Mission of Thailand press officer reacts to EU Reporter article

The letter below is printed by EU Reporter in the interests of fairness and allowing a right to reply - on two occasions, EU Reporter has offered the Thai ambassador to the EU the opportunity of an interview, but has received no reply nor acknowledgement. In addition, EU Reporter contacted the Thai Embassy on 8 December to request an interview. We had no response from the embassy.

Dear Publisher and Editor of EU Reporter,

I wish to refer to the EU Reporter’s article 'MEPs react angrily to Thailand refusal to allow former premier to visit Europe' by Martin Banks, published on 8 September 2015.

In the text of Banks’ article, there are several misleading pieces of information which will cause misunderstanding on the part of readers. In this regard, I wish to provide you and, through you, the readers with the following facts.

1. “In their original 7 October invitation, sent via the Thai ambassador to the EU, Brok and Langen said they wanted an exchange views on the political situation in Thailand, which they considered “worrying” following the coup.”

FACT: MEPs Brok and Langen DID NOT SEND the original 7 October invitation via the Thai Ambassador to the EU, as it clearly mentioned in the last paragraph of the letter from MEPs Brok and Langen to the Thai Ambassador that: “We usually address an invitation directly to the person concerned rather than going through government channels. However, we are pleased to share with you the invitation letter that had been sent to Ms. Shinawatra.” Please be informed that the original 7 October invitation “was shared” with the Thai Embassy on 30 November.

2. “The 2014 coup in which Shinawatra’s government was overthrown, was widely condemned by the United States, the European Union and Japan.”

FACT: Japan used the words “deeply regrettable” for her reaction to the 2014 military takeover. The US Secretary of State used the word “disappointed”. The Council of the EU used the words “extreme concern” and recently the European Parliament used the words “expressed its concerns”. Since when can such words be placed in the same class as “condemn”?

3. "In January, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Daniel Russel, met Shinawatra but not junta leader-cum-prime minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha.”

FACT: Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel called on H.E. General Tanasak Patimapragorn, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister on 26 January 2015 to discuss Thailand-US bilateral relations as well as their collaboration in the region.

I hope the above information will be passed on to Banks and to your readers, so that we can have a constructive debate based on facts, not sensationalization.

With best regards,

Montri Nathananan
Press Officer of the Mission of Thailand to the EU

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