U.S. drug charges cloud Thailand's political climate

U.S. drug charges cloud Thailand's political climate

BANGKOK (UPI): Thailand's foreign minister yesterday urged the United States to release evidence of alleged drug dealing by two powerful Thai politicians.

The drug allegations have strained relations between the U.S. and Thailand and put a dark cloud over the political prospects of the two-month-old government of Prime Minister Banharn Silpa- archa.

"Let us see the merits of the case," Banharn's foreign minister, Kasem Kasemsri, said when asked about the American charges. "I'm afraid the U.S. has been used as a political tool. This (release of evidence) will give them a chance to show their intentions."

The controversy stems from the U.S. Immigration Department's refusal to grant entry visas last year to two prominent members of Banharn's political party, Vatana Asavahame and Narong Wongwan, because of suspicions that they were involved in narcotics dealing.

Vatana, a member of parliament, has been mentioned as a candidate for interior minister, Thailand's top law-enforcement post.

Banharn assumed the post of interior minister himself after he took office in July in order to avoid a confrontation with the politically powerful Vatana.

The prime minister appointed a so-called "public hearings committee" on Wednesday to investigate the U.S. charges.

However, local political commentators and opposition leaders questioned Banharn's sincerity when he named Thanat Khoman, a veteran politician who consistently opposes U.S. policies, to head the committee.

An American Embassy official said the U.S. "had not been contacted directly by this committee (but) we are willing to cooperate to the extent that we are able to."

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said sensitive information such as criminal evidence normally would be passed through the foreign ministry and it was "unclear" how Thanat's committee would operate.

Chamni Sakdiset, the parliamentary whip of the opposition Democrat Party, was quoted Friday as saying Banharn had established the committee as a ploy to avoid appointing the two drug-tainted politicians to his cabinet.

"It's a story of strange bed-fellows, sleeping together but dreaming different dreams," he told the Bangkok Post. "The prime minister has his reasons for wanting to keep (Vatana and Narong) out of his cabinet as long as the public hearings committee fails to achieve results."

He said he expected the committee's work to drag on for a long time, delaying a confrontation with Vatana over his demands for a cabinet post.