It is preposterous for caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former House speaker Bhokin Bhalakula to keep comparing Thai and Burmese elections.

Their comments show their complete ignorance of political developments in Thailand's neighbouring countries.

When Thaksin showed up yesterday morning at the National Stadium, the venue for the April 2 electoral registration, he attacked the opposition parties, which have decided to boycott the poll. He said they should learn from the imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy.

Thaksin said proudly that Suu Kyi was dying to have an election in Burma. In Thailand, the Democrats do not want to take part in an election. They should ask Suu Kyi, he said.

It was the same point mentioned by Bhokin on Wednesday night during a talk show, when he tried to answer questions related to the boycott. He said the Nobel peace prize laureate had been asking for an election and wanted to take part.

Thaksin and Bhokin are foolish in associating the two electoral processes. One is under a military dictatorship, the other is a democratic one. Trying to lead the Thai public to think that the electoral systems in the two countries are similar shows a high sense of ignorance. They try to muddle through by propagating these lies to the Thai people and TV audiences. Indeed, both of them need to take a history lesson on Southeast Asia.

First of all, the National League for Democracy was robbed of the 1990 election, which it won by a huge majority. That was the last time Burma had an election. The military junta, which took power in 1998, is trying to win international support now by drafting a new constitution and calling for a new election in the future.

The Burmese regime, officially called the State Peace and Development Council, happens to be a good friend of Thaksin, who has established strong ties with the junta leaders since he came to power in 2001. Thaksin has had telecom business interests to take care of inside Burma.

Thaksin should know better that it is his strong support of Burma that has tarnished Thailand's reputation in the international community. While the Asean countries have been critical of Burma's continued political suppression, Thaksin has been silent. Increasingly, Thailand has been isolated on the issue of Burma.

By comparing the Thai and Burmese electoral processes, Thaksin is doing Thailand a disservice in assuming they are no different. For instance, he should know better than any one that Thailand does not arrest opposition leaders and put them in jail for 14 years.

Three major opposition parties in Thailand are refusing to take part in the snap election because they want Thaksin to resign as he no longer has the moral authority or legitimacy to govern the country. They view the election as a way to re-legitimise Thaksin even though he has failed to answer numerous allegations levelled against him on corruption charges.

Therefore, it is on that basis that they have called for disobedience, which is completely different from the situation in Burma.

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation