The UN Secretary General candidacy of Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakaiart Sathirathai has been stalled due to political problems in his home country. Another one of the problems is that former Thai representative to the UN, Asda Jayanama, has declared his candidacy unsuitable.
So what do they do? They file a defamation lawsuit:
Mr Wichit said the team is reviewing the speech of Asda Jayanama, former permanent Thai representative to the United Nations, against caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai during an anti-Thaksin protest. He said Mr Asda's remarks were defamatory.
During the rally on Ratchadamnoen avenue, Mr Asda questioned Mr Surakiart's ability to compete for the UN secretary-general post.
As the rest of this article indicates, his party is pursuing similar suits against critics of other government officials.
July 21, 2006 at 7:35 pm
[...] This is not the first time that Sathirathai has been attacked within his own country. His government is currently suing a former Ambassador to the UN for calling Sathirathai unqualified. There have been similar accusations about both Ban Ki-moon and the countries that support him. Our summary is here. [...]