Tue, July 29, 2008
The Nation
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag made headlines in local newspapers yesterday.
Naewna reported on how His Majesty the King wished Tej well on his mission to negotiate with his Cambodian counterpart over the Preah Vihear dispute. Matichon also led with the same story on its front page yesterday.
In a related story, the results of the vote in Cambodia in which Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party was projected to have won a majority on Sunday was also prominently featured in Thai-language dailies. The picture of Hun Sen raising a finger after voting appeared in local papers yesterday.
Krungthep Turakij said in its editorial that Tej's mission is to restore the country's integrity. Tej's first task was to meet with the Cambodian foreign minister yesterday to to sort out the dispute over Preah Vihear. The paper outlined Tej's solid credentials. His final position was as the permanent secretary to the Foreign Ministry.
The paper said that the Foreign Ministry's integrity under Noppadon Pattama was diminished to its lowest point ever. Noppadon was seen as lacking experience and credibility. Moreover, Noppadon was seen as having failed to act independently; he was unable to get rid of the public perception of him as Thaksin's lawyer. Regardless of his efforts to erase this image, Noppadon failed to earn the public's trust.
The last straw was his support for Cambodia's bid to nominate Preah Vihear as a world heritage site. Noppadon was accused of acting in favour of the Cambodian side to facilitate Thaksin's plan to invest in Cambodia's Koh Kong and explore the natural gas reservoir in the joint-development area between Thailand and Cambodia.
The mistrust that arose subsequently led to Noppadon's resignation and the sprouting up of conflicts all over, especially after Unesco agreed to register Preah Vihear as a world heritage site according to the request from Cambodia.
Krungthep Turakij said although Tej is a minister in the lame-duck government of Samak, he is the "only hope" for the country. Tej will have to negotiate and avoid putting Thailand at a disadvantage against Cambodia in the negotiations. The paper said that Tej has the burden of carrying the hopes of the country to restore Thailand's integrity in the eyes of the international community. Besides, he would have to avoid the perception that he is influenced by anyone, to avoid a repetition of the allegations that brought Noppadon, who was accused of acting on behalf of Thaksin, down.
The Nation
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag made headlines in local newspapers yesterday.
Naewna reported on how His Majesty the King wished Tej well on his mission to negotiate with his Cambodian counterpart over the Preah Vihear dispute. Matichon also led with the same story on its front page yesterday.
In a related story, the results of the vote in Cambodia in which Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party was projected to have won a majority on Sunday was also prominently featured in Thai-language dailies. The picture of Hun Sen raising a finger after voting appeared in local papers yesterday.
Krungthep Turakij said in its editorial that Tej's mission is to restore the country's integrity. Tej's first task was to meet with the Cambodian foreign minister yesterday to to sort out the dispute over Preah Vihear. The paper outlined Tej's solid credentials. His final position was as the permanent secretary to the Foreign Ministry.
The paper said that the Foreign Ministry's integrity under Noppadon Pattama was diminished to its lowest point ever. Noppadon was seen as lacking experience and credibility. Moreover, Noppadon was seen as having failed to act independently; he was unable to get rid of the public perception of him as Thaksin's lawyer. Regardless of his efforts to erase this image, Noppadon failed to earn the public's trust.
The last straw was his support for Cambodia's bid to nominate Preah Vihear as a world heritage site. Noppadon was accused of acting in favour of the Cambodian side to facilitate Thaksin's plan to invest in Cambodia's Koh Kong and explore the natural gas reservoir in the joint-development area between Thailand and Cambodia.
The mistrust that arose subsequently led to Noppadon's resignation and the sprouting up of conflicts all over, especially after Unesco agreed to register Preah Vihear as a world heritage site according to the request from Cambodia.
Krungthep Turakij said although Tej is a minister in the lame-duck government of Samak, he is the "only hope" for the country. Tej will have to negotiate and avoid putting Thailand at a disadvantage against Cambodia in the negotiations. The paper said that Tej has the burden of carrying the hopes of the country to restore Thailand's integrity in the eyes of the international community. Besides, he would have to avoid the perception that he is influenced by anyone, to avoid a repetition of the allegations that brought Noppadon, who was accused of acting on behalf of Thaksin, down.
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