Word: sondhi
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...past conflicts, Thais have often turned to their revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, for guidance. The King has yet to directly address the standoff between Thaksin and his opponents. But Thailand's army chief General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, who is close to the palace, told reporters last week that "His Majesty must have been saddened" by the nation's recent political problems. Added another senior officer, Lieutenant-General Palangoon Klaharn: "His Majesty will be very happy if his subjects are unified and use peaceful means to resolve the problem." For the sake of the country, many Thais pray that the King...
...During the early 1990s Sondhi's Manager Media Group owned an assortment of magazines, newspapers and satellite channels. In Bangkok and other Asian cities, Sondhi was a fixture on the social circuit. "I was a very arrogant young man at that time," he recalls. In Bangkok, he met another upcoming media tycoon. Thaksin and he "were never friends, only acquaintances," Sondhi insists. But soon they were doing business together. In 1992, Thaksin invested in the share offering of IEC, a mobile-phone handset distributor that Sondhi had bought and which sold handsets to Shin subsidiary...
...when the financial crisis hit Asia, Sondhi came down to earth. His media group crumpled, and by 2000 he was declared bankrupt. The following year, however, Sondhi's fortunes revived. His group was still in the hands of creditors, but he started new companies that won contracts to produce prime-time shows on state-owned television. State-owned lender Krung Thai Bank backed him, and Sondhi eulogized Thaksin's leadership and economic prowess-something that he now says was an error...
...clear why the two men fell out, but last September a talk show co-hosted by Sondhi was canceled by state television after he accused Thaksin of abusing his power. Sondhi began staging weekly outdoor shows, drawing tens of thousands to a park in Bangkok after work on Fridays. He aired allegations of corruption against Thaksin and his family, sparking criminal and civil lawsuits from the Prime Minister. But the suits were dropped after Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej said in an annual televised birthday speech on Dec. 4 that government officials should not over-react to criticism or consult...
...Sondhi now seems to have just one aim in life: to topple Thaksin. He says he will move beyond street protests to building a "grand coalition" with academics and other activists. "This has become a national agenda," he told TIME. In his weekly radio address on Feb. 4, the Prime Minister said Sondhi was taking him on for personal reasons because he refused to help Sondhi out in a business venture. Sondhi fires back: "I'm doing this for principle ... [Thaksin] has betrayed the people's trust...