COUP IN THAILAND - LATEST NEWS
(also see:
The Good Coup Guide; a who's who of the Thai
Coup)
Loud actions, still voices in Thailand
By Tom Plate
Sun, 12 Nov 2006, 09:19:00
From New Nation Online Edition
It is entirely possible that Thailand may just be the most
interesting political place right now. It is a place that has had a semi-coup,
yet hasn't lost its cool. It's also a place that's openly reviewing the pluses
and minuses of democracy as if genuinely unsure about what would work best for
it - at least for the time being.
And it's also a place where Western scare stories about the dangers of China's
economic rise ring hollow. In fact, so many of its top leaders are as fluent in
Mandarin as they are in Thai that its cabinet meetings could be conducted in the
language of Beijing just as easily as of Bangkok.
Unsurprisingly, China, on the whole, is viewed as a huge economic plus in
Southeast Asia, notwithstanding misgivings and worries about the future. In
part, that's because Beijing speaks the language of economic development, and
doesn't give knee-jerk lectures like the West when a military coup (of sorts)
take place.
This coup had been exceedingly upset with the previous prime minister for
months, and the uproar more or less did little more than re-affirm the primacy
of the monarchy.
The September 19th military move that pushed out the former prime minister
(democratically elected but allegedly the head of a corrupt administration) has
its severe critics here. One of them was a taxi driver driven to despair. As if
speaking for all of Thai's poor, he committed suicide in protest and became a
national martyr overnight.
But generally speaking, Thailand isn't a nation of extremes. Its pleasant and
patient people are no worshippers of self-immolation, and so far this
60-year-old man is the sole in such political suicide.
It is true that the ousted prime minister, last sighted playing golf on mainland
China after cooling his heels in his London apartment, was popular with the more
desperate classes - but mainly because of his many promises to reduce their
economic misery, many of which he didn't keep.
Unless the current military government somehow manages to pick up economically
where Thaksin Shinawatra left off, the Thai people may take time in demanding a
full return to democracy.
Pressing practical concerns will naturally demand such attention; they tend to
prioritise getting results over realising abstract theory. In the United States
many geopolitical theorists size up the rise of China as a threat rather than an
opportunity.
Instead of putting on their Adam Smith eyeglasses and seeing the economic value
of having 22 per cent of the world's population back on their economic feet as
viable consumers (especially for Southeast Asian exports), they put on their
John Foster Dulles spectacles and imagine new bad-guy actors engaged in a
full-blown cold war.
America's unmovable pessimists may still prove utterly correct - who knows? But
their way is not the way most people see things Chinese in Thailand - at least
judging from the presentations at the Asia Pacific Business Outlook conference
organized here earlier this month by the Marshall School of Business at the
University of Southern California.
In fact, several outspoken Thai business and political leaders at the impressive
conference took an openly optimistic perspective on China. One well-known leader
laughingly scoffed at the China-as-threat hypothesis, reminding his luncheon
audience that without the positive gravitational pull of the ever-rising Chinese
market, Thailand might never be fully recovered from the near-deadly Asian
financial crisis of 1997-1999.
We Americans in the audience took note that the Thai leader focused on China's
contribution, not America's. The truth is that the United States, bogged down in
Iraq, has slipped a notch or two in Southeast Asia - perhaps not irredeemably,
but definitely noticeably.
Another oddly noticeable attitude here is that of the new military government
towards its Muslim minority: it is taking a much less harsher line on this
Muslim population living in its southernmost provinces. By contrast, the Thaksin
government had been cruel toward all Muslim protesters - mostly Thais of Muslim
Malay dissent.
Strikingly, current Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, speaking for the junta,
has just publicly apologised to these Muslims; for the unforgivable atrocities
committed by the government's security forces in the cold-blooded Thaksin-ordered
crackdowns.
The apology was long in coming but most welcome. The brutality had been
condemned not only internationally but domestically as well. Thais do not like
to view themselves as common thugs, but rather as a pleasant, smart and
hardworking people who are tolerant and open-minded. And this, it seems to me,
is rather what they are - and wish to remain.
