Word: sarit
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...diplomats to get out of their "air-conditioned comfort" and meet the people. Throughout his homecoming week, in private conversations with senatorial friends, Johnson zealously talked up his serious new concern for Asian problems, had high praise for Nationalist China's Chiang Kaishek, Thailand's tough Premier Sarit Thanarat...
Efficient Aid. Sarit has cut the price of rice, bus fares and school fees, while boosting exports to $400 million and spurring a healthy 5% annual growth in the national production. U.S. aid, $300 million of it military and $241 million economic, has built a crack 100,000-man army, four main highways, 500 bridges and countless other projects, such as the $14 million power plant that Lyndon Johnson inaugurated last week. Sarit's Cabinet, mostly civilian, is probably the most efficient that the country ever had. Last year Sarit allocated as much money for education as for defense...
Northern Threat. Still, like everywhere else where living standards are low, Thailand has its problems. During the last few years before he seized power, Thai politicians were junketing off to Red China, and Bangkok newspapers showed a pronounced affection for Communism. No man to take chances, Sarit jailed the suspect politicians and muzzled the press but puts his faith in his economic program to deprive the Communists of the discontent on which they batten...
...Sarit is alarmed at what he considers the U.S.'s retreat in Laos. Thailand's border with Laos is long and lightly guarded. Some 50,000 Vietnamese settled in northern Thailand during Indo-China's fight against the French, and they have been heavily infiltrated by Communist agents. A fortnight ago, Sarit learned of Communist plans to stage an uprising among the Vietnamese. He quickly corralled the plotters, interrogated some of the 100 prisoners himself, declared that he had found documents linking them to Communist guerrillas in Laos. Last week, after Johnson left, Premier Sarit headed north...
...months ago, Sarit was offering to send Thai troops into Laos to help the Boun Oum government, if the U.S. was willing to back him up. Now he feels sorely threatened, welcomed Johnson's talk of increased military aid. But he does not now want U.S. troops. Instead, his faith in U.S. resolution shaken, he is talking of shifting to a more neutral stance. Recently he apologized to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Nikolaev for being unable to like Communism, said he would welcome aid from any source. His apparent intent is not to swing Thailand into the Communist camp...