inside the glass house

Thais in dirty campaign to win UN hot seat
NEW YORK - Less than 12 months before the UN picks a new Secretary-General to head the world body, the election campaign is picking up steam as it rumbles along.

As of now, the two officially declared candidates are Jayantha Dhanapala, the former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and ex-chief of the Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, a onetime Foreign Minister of Thailand.

Waiting on the sidelines is South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, who is touted as a possible third contender for the job, which rightfully belongs to Asia, this time around.

But the most aggressive so far are the Thais who are running a rather unorthodox and undiplomatic campaign lacking both dignity and decorum for a job that requires both.

At a close door working dinner of ASEAN foreign ministers in early December -- the transcript of which was made available to us -- Surakiart said that "many think that the Sri Lankan is not a serious candidate".

In New York, the Thais have also been allegedly spreading a rumour -- denied vehemently by Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam -- that Sri Lanka plans to withdraw Dhanapala's candidature.

As a morale booster, the Thais also claim that about 110 member states (of a total of 191) have declared their support for Surakiart. The credibility of that un-Gallup poll is very much in doubt.

But the joke at the UN is that all 110 countries have been assured high ranking jobs -- if and when the Thai candidate is elected Secretary-General.

So it came as no surprise that the joke took a more serious turn a couple of months ago when a senior Thai official sought a one-on-one meeting with former Foreign Minister Anura Bandaranaike.

The Thai official had a secret "unofficial" message: if the government of Sri Lanka formally withdraws Dhanapala's candidature, Surakiart would be willing to give Dhanapala any job he seeks in the UN system. But the offer was rejected outright.

At a time when the UN is fighting charges of fraud and corruption, how suitable is a candidate for the job of Secretary-General when he offers a virtual bribe in his quest to seek the high office?

But in order to cover his tracks, the senior Thai official made it clear that the offer was "unofficial" and not sanctioned by the Thai government. The story of the offer was kept under wraps until it hit the pages of the Bangkok newspaper 'The Nation' last week.

Asda Jayanama, a former Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN, broke the story with the comment: "This astonishing proposal was rejected by Sri Lanka because, it was explained, its candidate was more than qualified to be Secretary-General."Speaking from Bangkok, Asda told The Sunday Times that the current campaign by Surakiart has made the election campaign one of the worst in UN history.

"It's a disgrace for Thai diplomacy," he said, "If the Secretary-General's job can be won over by bribery, the very institution is in danger of being degraded and demeaned.

He said that in its game of hard ball diplomacy, the Thai government also turned down a request for extra security during a planned visit to Thailand by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. When this was refused, Kumaratunga decided to skip Bangkok from her itinerary.

In the article published in 'The Nation' last week, Asda said he was puzzled why Surakiart "would want to aggravate further his already wobbly international standing by running such a clumsy, unethical and uncouth campaign (for the job of Secretary-General)".

An equally big political bombshell last week was the revelation of a letter written by the outgoing Thai Ambassador to the United States who advised Surakiart to withdraw his candidature because he lacks support to win the post.

In a telex message sent to the Foreign Ministry in September this year, Thai Ambassador Kasit Piromya said that current and former US secretaries of state "appear unresponsive" to Thailand's candidate "and that it was not too late to withdraw his candidacy".

The telex also said it would not be embarrassing to withdraw Surakiart's candidacy at this time, but suggested a tactical withdrawal sooner rather than later.

US President George W Bush had apparently implied that Surakiart was "not a brand name and unmarketable in the areas of human rights, democracy and leadership".

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