(Prof. Tom Plate, a veteran US journalist, is currently travelling in Southeast
Asia)
Poorly reasoned appointments
Gen Sonthi's explanations for placing military officers
on the boards of state enterprises raise worrying questions
The Nation - 14 November 2006
The reasons given by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for
National Security (CNS), for appointing several senior military officers to
chair or serve as directors on the boards of state enterprises leaves a lot to
be desired. Sonthi, responding to critics who questioned the wisdom or
appropriateness of a CNS action that smacked of cronyism, said these military
men assigned to serve on the boards of state enterprises were there to safeguard
national security as well as to prevent corruption.
The CNS chairman, who staged the September 19 coup that
toppled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, also gave his personal
assurance that the military officers - some of them his close associates - would
uphold the public interest above all else. He also insisted that the decision,
reached in consultation with interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, had been
made in good faith.
It was not exactly the kind of explanation members of the
public expected to hear. The fundamental question as to what these military men,
who lack a business background, can do in profit-oriented state enterprises that
civilian professionals with relevant expertise cannot do better, remains
unanswered.
Senior military officers took the chairmanships of five major
state enterprises - TOT, CAT Telecom, Thailand Post, Bangkok Mass Transit
Authority and Port Authority of Thailand, not to mention several others who
serve as directors on the boards of many state enterprises. Each of these state
enterprises - with a huge organisational structure, complex business processes
and billions of baht in annual business turnover - requires its non-executive
chairman to be at least a business-savvy person who can develop a smooth working
relationship with the company's CEO and other members of the board.
It might well be true, as Sonthi asserted, that military
officers could learn about the relevant business models and technologies of the
state firms they will be serving. But surely there is a limit to how much these
officers, whose main business is national security, can learn.
The non-executive chairman of a state enterprise has the power
to set the agenda, guide the board and influence the CEO's decisions. Judging
from the performance of previous generations of military officers who served on
the boards of state enterprises, the scepticism expressed by many people seems
justified. Having military men as chairmen or board members of state enterprises
neither reduced corruption nor guaranteed that public interest would be upheld.
If the past is any guide, too many officers end up learning the wrong things and
becoming more corrupt than they were before. Besides, professional soldiers are
not supposed to be put in positions where they might be tempted by the trappings
of power and monetary rewards.
What society wants from Sonthi is not his personal guarantee
of the integrity and probity of the military men assigned to serve on state
enterprises' boards. What we need is a good system to screen and select
government officials, including military officers, to serve on state
enterprises, based on qualifications, expertise and suitability. We do not need
a preferential system of selection based on personal connections, which, in a
way, is disturbingly similar to the corruption-prone cronyism practised by
former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Indeed, various government agencies, such as Office of the
Civil Service Commission and the Finance Ministry, are already working on
criteria to create lists of "public-sector executives" from among highly
qualified senior government officials who have demonstrable skills and expertise
in different areas of specialisation. Candidates to serve on state-enterprise
boards as representatives of the government must be from these lists to ensure
transparency in the selection process.
Sonthi chose to fill these positions in key state enterprises
with his trusted friends and subordinates. Now he, and the officers he assigned,
must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that they will do their utmost to uphold
the public interest, and not seek personal gain. And because they were appointed
under extraordinary circumstances, they should voluntarily vacate their
positions as soon as the one-year term of the Surayud government and Sonthi's
CNS expires, to enable the future elected government to appoint its own
representatives to the state-enterprise boards through a more transparent
process.
Fishy meetings in Bangkok
27 October 2006
The big news in
Bangkok yesterday was of a meeting between Privy Council President General
Prem Tinsulanonda and deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's wife,
Khunying Pojaman.
Note that she met with
King's top advisor, not the acting Prime Minister or the coup leader and head of
the CNS.
What was discussed. It
is a safe bet that they were negotiating a compromise in the corruption
investigation against Thaksin and his cronies.
So much for the
credibility of the ongoing process to expose the corruption scandals that took
place under Thaksin's watch and to bring the guilty to justice. Mind you they do
not appear to making much progress. In the words of coup-maker General Sonthi
Boonyaratglin, "what little evidence they might be able to find" to substantiate
corruption charges against Thaksin and his cronies.
