Thailand's Leader Says He is not a Dictator by Phairath Khampha 17 April 2002 Asserting that he is not a dictator, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra defended his abrasive style of governance, saying he needs to "punch things" for the good of the country. Mr Thaksin made the comments in an interview with the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review magazine whose two reporters earlier in 2002 had been threatened with expulsion from Thailand for supposedly insulting the revered monarchy. Excerpts of the interview were published in the magazine's April 4 issue. "I am not a dictator," Mr Thaksin was quoted as saying in the interview. "I always listen to people, but sometimes I speak too much," he said. The review said Mr Thaksin acknowledged that his forceful, hands-on style of rule had rubbed some people the wrong way. "I need to punch things, otherwise nothing gets changed," he said, adding: "You have to be strong. Sometimes I am too strong and that is my weak point. I never worry about my face, but I worry about the success of the government." Mr Thaksin faced increasing criticism by the domestic media, academics and politicians for his perceived authoritarian style and his intolerance of criticism. Many of them said that the press in Thailand, one of the freest in the region, was being stifled by Mr Thaksin. But Mr Thaksin accused the local media of being unfair to him because he came from a business background. Mr Thaksin, one of the richest men in Thailand, was the founder of a telecommunications empire that was now run by his family. "They attack unfairly. I'm trying to forget. But they never forget," Mr Thaksin said, and rejected charges that he has used his business empire to assert leverage over the media through the group's advertising accounts. "I never asked any press to say something good about me. I just ask for fairness. I don't need criticism - just give me justice, a fair report," he said. In February, the government ordered the Review's Bangkok bureau chief Shawn Crispin and Bangkok correspondent Rodney Tasker expelled from Thailand after the magazine published an article in January, saying there were tensions between Mr Thaksin and King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the revered constitutional monarch. The expulsion orders were revoked after the magazine apologised, even though what the magazine reported was quite true. The interview with Mr Thaksin was conducted on March 27 by Tasker and its editor, Michael Vatikiotis. The government also banned an issue of the Economist magazine for an article deemed critical and took off the air a news program produced by the Nation Group and broadcast on a military radio station.