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[Hedda]

There's an old saying that it's better to say noting than to open your mouth and prove how dumb you are. Thailand's Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, the man who called PAD's seizure of the airports "fun," and who got rewarded by being made Abhisit's foreign minister, had given an interview to Der Spiegel which is astounding in parts. Here are some highlights:

He initially says that there are no social divisions in Thailand and that "they were created by the red shirts six months ago." But when asked five what his government intends to do to reconcile people, he says "Problems faced by Thai society have accumulated over the years. Although they did not start during our time in government."

He says red shirts leaders are Marxist-Leninists whose claims of class disparities "have been accepted by the leftist media around the world." When asked why there is so much corruption in Thai society, his responds that "the one who has instigated all this corruption was the former prime minister Thaksin."

When asked why the Thai government claims to be democratic but blocks thousands of opposition websites, he claims: "Those sites were attacking the prime minister and the royal family in a very inappropriate manner. Would you allow that in Germany?

SPIEGEL: The German government doesn't block thousands of Web sites.

Kasit: The German media does not use inappropriate language like the Thai media."

When asked to defend lese majeste, he responds: "Of course it has been abused! Many people abused it on all sides."

When asked to explain why the Thai army killed and injured so many protesters, he says: " I don't know about that. You should wait for the results of the investigation. We have nothing to hide. Let the truth come out. But one should not prejudge the outcome of the inquiry. Do not specify that the army killed the people without evidence."

SPIEGEL: What do you think? Who shot the people, if not the army?

Kasit: Look at German history: What happened when Joschka Fischer was on the streets in Frankfurt? Wasn't there shooting at that time? It is also possible that the Red Shirts were shooting among themselves in order to pass the blame to the government.

Finally:

SPIEGEL: There have been 18 military coups since 1932. Can you really call Thailand a democracy?

Kasit: That is a very unfair question. It takes a lot of time to become a full-fledged democratic society. We are struggling with ourselves. Having said that, despite the challenges we have faced, we have never deviated far from the road to democracy which is what the Thai people want. Look at Germany: How did you end up with Hitler?

The full interview: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/...06552-2,00.html

[UncleSam]

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"It is also possible that the Red Shirts were shooting among themselves in order to pass the blame to the government."

I can see Jonathan Winters using this script for an HBO comedy sketch.

Hehehe.....

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