Prem carries great
influence; it is believed that the September 19 military coup to topple Thaksin
could not have succeeded without Prem's blessing. The descriptions of the
meeting released to the media suggest a repentant Pojaman, resigned to the
terrible fate that befell her husband and their family, receiving sage advice
from a magnanimous Prem to try and accept the law of karma.
Remember that the
alleged large-scale corruption under Thaksin's regime and his attempts to
undermine democracy were cited as the main justifications for the overthrow of
his government.
So now what happens;
do we have transparent corruption investigations that proceed without fear or
favour, leading to the successful prosecution of corrupt parties, however well
connected they are, or, a behind the scenes deal at the highest level.
The meeting smells
fishy and was probably ill advised. The coup-leaders and its supporters should
not forget their noble-sounding intentions that justified last month's coup.
One month on - not a lot to report
The Nation newspaper - Editorial on 25 October 2006
Interim government needs to move quickly to reassure public over the
reasons for the coup
A month after the military coup, the interim government headed by General
Surayud Chulanont is still muddling its way along without any clear
direction as to what it would like to accomplish. If it continues with this
torpid attitude, then it will certainly invite more criticism over its
already questionable legitimacy - meaning trouble could brew in the near
future.
The people have been told the coup was inevitable. So, let's
review the four main objectives behind it. First, the Thaksin government had run
the country into the ground with political polarisation and the threat of
violence. Second, there was widespread corruption. Third, independent
institutions had been messed around so badly they could no longer function as
expected under the 1997 Constitution. Fourth, there had been action that
bordered on lese majeste.
So far the government has done nothing to address these
charges lodged against the previous administration. The other day, Chuan Leekpai,
a former PM, criticised the new government and the Council for National Security
for their do-nothing attitude. Over the past month, the new government and the
CNS, which staged the coup, have missed the opportunity to inform the public
about progress they have made in ridding the country of the last vestiges of the
Thaksin regime. Chuan said the government and the CNS have wasted the month by
not telling the people the reason why Thaksin had to be ousted. As Thaksin still
commands loyalty in the countryside, the coup might not have changed the
opinions of those supporters.
What we are witnessing now is the government operating almost
in a vacuum, not knowing its priorities and not knowing what to do next. Instead
of using the anti-money laundering office to freeze the assets of the
politicians suspected of enriching themselves, the government is allowing these
politicians time to transfer their assets at their own convenience. It has the
law on its side, but it does not know how to use it. Freezing the assets does
not violate the law. The politicians can always get their assets back if they
provide proper evidence that they were earned in an honest fashion.
Meanwhile, key members of Thai Rak Thai have been able to move
about freely to plot their political comeback. Some of them have also openly
criticised the new government or the CNS. And that is making people wonder what
they are up to. If they are really as bad as the CNS suggested in its coup
statement, why are they still allowed to move about happy and fancy-free?
Thaksin, who is now in London, is also looking forward to returning home when
the opportunity arises.
The corruption charges look as if they are easy to bring up in
the local media but extremely difficult to put into the judicial system. Over
the past month, we have heard several corruption charges are in the pipeline
involving the CTX scandal and Klong Dan, the Smart Card, e-passports and various
other Suvarnabhumi Airport projects, yet no formal charges have been forwarded
by the asset examiners.
It is true that after the coup the polarisation caused by the
Thaksin regime was put to an end quickly. But there is a new set of political
complications. Non-government organisations, academics with a leaning to the
Thaksin regime and ordinary people are taking a wait-and-see attitude. They can
stage political rallies once martial law is lifted. The People's Alliance for
Democracy is also waiting in the wings. Since it succeeded in bringing down the
Thaksin regime, it has become a new political animal and is now waiting for a
fresh target to go after. On the political scene, we aren't sure who is serving
who. But the vote for Meechai Ruchuphan as president of the National Legislative
Council signals that a power struggle is about to begin.
Then, when can we expect to see some lese majeste charges
brought against certain members of the Thaksin regime? Again, this question,
which was one of the key reasons for the coup, has not been addressed. There
were several incidents of lese majeste committed in the previous administration,
but nobody seems to be willing to take up some of the cases for prosecution.
We can only conclude the effort to stage a military coup to
usurp power is a lot less strenuous than the job of running the country and
maintaining power. The Surayud government must sit down to think hard about its
priorities and then work on them. Time is running out.
