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Published on July 15, 2007

Some academics and university lecturers, Western-trained and obsessed with the idea that democracy must come from elections only, are against the new charter. They seem not to consider what they would do if Thaksin were still around with his unassailable power base and money from government coffers and questionable sources.

Let's deal with the problems at hand and explore how we should deal with Thaksin to prevent his attempts to derail the new charter and cause other political troubles.

No doubt Thaksin is more than angry after the freezing of more than Bt65 billion of his assets. That's just peanuts, as we know that he has at least Bt200 billion stashed abroad in various places, such as in savings accounts and investments in funds and securities through nominees here and abroad.

One way to cause him sleepless nights would be to bring the battle to his place of refuge, England, rather than letting him go on about the lack of democracy and military dictatorship here. There are tough laws in England dealing with political crooks who use their dirty money to live luxurious lives amidst the poverty and hardships of their fellow countrymen.

Thaksin has been boasting about his purchase of Manchester City, but until money has been paid and shares have changed hands, many will remain sceptical that such a deal will materialise. It could be another political gimmick or a public-relations stunt on Thaksin's part. Now he is making the most out of it.

The government can cause him more trouble by hiring a high-profile law firm to sue him in England, calling for the Manchester City deal to be stalled or the shares to be frozen on the grounds that the money to be spent on the shares left the country without the due permission of the Bank of Thailand.

Who here would have the guts and nerve to go after Thaksin's hot money with government agencies still engaged in managerial buck-passing in order to avoid getting involved in a highly complex issue?

This problem would be solved if they let English lawyers handle the task. We have the money to pay, of course, especially if we can recover a big chunk of Thaksin's assets hidden abroad. It will be a win-win situation for the law firm and the government, not to mention for taxpayers whose money Thaksin and his cronies took away.

Submitting an emergency request to the English high court would take just a few days. We can also inform the British Embassy here of our intentions and let the British people know that they should not consort with suspected notorious criminals, who might buy a fairly well known football club with dirty money.

Seeking litigation in England does not mean that our courts or judicial system would lose sovereignty. Such a move would be an extension of our efforts to get Thaksin through legal means to ensure that criminal proceedings in Thailand and in England complement one another, and to let the world know that this man who brags about his good deeds is not who they perceive him to be.

There is also a suggestion that Thaksin and his lawyers here have insisted that they would not want to defend themselves in Thailand because they fear that the courts would be under the influence of the Council for National Security and the government.

That's hogwash, as we all know. Thaksin and his family do not want "justice" in court. What they actually want is to get off the hook. If full justice is served, it is highly possible, if not certain, that they will all serve time for a series of high crimes, all reflecting a betrayal of the public trust.

Refusing not to appear in court or accept the trial system here on whatever grounds could be easily interpreted as contempt of court, and the court could hand down a punishment to Thaksin and his lawyers without a trial if it so desired.

Destruction of his credibility abroad, which might not be much now, is an effective means to prevent his self-proclaimed supremacy and hollow self-righteousness from fooling some people who still want his money.

Loose lips serve as their own trap. Thaksin and his lawyers are using their mouths to open the jail doors for themselves. Their mouths are the most fearsome weapons they face. It they had shut up, things would have quieted down.

Now we know how to deal with Thaksin by engaging him in more criminal and civil cases abroad. The question is who is going to get it done, because Thaksin still has cronies in high public office here, and some of our guys want to bleed him dry before dealing with him conclusively.

Regardless of what the powers that be want to do with Thaksin, they at least must level and be honest with the people. Otherwise their fate will eventually not be much different from that of the man who is causing them more than a headache now.

Sopon Onkgara