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Published on October 28, 2007

It looked this way after the first day of Samak's revelation. It was in fact suspected that he was being above board when he lamented possibly being a victim of political assassination.

The public was shocked, to a certain extent, to learn that classified documents of such significance were leaked through certain channels to the People Power Party, which declared itself to be Thaksin's political nominee party at the time of its inception. The shock was deepened by the fact that it was Samak who made the disclosure.

Samak's rhetoric and tantrums have lowered the public's belief in the authenticity of the documents considerably.

Judging from Samak's track record when it comes to revealing documents in and outside the House of Representatives throughout his political career, a strong possibility exists that the papers were either doctored or fake.

Critics have regarded Samak as a politician who cries wolf, with several libel suits against him to back this claim. He came very close to serving jail time for libel and defamation suits and he is currently appealing another libel suit, which marked him for a two-year jail term.

With his long experience in gutter politics, Samak should have sensed that there was something odd with the documents and that someone might have set him up for more trouble with military authorities and the Election Commission.

In fact, the September 19 military coup was staged to boot out Thaksin and his cronies from power following years of corruption scandals and self-serving activities. Any campaign to uproot the remnants of the deposed leader's regime would not be unusual. Such campaigns are necessary, but the Surayud government did not pursue this mission, much to the dismay of the CNS leaders.

In other countries with a cut-throat political tradition, purges of corrupt politicians are usually bloody and brutal. In Thailand's case, not a single shot was fired and no blood was spilled. Even so, democracy-loving people condemned it without looking at the big picture.

What happened after the initial excitement of Samak's disclosure? The CNS came out with a denial initially. Then Surayud admitted that the papers might have been genuine, for reasons only he knows, with a senior military figure later pointing to the possibility that the documents might have been doctored and adapted to cause harm to the armed forces.

Samak must have realised that such documents, which seemed to give him an obvious upper hand, might eventually turn out to be false. After the uproar, the Election Commission (EC) was curious as to whether the classified documents were authentic, particularly as they related to Samak's claim that he might have been marked for death.

The EC demanded to see the papers and the People Power Party was initially happy to let the EC investigate. After sensing the possibility that the papers might be false, the party delayed a meeting with the EC. They wanted more time to study the papers and discuss its consequences.

For those who understand the mechanisms of entrapment and disinformation, it is not difficult to convert authentic classified documents into doctored or fake ones to circumvent an inconvenient truth, so to speak. Samak's papers, which he thought had given him the upper hand, have put him in a precarious situation.

Samak must have sensed again that he could have been set up. That's why he refused to show up with the documents at the EC's office. The People Power Party assigned a political greenhorn to handle the messenger's task but decided later to postpone the submission.

If the papers were doctored and Samak's claims were his own exaggerations, he and his party would be in serious trouble. Making false allegations for the benefit of political campaigns could lead to a trial by the Constitution Tribunal. What the verdict would be is anybody's guess, but surely this would not be pleasant for Samak and the People Power Party.

That's why Samak has become quiet after his big show, something seemingly unusual for a man of his character and habits. The political slam dunk might see the outspoken and combative politician, now long past his time, lying flat on the floor to be laughed at by political watchers.

A call for a free and fair election is wishful thinking, especially with the complicated and cumbersome rules set by the EC. With more than 60 parties registered, it is impossible for government officials, the media and others to put all contenders on a level playing field.

Unfair practices began with the inception of the political parties. Those parties with big money are competing with also-rans with negligible campaign funds who simply joined the race to see themselves in contention.

The world of politics is unfair. Neutrality is non-existent. Yet some people still demand to have the impossible.

Sopon Onkgara