Could Thaksin return to power?
24 October 2006
Thaksin seen scheming an eventual
return to power
Approaches already made to former TRT heavies; wife may be key to such
hopes
The Nation, Bangkok.
In the sixth of a series of articles marking the first month
since the September 19 coup, The Nation focuses on what ousted prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra has been doing and will do in order to return to power.
While deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has yet to
return home there is much speculation about what he plans for himself and the
country.
All leading political gurus believe he is planning to "fight
to death".
As things stand, Thaksin may not be able to return home until
the end of next year. His struggle to cling to power started on September 19,
when the then Council for Democratic Reform secretly moved out tanks to take
over strategic areas in the capital.
Thaksin fought from across the globe by broadcasting three
orders: a State of Emergency; an order to dismiss Army Chief General Sonthi
Boonyaratglin; and before he could finish reading it, an order to appoint
General Ruengroj Mahasaranond in place of Sonthi - but his voice was cut off in
mid-sentence.
After the CDR had taken over, Thaksin did not stop fighting.
He wanted to give a speech at the United Nations, to seek justice for being
overthrown. His bid to go ahead with the address was ended by an important US
figure in Thailand. The Thai ambassador to the UN confirmed before the meeting
of world leaders that Thaksin had become a "former prime minister".
Thaksin's attempts did not stop there. He and his chief policy
adviser Pansak Vinyarat lobbied foreign countries to boycott the coup leaders
and released reports that Thaksin had established a government-in-exile.
Although Thaksin has resigned as leader of the Thai Rak Thai
Party, the move was "to withdraw to regain control". One tactic is to avoid a
criminal offence in case the Constitution Tribunal dissolves the party, as a
criminal offence cannot be prosecuted retroactively.
Another reason Thaksin must let his political heirs take over
the party - be it Sudarat, Prommin Lertsuridej, Pongthep Thepkanchana or
Chaturon Chaisang - is the party needs a new face to change its image.
Chaturon agreed to accept the leadership on the condition that
he has freedom to build the party with a democratic ideology.
Thaksin may care little about that - his hands are likely to
be full trying to protect his assets from being impounded by the Asset
Examination Committee. Political analysts believe Thaksin is happy to use
Chaturon to ride over the present crisis.
He has reportedly mobilised at least 300 party members in each
province to do "underground" work. They distributed a cartoon book that tells of
Thaksin's life to seek sympathy from the grassroots. He is also trying his best
to ensure the Thai public does not lose interest in him.
If the Thai Rak Thai Party is dissolved, that would not mean
Thaksin's dream to return to power would end. He has been seeking a way to
survive. Approaches have been made to politicians such as Somsak Thepsuthin, who
led his faction to quit Thai Rak Thai to establish a new party.
The new party includes former "heavies" members such as Suriya
Jungrungreangkit, Pinij Charu-sombat, Somkid Chatusripitak, all of whom had met
before the coup to discuss forming a new party when the Thai Rak Thai was
looking shaky.
At this juncture, the attempt to establish this party is seen
as an opportunistic move that could either serve the interests of the Council
for National Security (CNS) or, be a nominee party for Thaksin to stage a
comeback.
The group has sought financial backing from Khunying Pojaman
Shinwatra but the plan was scrapped after the move was leaked to the media.
But Pojaman may finally be forced to enter politics because
Thaksin is likely to be banned from politics in the long term over allegations
of corruption and causing social division.
Finally the charge that may prevent his return to politics
forever is that he posed a threat to the monarchy.
Thaksin needs to push his political heir into power and wait
for the day he can regain his assets, and take revenge on those who brought him
down.
This scenario is not unimaginable, if the CNS is unable to
uproot Thaksin's powerbase because of traitors in the CNS.
The evolution of the junta's name
October 9 2006
Thailand's military junta has another
new header on its website; the third header and the third name in the last
two weeks.
Newest header from the
new website
September 28
September 20
I do have reservations about the name - Council for
National Security; which sounds a little too like the abhored SLORC in
Burma. The argument is that the newly appointed Prime Minister and Cabinet
are responsible for democratic reform and the military leaders are now
solely responsible for national security.
