Since the night of the Sept 19 coup last year, when Thaksin's television
broadcast from New York to declare a state of emergency was cut off by the
military, the junta muzzled the former prime minister's access to the Thai
press.
One year later, freedom of expression in Thailand, according to Freedom House,
a US-based watchdog, has plummeted from partially free in 2006 to non-free in
2007. Reporters Without Borders, an international press freedom watchdog,
downgraded the country's press freedom from 107 to 122 this year.
For example, early this year, when he could not respond in the Thai media to
the junta's slew of allegations against him, the former premier gave interviews
to the international media including Time (he was on the Feb 12, 2007 cover of
the magazine's Asian edition) and CNN (most Thais were unable to watch as it
was blocked from airwaves).
"When Thaksin appeared in the world press, the Thai media could not turn a
blind eye on him," explained Weerayut, adding that Thaksin hired three major
American public relations and lobbying firms to manage his image.
It is crucial for Thaksin to remain in the public's eyes in order for him to
claim legitimacy among Thais. The twice-elected prime minister needs to tell
them that it is unfair for him to be overthrown and he is innocent of
corruption and lese majeste (a French expression meaning "insulting the
monarchy") charges.
"If Thaksin does nothing, he would be forgotten and everyone would say (the
coup) was justified," explained the political writer.
The deposed politician's latest manoeuvre to overcome the media blackout,
observes Weerayut, was through "Thaksin ambassadors" such as Lydia, Sunisa
Lertpakawat, the 32-year-old author of Thaksin, Where Are You?, and Chanvit
Pholchivin, Thailand's national soccer team coach.
A few days after her sensational press conference, Lydia appeared on Thai
entertainment television programmes to turn a sex scandal into an opportunity
to discuss the goodness of Thaksin.
The junta, notes Weerayut, does not realise that Lydia's positive spin on
Thaksin is reaching the constituents they've been preventing him from
accessing.
"The military - that is not media savvy - is only concerned about (positive)
Thaksin stories appearing in news programmes such as CNN or BBC," he added.
Like Lydia's book (Lydia ? Here I am!), Thaksin is the hero in Sunisa's book
that offers a glimpse of the daily life of the self-exiled politician in
London. "The book humanises Thaksin as it shows that even a strongman can be an
ordinary person," said Weerayut.
"It created a lot of sympathy for Thaksin. And the public's reaction was you've
(the junta) kicked Thaksin out but don't kill him (figuratively) as that's not
the Thai way," he added.
The local media have also run stories about Chanvit's experience chaperoning
three Thai national football players who were invited for a trial with
Thaksin-owned Manchester City. The message indirectly conveyed by the coach is:
although Thaksin is away from Thailand for one year, he is still doing
something for Thais. Who, I wonder, will be the next Thaksin ambassadress to
slip through the military-issued barbed wire that encircles the Thai press.
