Thai Credibility Shattered by Deceit

Stung by lies told by Thai leaders over the bird-flu epidemic, the EU will find it difficult to trust Thailand again

The Thai leaders must have the courage to apologise to David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection of the EU, after being caught red-handed lying to him about the existence of bird flu. Byrne has been portrayed as a fool by both the European media and his colleagues because he believed the words of Thailand's leaders. Certainly, he should have questioned them before being taken in, but then who would have thought that the Thai leaders would be so bold as to attempt to cover up an epidemic? Byrne will apparently have to immerse himself in the local political culture before ever doing business with Thailand again.

A telex from the outgoing Thai Ambassador to the European Commission Surapong Posayanonda detailed a conversation between him and Martin Power, the head of Byrne's cabinet. It revealed a culture of deceit under which mistakes made by Thai leaders were covered up by subordinates. The envoy, who is a pleasant and decent diplomat, had to do just that. And it proved to be too much for him, so he quit, effective in April.

As the telex showed, Power used strong language to express his disgust over the lack of credibility of the Thai leaders, who told his boss that there was no evidence of bird flu even though at that time it had been established that the disease existed. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin, who met with Byrne and briefed him on the bird flu, should have been more candid and told the truth. But what incentive did they have to do so? They have foisted deceptive schemes on the Thai public so many times already. To date, no one has been held responsible for the epidemic and failed cover-up.

The Thai people should realise by now that the government's handling of the bird-flu outbreak was really a systematic, large-scale cover-up. The Thai leaders also cynically used Byrne's words, based on their own lies, to lend credibility to their cover-up attempt and to spread the lie to the world that Thailand had no bird flu.

The words of the Thai leaders at that time had no creditability anyway. Byrne just happened to be the first foreign leader to visit Thailand, and he was used mercilessly. This is the first time that the government has been caught in such a diplomatic fiasco. The European Commission lost face and therefore it had to be frank with Thailand. Future EU-Thai relations are now at stake and will be under constant close scrutiny.

Since last month's international meeting on preventing bird flu, the government has become more confident. It believes that the country's image has improved a bit. Since then, the government has welcomed foreign experts and assistance to help contain the epidemic. In normal times, Thaksin might have rejected the idea of accepting foreign assistance as unpatriotic.

After all, he has declared repeatedly that Thailand is an independent nation, capable not just of standing on its own feet, but also of becoming a donor country, reaching out to help poorer neighbours, well on its way to joining the ranks of the coveted First World club.

It is a good lesson for all of us to note that when the government starts to make a habit of taking people for granted to help it tell lies, something is amiss.

The Thai public must begin to ask itself what sort of gullible, ignorant fools the powers-that-be take it for. What have we done to deserve this contempt and deceit?