Anyway, have a look at the web site; there has probably
never been a coup website that offers soothing music on the site!
Thai cabinet appointed
10 October 2006
Thailand's interim, post-coup cabinet has been announced,
a government Web site said on Monday, with central bank governor
Pridiyathorn Devakula finance minister -- an apparent bid to reassure
foreign and domestic investors.
Pridiyathorn was one of 26 cabinet ministers announced on the
Government House web site (www.thaigov.go.th).
Other key economic positions were Kosit Panpiemrat, former
executive chairman of Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest, as industry minister and
Krikkrai Jirapaet, a former ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, as
commerce minister.
Nitya Pibulsonggram, a former ambassador to Washington and
chief negotiator in stalled free talks with the United States, was appointed
foreign minister.
Piyaswadi Amarananda, a retired career energy ministry
bureaucrat and chairman of Thailand's top three asset management firms, will be
energy minister.
The widely expected appointment of Pridiyathorn is likely to
reassure investors anxious for a steady hand on the country's economic tiller
amid slowing growth and after months of political unrest capped by the September
19 coup against Thaksin Shinawatra.
Democracy, Thai style - Ban the politicians
By Thomas Fuller
International Herald Tribune
Published: October 6, 2006
BANGKOK Sometime in the
next few weeks, 100 delegates from around Thailand will gather here to draft a
new constitution, a fresh start for the country after the military coup last
month.
But first the ground rules: Politicians need not apply.
Politics is a dirty word in many countries, but mistrust runs
so deep here that those who have been members of political parties or have held
political office during the past two years are banned from doing what would in
other countries be seen as their primary job: writing the supreme law of the
land. "This is democracy Thai style, not European style," said Pramuan
Ruchanaseree, the co-founder of the Pracharat political party and thus
disqualified from taking part. "No one trusts politicians."
The tanks and soldiers that the generals sent onto the streets
of Bangkok nearly three weeks ago are now back at their bases. What remains in
the aftermath of the coup is skepticism toward politics and democracy in general
and a feeling that academics, ordinary citizens and military officers are the
ones best placed to lead the country and chart its future in the coming months.
In the days ahead, Surayud Chulanont, the retired general
appointed by the military as prime minister, will announce his cabinet. Not
surprisingly, most of the names mentioned so far are civil servants, career
military officers and corporate executives - but not politicians.
Persistent vote-buying has tainted electoral politics here and
the allegations of corruption in the administration of Thaksin Shinawatra, the
prime minister removed in the coup, reinforced the notion that Thai politics is
a mercenary system where those who serve also serve themselves to lucrative cuts
of government contracts.
"Thais have not as yet absorbed the core values of democracy,"
said Gothom Arya, a former election commissioner, who is now director of
research at Mahidol University. "They see a lot of shortcomings. The core values
are difficult to understand. It has not been part of our way of life."
According to the road map set out by the coup makers,
Surayud's government will rule for about a year, until the new constitution is
written and elections can be held, a familiar cycle in a country where coup
leaders have shredded the Constitution seven times.
In the meantime, Thailand is still technically under martial
law and there is a ban on any political activity, a measure ostensibly designed
to keep Thaksin and his allies out of the picture - but which covers all
political parties, including those that opposed Thaksin.
Thailand's ambivalence toward a return to democracy is in
sharp contrast to the unequivocal moral clarity espoused by its longtime ally,
the United States, which described the military takeover as a "U-turn" for the
country. More broadly, the Thai coup is the latest setback for the idea that
democracy is a universally desired global elixir: Add the military takeover here
to the debacle of nation-building in Iraq and deep skepticism toward democracy
in places like Russia, where last year only 28 percent of Russians said it was
the best system for the country.
What is perhaps surprising in the Thai case is that many
academics have long theorized that democracy would grow deeper roots in
societies that had experienced sustained periods of economic growth. Thailand
has enjoyed several years of relative prosperity: the economy has been growing
at a healthy annual pace of 4 or 5 percent, prices for major exports such as
rubber and rice are high, and both tourism and the country's car industry are
thriving.
