TOKYO (Jan 23, 2007): Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra expressed his wish to return to Thailand as soon as security is restored there, and complained that last September's coup robbed his country of constitutional rule.

Thaksin, who landed in Tokyo Thursday (Jan 18) night on a private visit, told Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily that Thailand had lost the trust of the international community because of the Sept 19 coup d'etat.

As a result, he said, the current military-installed government is not going to be well received internationally.

"The respect of the rule of law and the justice system (by the international community)" is at stake, Thaksin was quoted as saying.

"What international society worries about is that if the government under a coup d'etat abolishes the Constitution, the rule of law will not be observed."

Thaksin himself was accused of flouting the country's constitution during his rule from 2001-2006. Before he was deposed by the coup, thousands of anti-Thaksin demonstrators accused him of dictatorial rule.

The current military-backed government has accused him of trying to undermine the country's stability. A visit last week to Singapore, where Thaksin gave interviews to international news organisations and met with the city-state's deputy prime minister, outraged the Thai government and soured Bangkok-Singapore ties.

Thaksin has been in unofficial exile in London and Beijing sincethe bloodless military coup on Sept 19, which took place when he was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Since his arrival, he has met with several Japanese acquaintances in the business and political fields, while claiming the purpose of his Japan visit was "sightseeing," according to the paper today.

Thaksin felt compelled to say that he was not involved in a series of terrorist bombings in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, he told the press.

Since the September coup has damaged Thailand's credibility in the international community, the former prime minister called for a quick restoration of democratic rule.

"Thais have enjoyed democracy and never want to be under a dictatorship or a non-democratic government," he said. "But they can be patient and tolerate such things to some extent, but not for too long."

Unless Thailand restores democratic leadership, it would fall behind the global competition and fail to take advantage of business opportunities, Thaksin said.

He said he had no more political ambitions but wished to return to his homeland as soon as his safety is assured. He expressed his intention to devote himself to charitable and religious work when he returns.

"I am waiting for the situation to go back to normal, because I want to urge the military government to restore unity to the Thai people," he told the newspaper.

"I think I can be useful for the country. I can tell my supporters, 'OK, it's time that we should unite'."

He claimed that during his premiership, he pushed reform, trying to build a democracy that respected the voices of the poor and developed the nation's economy by intensifying competition. - dpa

UN chief wants audit of certain UN funds abroad

UNITED NATIONS (Jan 23, 2007): U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon yesterday called for external audits of some U.N. programmes to see if they were free of government interference but softened earlier statements on the scope of the probe.

Ban was reacting to U.S. criticism that the U.N. Development Fund, or UNDP, was channeling hard currency into the hands of North Korea's rulers by paying local staff, recruited by the government, in euros.

Ban on Friday (Jan 19) had called for a "systemwide and external inquiry" into "all" U.N. funds and programmes, a task that would be costly and take many years.

Yesterday's U.N. statement said Ban would assign auditors only to U.N. funds and programmes "in countries where issues of hard currency transactions, independence of staff hiring and access to reviewing local projects are pertinent."

Audits would be "simultaneously carried out in select cases of countries" identified by the funds and programmes, it said.

Funding for the project must first be approved by the U.N. General Assembly's budget committee.

UNDP has said there was no reason to believe that programmes were subverted in North Korea. UNDP has some 20 projects in North Korea on economic, social, the environment and food management. Its board meets on Thursday (Jan 25).

Mark Wallace, the U.S. envoy for U.N. financial management, accused UNDP in a letter last week of violating rules by hiring North Korean government officials and by paying salaries in cash through the government.

Ad Melkert, the UNDP associate administrator, said on Friday the agency would by March 1 start paying North Korean staff in won, the local currency. He said only a small part of the programme was administered by North Korea.

Wallace, a member of the UNDP board, also insisted that all UNDP board members receive copies of all audits rather than just be allowed to read them. And he said staff procuring UNDP supplies should be regularly rotated.

UNDP spends some US$2 million to US$3 million a year in North Korea, including US$100,000 for local salaries. It has some 16 North Koreans and four international staff. The agency said North Korea handled just US$337,000 in UNDP funds over two years.

TWO OTHER PROGRAMS COULD BE AFFECTED

Two other U.N. agencies, the U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF and the World Food Programme, both headed by Americans, have used similar practices in North Korea, officials said.

UNICEF said it had not yet decided to change its practices in North Korea. "We do pay national staff through the host government in euros. There has been no decision at this point to change that," said Geoffrey Keele, a UNICEF spokesman.

Wallace this month also urged UNICEF "to strengthen its oversight and monitoring mechanisms in delivering assistance to the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) to ensure that assistance is not diverted from the North Korean people."

He said the United States was "deeply concerned that the assistance provided by UNICEF in the DPRK is actually going to its intended purpose - the North Korean people - and not the DPRK government. He made a brief statement to the UNICEF board on Jan 18 that was transmitted to Reuters yesterday.

In his reform efforts, Ban also announced he would open 12 posts in his office that could be filled by staff from other departments in an effort to encourage mobility so employees are not stuck in one job forever.

He asked other managers in the bureaucracy to follow his example, although this was not compulsory, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said, adding that he was working for a more comprehensive mobility programme later in the year. - Reuters