Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is to fly to Europe tomorrow, landing first in London and then proceeding to Paris. The trip has been ballyhooed for a month by regime spokesmen as a culmination of sorts. They have been trying to sell the notion that the four-year battle for international acceptance and recognition has finally become a fact. Those spokesmen are not giving a realistic picture.
Not long after he lands in Britain, Gen Prayut is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Theresa May at her official residence for a courtesy call. And waiting across the road will be a group, probably small but definitely energetic, protesting his presence. Most of those in the group will be Thai.
One hopes Gen Prayut himself has not misread Ms May's acceptance of a courtesy call at 10 Downing Street. The anti-regime rally, which under no circumstances would be permitted in Thailand, is a good reminder of actual British policy. There is no chance that Britain will help Gen Prayut's government apprehend the Facebook site operator "KonthaiUk" who has recently rankled the government -- and who apparently will be among those at the rally. And the granting of a 10-year visa to Yingluck Shinawatra shows the official British opinion of the trial, verdict and prison sentence the ex-premier faces at home.
