Thaksino Shinawatore | 10.04.05

Sam Zarifi, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asian division, wrote in his article titled “The Great Thai Media Muzzler”:

Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra, a media mogul turned Prime Minister who’s brought a tough-guy stance and right-of-centre politics to government, has often been characterized as an Asian version of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. But, increasingly, Thais are invoking the name of an earlier, more infamous, Italian political figure in comparison.

And that would be… Maserati? No, Marcorossi! No, Mustachio! Oh, oh, I know, it’s Macaroni!

Okay, I give in. This no-so-great Thai Thaksin voter doesn't know which Italian figure my countrymen are invoking (and "increasingly" so!) in comparison with the prime minister. I do realize that some crude journalists and so-called academics take to comparing him to Hitler, who is far and away the most invokable figure for the history illiterates that unfortunately make up the vast majority of Thai people (especially in the media and the “academia”). But then Hitler's German, I think.

I mean, really, we Thais are so bad at history that most wouldn’t be able to tell you who Mussolini… Wait a minute, Zarifi was talking about Mussolini? He sure is a funny man, this Zarifi. Perhaps he can quantify for us the Thais who were increasingly reminded of Mussolini by Thaksin. I hope for the sake of his grammar that the number is more than one. And even in those few cases, he would still have to ensure people weren’t being nostalgic, since of course Thailand sided with the Axis Powers in World War II.

If Zarifi wouldn’t let facts get in the way of a moderately cute preamble like that, then what chance would they stand against a good story: (from the same article)

At one of Thailand’s largest English-language newspapers, the Bangkok Post, Veera Prateepchaikul was reportedly removed from his post as editor to stifle the paper’s criticisms of Mr. Thaksin and his government’s mishandling of the bird-flu crisis.

[Link added, naturally]

We all know the answer.

P.S. Everyone also knows that Thaksin was a telecom mogul before entering politics. Why this “media mogul” falsehood when you get neither a good turn of phrase nor a good story in return? Does Zarifi dislike facts (and with them his reputation) that much?

20:13 ▪ politics

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