What sets Thailand apart from other developing countries in
the region is the role of the monarchy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej is adored by
most Thais, and his 60 years on the throne have provided a country with a sense
of security and continuity. As a corollary, though, Thais often worry about what
will happen when he is gone.
"It's lucky in Thailand that the king is beloved by the
people," said Pramuan, who was interior minister from 2002 to 2004. "The
soldiers are below the king. And people trust soldiers more than politicians.
This is our social heritage."
So far only a tiny group of students and academics is
demanding an immediate return to democratic rule. In recent days its members
have staged demonstrations that attracted more journalists than actual
protesters.
More typical is the opinion of Napa Pruetarat, an 18-year-old
medical student at Chulalongkorn University: The coup was justified, she said,
because Thailand is not ripe for full-fledged democracy. "I think the coup was
good," she said. "If we want to follow the democratic path, Thailand needs to be
more developed."
In opinion polls, interviews and newspaper editorials, Thais
say they are optimistic that the new prime minister, Surayud, will be less
corrupt than the previous, elected governments. Criticism by leaders from places
as diverse as Australia, Malaysia, Japan and the European Union is shrugged off
by Thais, who say that the coup has been misunderstood.
The Nation newspaper is host to an online forum titled "Can
foreigners ever understand Thai politics?"
This was also the gist of an interview given by Anand
Panyarachun, who served as interim prime minister after the previous military
coup in 1991. Anand told the Thai-language Mathichon newspaper that the coup was
a hiccup and justified it by saying that Thaksin's government had stripped the
democratic system of its meaning.
"Thailand had lost the essence of its democracy," Anand said.
"What was left was merely the form: having a Constitution, a Parliament and the
administrative, legislative and judiciary branches. But there was nothing
democratic in its essence."
More blunt is the assessment of Thira Silpasanong, a
56-year-old restaurant owner in Bangkok.
"It was well known that Thai politicians were seen as dirty,
corrupt and selfish," Thira said. "The purpose of the coup was to rid them from
the system."
Not everyone in Thailand buys that argument. Prinya
Thaewanarumitkul, one of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, says the
practice of coups d'état in Thailand is a bad habit that needs to end. "If we
didn't have this coup the Thai people could have learned more about democracy
and politics and about how to develop," he said.
The most serious consequence of the coup, Prinya said, was the
suspension of civil liberties. Because Thailand is still under martial law, the
military can now legally open mail, censor the media, tap telephones, barricade
streets or detain anyone indefinitely without trial.
"They can block any street, declare a curfew, destroy any
house without compensation," Prinya said.
A key test of the coup makers' intentions, he said, will be
how long martial law is maintained. The last time - after the 1991 coup - the
interim government lifted martial law after two months.
A Siamese Tragedy
Walden Bello | September 29, 2006
Editor: John Feffer, IRC
Foreign Policy In Focus
The military coup in Thailand is the second high-profile collapse of a
democracy in the developing world in the last seven years. The first was the
coup in Pakistan in October 1999 that brought General Pervez Musharraf to
power. There are some disturbing parallels between the two events. Both
coups have been popular with the middle class, and in both countries the
military promised to soon vacate power. Six years after ousting Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, Musharaff and the army are still in power in
Pakistan. This precedent does not bode well for Thailand.
The coup is the latest in a series of setbacks for Thailand since a "people
power" movement toppled the authoritarian leaders in 1992. Even before Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted on September 19, Thai democracy was
in severe crisis because of a succession of elected but do-nothing or
exceedingly corrupt regimes of which the Thaksin government was the worst.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which for all intents and purposes
ran the country with no accountability from 1997 to 2001, further eroded the
legitimacy of Thai democracy by imposing a program that brought great
hardship to the majority. Thaksin stoked this disaffection with the IMF and
the political system to create a majority coalition that allowed him to
violate constitutional constraints and infringe on democratic freedoms,
while using the state as a mechanism of private capital accumulation in an
unparalleled fashion.
A politically diverse opposition with a middle-class base sought to oust
Thaksin by relying not on electoral democracy but on the democracy of the
street. In the last few months, the prime minister not only lost moral
legitimacy but a great deal of political power. The democracy movement was
about to launch the final phase to drive Thaksin out when the military
intervened. Though it is now popular among Bangkokians, the coup will
eventually prove to be a cure worse than the disease.
