Word: noppadon
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They're falling like dominoes. In just 48 hours, three top allies of Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej have been forced out of politics by a series of legal blows. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned after a constitutional court red-carded him for not consulting parliament on a border dispute with Cambodia. On Wednesday, the same court forced the resignation of Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap for not declaring his wife's assets before taking office, as is required by Thai law. And on Tuesday, former speaker of parliament Yongyut Tiyapairat was banned from politics for five years...
...political decisions over the past five months are truly Samak's own, he's shown less than a delicate hand. Case in point is the court decision that brought down Foreign Minister Noppadon. Earlier this year, Thailand supported Cambodia's bid to gain UNESCO World Heritage status for a temple located in a disputed border zone between the two nations. Although the temple itself sits on land that an international court deemed to be Cambodia's back in 1962, Thailand claims the main access area to the temple as its own. So when Noppadon provided official Thai backing for Cambodia...
...resignation speech on Thursday, Noppadon insisted he had done nothing wrong. "I have not sold the country out," he said. "I love Thailand and would not cause any damage to the nation." But Noppadon is in a vulnerable position; before serving as Foreign Minister, he was Thaksin's lawyer and spokesman. One of the reasons the coup leaders gave for deposing Thaksin was that he supposedly had not shown enough respect for Thailand's beloved king. For Samak's enemies, in turn, taking an allegedly cavalier attitude toward Thailand's territorial integrity was not so different from an alignment with...
...barracks and out of politics will be one challenge for Thailand's next PM. So will healing the country. Suriyasai Katasila, secretary general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, has accused the PPP of drawing up an "enemies list," something that the party's deputy secretary general Noppadon Pattama denies. "Let bygones be bygones," he says. "We should not fail the Thai people by arguing and quarreling." Noppadon says his party has adopted "a less confrontational style." If so, nobody has told PPP pit bull Chalerm Yubamrung, who has publicly vowed to "execute" Thaksin's foes. Chalerm, who is campaigning...
...want to go back as Prime Minister. It's too much already," Thaksin told Reuters on Dec. 7. "My wife will divorce me if I go back to politics." So Thaksin will never be PM again? "Nothing can be ruled out," smiles PPP executive Noppadon, who doubles as Thaksin's spokesman and legal adviser. "He is still young and very energetic." Back on the campaign trail in northeast Thailand, a PPP candidate is urging his audience to send a message to Thaksin. "Please clap loudly so that England can hear you," he says. It's a safe bet that England...
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