, which opposed Mr. Thaksin, says elections should ideally be held in six months, if not sooner, instead of one year.
Friday, about 100 university students staged a protest against the military takeover, indicating not all Thais are comfortable with it. They protested outside one of Bangkok's biggest shopping malls, binding their hands and taping their mouths to symbolize opposition to the declaration of martial law, which has curtailed free speech and banned gatherings of more than five people. The protesters assembled in clusters of four to avoid arrest as the police and hundreds of journalists looked on.
"We don't claim to speak for the majority of Thais, but we do speak for Thais who support democracy," said one protest leader, university lecturer Giles Ungpakorn.
泰国临时军政府开始调查他信
上周发动政变并临时掌管泰国政权的军方人士一方面在为过渡政府物色文职领导人，同时，他们组建了一个工作组，就前总理他信(Thaksin Shinawatra)涉嫌腐败的问题展开调查，这显然也是证明政变的正当性。
军方曾表示，促使他们决定让他信下台的一个动因就是“到处蔓延的腐败”。政变领导人、陆军总司令颂提(Sondhi Boonyaratkalin)表示，如果有证据表明他信有贪污行为，新成立的军管政府准备对他提出指控。另外，泰国武装部队内部也出现了一些混乱，颂提的地位可能受到威胁，而支持他信的人可能会占上风，这看来也是颂提决定调查他信的一个重要因素。
政治分析人士表示，要找到指控他信的证据并对他定罪可能会是一个旷日持久且难度很大的过程。目前他信和他的女儿正在伦敦暂避。分析师们说，如果对与他信政府有关的企业和他们之间的合约进行长期调查将让泰国金融市场人心惶惶。
今年56岁的他信于2001年出任泰国总理。一些政治分析师说，这位曾是泰国商界大亨的前总理在 法律法规空子方面很有经验，他绝非那种贪污国库资金的独裁领导人。出任总理之前的他信拥有一个电信和媒体帝国，是泰国最富有的人之一。
泰国政变相关报导
? 政变或许对泰国经济有利无害
? 泰国发生政变 他信任期或将终结
今年早些时候，他信家族将其旗舰电信企业Shin Corp.的控股权以19亿美元价格卖给了新加坡政府旗下的投资机构淡马锡控股(Temasek Holdings Pte.)。
军方似乎将腐败调查作为眼下的头等大事。反腐败委员会负责人Parnthep Klanarongran周六在接受电视采访时说：对任何给国家造成重大损害的事情，我们都将进行紧急调查。
泰国总审计长上周五对记者表示，她即将完成一份有关政府人员在为曼谷新国际机场采购安检设备时涉嫌不当行为的报告。除这件事之外，她还将就另外十多个案件进行调查。
上周五，因为担心一些与他信及其关联方进行的商业交易受到牵连，泰国股市再次受到打击，之前，股市已从周二政变的打击中恢复过来。建筑企业Italian-Thai Development PCL股价跌13%至5.25美元，投资者担心该公司可能会被卷入政府的反腐调查。
另一家建筑企业Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction PLC股价下跌22%至4.26泰铢。交易员说，该公司参与了至新机场的轨道交通建设项目。
记者未能立即联系到两家公司的管理人士发表评论。
泰国证交所指数上周四下跌1.4%；周五再跌1.4%至681.71点。
新加坡联昌国际研究(CIMB-GK Research)经济学家宋诚焕(Song Seng Wun)认为，泰国临时军政府会希望将对外国投资的影响降到最低，为此他们会希望一切照常，除了与他信有关的人和事。
与此同时，投资者还在密切关注过渡政府领导人的人选。颂提20日曾宣布，将在两周内任命一位文职总理，同时，过渡政府将起草新宪法，为2007年10月的大选作准备。
