http://www.nationmultimedia.com/poli...-30175819.html
Burning issue
Guess who's coming for lunch?
Avudh Panananda
The Nation February 14, 2012 1:00 am
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A simple meal last week put Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the limelight for all the wrong reasons.
There were two confusing stories hyping up the drama, while Yingluck and her spokesman made matters worse by denying sexual misconduct even before salacious rumours started circulating.
The lunch in question was a private function scheduled well in advance. After all, it is not unusual for government leaders to set aside time for private and personal affairs.
The PM's security detail was using the walkie-talkie code Wo5, indicating that it was Yingluck's personal time, while reporters on the beat were kind enough to suspend coverage for that duration.
Yet last Wednesday Yingluck and her security detail made a grand entrance at the Four Seasons Hotel in full view of the public and hotel staff. She then proceeded to the lunch at a suite on the 8th floor, not the 7th floor as speculated earlier. The waiting staff and her bodyguards had her in their line of vision for the entire two hours.
The story should have easily ended once the lunch concluded. However, a second story emerged to fuel more intrigue.
Well-known government critic Akeyuth Anchanbutr started telling the world via social media about how he was assaulted by an unidentified man about 10 minutes after Yingluck had left the premises. In his remarks, he implied he had become a victim because he was curious about who Yingluck's luncheon host was, even though he never made any outright accusations or gave any names. However, he did provide enough hints for people to connect the dots.
Whether it was by accident or design, he happened to be in the hotel at the same time as Yingluck and was allegedly attacked without any provocation or clear reason.
Akeyuth was having a cup of coffee in the Parichart Courtyard - an area that the premier would not have had to pass when she arrived or departed, so he could not have seen Yingluck. Plus, he would not have been in a position to know what had transpired at the lunch, which was obviously off-limits to hotel guests.
As news of the attack began circulating in the social media-sphere, the name of real-estate developer Srettha Thavisin started coming up. Akeyuth had, after all, mentioned that Srettha was seen at the hotel and even hinted that maybe he had hosted the lunch.
Akeyuth also made sweeping remarks implying that his being attacked was linked with the luncheon, though he presented no evidence to back his allegations.
He said his attacker looked like a man who had close ties with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, yet he refused to lodge a police complaint.
In addition, publicity about the alleged attack on Akeyuth increased exponentially after the Democrats started raising doubt about Srettha's land speculation and social-media users started gossiping about Srettha being Yingluck's old flame.
Ruling party and the government spokespeople rushed to deny there was a romantic angle to the lunch - but that only ended up stirring more prurient interest.
Speculation over the Yingluck-Srettha-Akeyuth saga is expected to swirl around for another week or so before the public moves on to a new drama. Like all previous political mysteries, the Akeyuth "attack" seems likely to end as a cold case.
