Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's administration admitted last Friday that the virus strain of "Avian Influenza" of which already 6 people passed away in Vietnam had infected both humans and chickens in Thailand.

But the announcement came after weeks of vigorous denials, and angry claims that the devastating disease of chickens that Thailand was fighting across the Thai Kingdom was not "Bird Flu" but "Fowl Cholera" and "Chicken Bronchitis".

Thaksin Shinawatra denied a Bird Flu cover-up, but in his confusing double-speech, which he is famous for, conceded information which could have affected Thailand's 1.2 billion US$ chicken exporting industry had been suppressed.

"Please trust the Thai government. It did not make an announcement about Bird Flu in the very beginning because the government did not want the Thai public to panic," Thaksin said as his ministers prepared to announce the bad news.

"Please realize that the Thai government has done more than the public was aware of," he pleaded, in a change of tone from earlier this week when Thaksin and his ministers had a "Chicken Lunch" in public in a stunt for the media.

Desperate to maintain Thailand's reputation as a safe and peaceful holiday destination which attracts some 10 million tourists a year, Thailand's government has also sought to distance itself from other evils that are spooking the country.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States and the rise of Islamic separatist groups like Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), it repeatedly declared Thailand was completely free from all those modern threats of terrorism.

The claims continued until shortly before Indonesian militant Hambali, the region's most wanted man who is believed to be Jemaah Islamiyah operations chief, was nabbed in the central city of Ayutthaya in Thailand last August.

During the SARS epidemic which swept over Asia last year, the government of Thailand also raised their eyebrows with assertions there was no risk of contracting this atypical pneumonia in Thailand and even offered 1 million baht (US$ 25,000) to anyone who died from catching SARS in Thailand.

Analysts said this constant track record of "Double Speech" could severely harm confidence in Thailand as the extent of the deadly Bird Flu crisis, which is also hitting Cambodia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, becomes clear.

Pacific Asia Travel Association director John Koldowski said a downturn in tourism for Thailand was inevitable, particularly because visitors were concerned about the lack of transparency in dealing with the Avian Flu disease and other problems. The feeling among tourists is if there is a problem, face it, be honest, deal with it, and then get back on track, he added.

The world heard for so long that there were "No Terrorists in Thailand" and then suddenly there were, and now they are being told there is no problem in Thailand with this deadly virus outbreak, but no one believes it.

The Bird Flu crisis comes on the heels of another public relations nightmare for the government, a daring raid on an Thai army depot in the Muslim-majority south of Thailand that killed 4 soldiers and made international headlines some weeks ago.

Even then, the Thai government insisted that the sophisticated assault, carried out simultaneously with attacks on 18 schools and two police checkpoints, was only the work of "Bandits", now Thai security officials said they feared Muslim separatists were to blame.

It hasn't been such a good start in The "Year of the Monkey" for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. And January isn't even over yet, a sarcastic opinion piece in The Nation newspaper said last Saturday.

The burning down of 18 schools, the attack on an Thai army camp and many bomb incidents in the South sowed enough seeds to doubt the proclaimed security and stability of Thailand.

After a uncertain start when Thaksin stormed into power in 2001 just 2 years after setting up his political party, Thaksin has grown increasingly confident to the point, many critics say, his CEO-style of governance is showing signs of authoritarianism.

But the Thaksin administration now faces calls for sackings as health experts say the delay in confirming the outbreak of Bird Flu, which is believed to have hit Thailand as early as last November, has jeopardized the future ability to contain the epidemic in the country.

Hospital and laboratory officials in Thailand have said they were aware of the Avian Flu Infections in the country but were too afraid to speak out against the Thai government which is the most powerful in Thailand's short democratic history.

The Thai government's efforts to sweep problems under the carpet has now exploded in its face, reducing Thailand's poultry industry to scrap and putting the very safety of the Thai public in jeopardy, the Bangkok Post said in their weekend editorial.