Mystery paper is pro-PM
Hundreds of copies of an anonymous eight-page pro-government newspaper were dumped in downtown Bangkok yesterday.
The paper looks to be a sign of desperation and apparent unhappiness about the uncontrollable print media, which has become increasingly critical of the prime minister.The tabloid, with the banner, "Newspaper to Save the Country", viciously attacks anti-Thaksin leaders such as media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, political scientist Chai-anan Samudavanij, Maj-General Chamlong Srimuang and Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Korn Chatikavanij. The paper, found at places such as the National Stadium bus stop, also contains two pages praising Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and claims the country has become "strong" under his five-year rule. The attacks on Sondhi include a claim that Sondhi's previous non-performing loan of about Bt53 million was in fact a bad debt that the provident-fund for employees of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand - who supported the anti-Thaksin campaign - had to write off. On page seven, it claims that the Samudavanij clans are in fact cronies of Sondhi, saying: "They are closer than real relatives." The tabloid also claims that the rector of Thammasat University and president of Chulalongkorn University were happy with Thaksin's performance and would help him amend the constitution soon. Pravit Rojanaphruk The Nation
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