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On the Fiddle

The music and political worlds went into shock yesterday when the International Violin Competition Executive (known by its French acronym VICE) banned Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha from all international violin competitions for four years.  The ban follows an investigation that revealed ‘irregularities’ into the way Gen Prayut was invited to participate in the prestigious Paganini Competition held last year. 

The Premio Paganini is held annually in Genoa and is recognized by the World Federation of International Music Competitions in Geneva.  It is almost unprecedented for a competitor, especially an unsuccessful one as Gen Prayut was, to be banned in this way and observers believe that the reputation of this competition has been severely damaged by the scandal.

Many in Thailand were surprised to hear that Gen Prayut had entered a music competition.  His daughters had formed a punk rock band in their younger days (in conformity with the 12 Thai values, of course) but their father was not known to be musical.

‘In fact, I have played the violin since secondary school,’ said the General.  ‘You might be surprised how many military men are pretty good at fiddling.  We have a lot of strings to our bow.  Or at least we can pull a lot of strings.  And I’ve always dreamed of representing my country in a big competition like this, er, Pickaninny thing.’

Questions arose as to how Gen Prayut qualified for the competition when in the preliminary round, the audience listened to the other competitors each performing the mandatory

Caprices of Paganini, while Gen Prayut scraped his way through a barely passable rendition of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’.  This did, however, receive a round of rapturous applause from a contingent of Thai ‘music-lovers’ that had been bussed in by the Rome Embassy. 

Observers were also puzzled as to how a General in his final year before retirement could enter a competition that is restricted to those below 31 years of age.  The VICE investigation revealed that Gen Prayut’s application documents were misleading and incomplete.  The required recording samples of past performances appear to have been faked and the photograph of a suspiciously youthful Gen Prayut shows him in the uniform of a Sub-Lieutenant.  

An extensive and damning e-mail correspondence was also unearthed between certain competition organizers and Gen Prayut’s management company, Armed Forces Solutions, Inc., registered in the Cayman Islands.  This makes reference to substantial payments to numbered accounts, though the company has claimed that these are not connected to the Paganini and can be accounted for by their normal money-laundering activities.

It seems that with the support of the Thai Ministry of Culture, four bogus minor competitions had been set up in Slovenia with the connivance of corrupt VICE officials.  The reported results showed that the General had achieved the standard required for entry to the Paganini.  A closer examination however showed that some participating competitors were actually performing elsewhere at the time, some were otherwise unknown to the world of musical competition and at least one was already dead.

Also, at the time of these minor competitions, Thailand was going through a period of serious political unrest, which required the continuous presence of the Army Commander-in-Chief, as Gen Prayut then was.  There was no record of his having left the country for Slovenia.  The argument from Armed Forces Solutions that Gen Prayut had competed via his Skype account only raised further doubts. 

The VICE officials who submitted the results of these minor competitions have been suspended along with Gen Prayut and face lengthy bans, if not outright dismissal and possibly criminal charges. 

At the time of the Paganini, there was an upsurge of nationalistic sentiment in Thailand at seeing one of its favourite sons representing the nation in a field where Thais were not normally strong contenders.  Even though Gen Prayut failed to win any of the prizes on offer, it was generally felt that he had done the country proud simply by being there.

Gen Prayut does not seem to be fazed by the 4-year ban.  This was his first attempt at a music competition and with his current extensive duties it seems he will not be interested in furthering his musical career. 

A number of commentators have drawn parallels with the case of Vanessa Mae’s participation in the Sochi Winter Olympics, where her qualifications for competing were also fraudulent. 

However, patriotic pride in Ms Mae quickly evaporated after her dodgy qualifications were exposed.  Widespread online comments pointed out that she wasn’t born in Thailand, she was effectively disowned by her biological Thai father, she carries a UK passport and rarely visits Thailand.  Her disqualification only confirms that she is not a true Thai.

It is unlikely that Gen Prayut will face similar internet disparagement.  A whisper campaign that he has a ‘suspiciously Khmer-looking face’ has been quickly suppressed by the authorities using martial law provisions.


About author:  Bangkokians with long memories may remember his irreverent column in The Nation in the 1980's. During his period of enforced silence since then, he was variously reported as participating in a 999-day meditation retreat in a hill-top monastery in Mae Hong Son (he gave up after 998 days), as the Special Rapporteur for Satire of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and as understudy for the male lead in the long-running ‘Pussies -not the Musical' at the Neasden International Palladium (formerly Park Lane Empire).

 

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