'My fingers are crossed'

To Saudi Arabian Charge d'Affaires Nabil H Ashri, Thailand has always been a country of contrasts.

It was a land of friendly smiles and a paradise for expatriates and tourists until his two friends were killed in 1990 in one of the three incidents that triggered a Thai-Saudi diplomatic meltdown. And just less than a week from now, the Kingdom may yet become a place that he hates to love.

Thailand has charmed him, in spite of all that happened two decades ago. There was no doubt about that during our exclusive interview with the young envoy, barely six days before the long-strained bilateral relations reach another make-or-break point. He loves the people, the islands, the rains and many other things.

If his most famous predecessor, Mohammed Said Khoja, felt the same, he didn't have a chance to show it and has always been remembered for a press photo of him aiming a pistol, an act more or less intended to dramatise the feeling of insecurity Saudi diplomats had at that time. Three more chargés d'affaires succeeded Khoja but the frozen relations meant they immediately sank into obscurity upon arrival.

IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Ashri came to Thailand three-and-a-half years ago, a posting he had not expected, and began to catch the Thai media spotlight in an un-Khoja way.

He has met every Thai prime minister since Thaksin Shinawatra, every justice minister and every foreign minister. In the Thai political context, you'll have to count that on both hands.

"I guess I'm different from Khoja, who's aggressive," he said in yesterday's interview. He pointed out that two of the Saudi diplomats killed in 1990 in Bangkok were his friends. The news stunned him when he was stationed in Vienna.

"I was shocked. But I had not the slightest idea at the time that one day I would be at the Bangkok embassy leading efforts on our part to solve these cases," he said.

He landed in Thailand at the beginning of its political crisis. The Cabinet's revolving doors sent him chasing shadows. A minister he met one day would lose his job in two months' time and he would have to start all over again. Only this Abhisit Cabinet looks stable enough to give him real hope.

THAILAND ALWAYS A SURPRISE

Cut-throat Thai politics surprised him. The envoy said when he got to know more about Thailand and its people, the political showdown was harder to explain. To him, it was like two separate worlds.

Bewildered or not, he's standing at the most crucial juncture of the troubled bilateral relations. Next Tuesday the prosecutors will decide whether to take five serving and former police officers to court for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of a Saudi businessman. Mohammad al-Ruwaili went missing after the Saudi diplomats' murders, and this missing person's case reaches the statute of limitations early next month.

The prosecutors were supposed to make the decision on December 29, but postponed it at the last minute after the key suspect, Provincial Police Region 5 commissioner Lt-General Somkid Boonthanom, submitted a petition calling the investigation unfair.

So, despite assurances from some government corners that there would be no further delay this time, the envoy is keeping his fingers crossed. "Until very late in the afternoon of December 28, I still had the same assurances," he said.

But Saudi Arabia's former black-belt taekwando star-turned-diplomat remains optimistic. He said he trusted that the delay stemmed from legal technicalities and not political interference.

"What I can say now is what I have said before in recent press statements - that we are quite hopeful after seeing this government's efforts to restore bilateral ties," he said.

Both countries must have been missing each other, he reiterated. Only a few thousand Thais are working in Saudi Arabia now, compared with nearly half a million two decades ago. While economic ties have picked up somewhat, he said there was still a huge gap to fill.

HOPING FOR THE BEST

The envoy acknowledged that Somkid's close ties with the ruling Democrats might present Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva with a dilemma. But he plans to convince Abhisit, whom he will meet on Monday - one day before the prosecutors' decision - that it is time to move the frozen relations forward.

As a foreigner who's undoubtedly fascinated by Thailand - "the best place for diplomats to be in Asia" - Ashri might face his own dilemma soon. If the prosecutors' decision goes the other way, that is.