Thaksin hasn’t quit politics. He is a liar and a manipulator of people. Just look at what happened on Wednesday this week: The cheeky former prime minister of Thailand called three Thai radio stations from the safety of his home in England; his intentions have never been clearer.

In his speeches on the local radio stations, Thaksin called for quick elections and reiterated his stance on not returning to Thailand. This clever ploy at undermining the Council for National Security (CNS) has caused yet another knee-jerk reaction, as the three radio stations have now been shut down for allegedly breaching national security. Once again, the CNS is playing into Thaksin’s hands as the debate over media censorship rages on.

“I am concerned about the country… I don’t want to be the cause for people to gather in protest and the cause of social chaos,” said Thaksin.

Evidently he is overjoyed with the prospect of causing social chaos. Each of the radio stations Thaksin called had been very critical of the military regime. It’s worth noting that each of the stations was also very small. Saturday Voice Against Dictatorship is an online station and only 300 people were listening when Thaksin delivered his speech. Suffice to say, the website is now blocked.

“I have spent almost one year abroad, but the country has not yet returned to normalcy. They always cite me as the problem but, as of now, no one wants to reconcile with me,” he said.

The hosts of the FM 87.75 radio show whom Thaksin called denied having been a part of the ploy, as they would. What has happened now is that all community radio stations are being closely monitored, and so we can expect any that steps out of line, in the eyes of the CNS, to be closed down immediately. Can’t the CNS see that this will only lead to resentment?

In January the military junta threatened to close down any radio station that carried comments made by Thaksin, but now this threat has become a reality, and it’s come at the perfect time for Thaksin as speculation grows regarding the relationship between Sonthi and Surayud.

Authorities will shut down “radio stations that broadcast content deems threat to our national security or could cause divisions among the public,” said Minister Thirapat Sereerangsan.

In other words: “Don’t speak out against the current regime or you’ll face the consequences.”

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thaksin, Thailand, Thai politics, Press freedom, CNS