Democracy on the Ropes
Although Thaksin Shinawatra undermined the Thailand's democratic regime
democracy in the country was in bad shape before he came to power in January
2001. The first Chuan Leekpai government from 1992 to 1995 did not make even
the slightest effort at social reform. The government of former provincial
businessman Banharn Silipa-Archa, from 1995 to 1996, has been described as
"a semi-kleptocratic administration where coalition partners were paid to
stay sweet, just like he used to buy public works contracts." The successor
government of Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a former general, was based on an
alliance among big business elites, provincial bosses, and local godfathers.
Relatively free elections were held, but they served mainly to determine
which coalition of elites would have its turn at using government as a
mechanism for private capital accumulation. Not surprisingly, the massive
corruption, especially under Banharn and Chavalit, repelled the Bangkok
middle class, and the urban and rural poor did not see the advent of
democracy marking a change in their lives.
Democracy suffered a further blow in 1997-2001 following the Asian financial
crisis. This time the local elites were not the culprit. The IMF pressured
the Chavalit government, then the second Chuan government to adopt a very
severe reform program that consisted of radically cutting expenditures,
decreeing many corporations bankrupt, liberalizing foreign investment laws,
and privatizing state enterprises. The IMF's $72 billion rescue fund was
spent not on saving the local economy but on enabling the government to pay
off the country's foreign creditors.
When the Chavalit government hesitated to adopt these measures, the IMF
pressed for a change in government. The second Chuan government complied
fully with the Fund, and for the next three years Thailand had a government
accountable not to the people but to a foreign institution. Not
surprisingly, the government lost much of its credibility as the country
plunged into recession and one million Thais fell below the poverty line.
Meanwhile the U.S. Trade Representative told the U.S. Congress that the Thai
government's "commitments to restructure public enterprises and accelerate
privatization of certain key sectors—including energy, transportation,
utilities, and communications—[are expected] to create new business
opportunities for U.S. firms."
The IMF, in short, contributed greatly to sapping the legitimacy of
Thailand's fledgling democracy. This was not the only instance where the
Fund contributed to eroding the credibility of a government, especially
among the poor. If there is today a pattern reversing the so-called "Third
Wave" of democratization that took off as a trend in the developing world
since the mid-seventies, the IMF—supported by the U.S. government—is part of
the reason. Such IMF-inspired democratic reversals could be found in
Venezuela in 1989, where a hike in transportation costs provoked an urban
uprising against a weak democracy; in the Philippines, where the Fund
squandered the legitimacy of the post-Marcos democracy by forcing it to make
debt repayment instead of development its economic priority; and in
Pakistan, where IMF and World Bank programs did much to undermine the
legitimacy of the civilian governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Monopoly Capitalism cum Populism
After running and winning on an anti-IMF platform, Thaksin inherited a
severely compromised democracy when he took office in 2001. In his first
year, he inaugurated three heavy spending programs that directly
contradicted the IMF: a moratorium on farmers' existing debt along with
facilitating new credit for them, medical treatment for all at only 30 baht
or less than a dollar per illness, and a one million baht fund for every
district to invest as it saw fit. These policies did not bring on the
inflationary crisis that the IMF and conservative local economists expected.
Instead they buoyed the economy and cemented Thaksin's massive support among
the rural and urban poor.
This was the "good" side of Thaksin. However, having secured majority
support with these and other practices that analysts Alec and Chanida
Bamford call "neofeudal patronage," he began to subvert the freedom of the
press and to use government power to add to his wealth. He eased
restrictions on his businesses and those of his cronies, and used his
position to buy allies and buy off opponents. His war on drugs, which
resulted in the loss of over 2,500 lives, bothered human rights activists
but was popular with the majority. His hard-line, purely punitive policy
toward the Muslim insurgency in three southern provinces simply worsened the
situation there.
Just as Thaksin appeared to have created the formula for a long stay in
power supported by an electoral majority, he overreached. In January 2006,
his family sold their controlling stake in telecoms conglomerate Shin
Corporation for $1.87 billion to a Singapore government front called Temasek
Holdings. Before the sale, Thaksin had made sure the Revenue Department
would interpret or modify the rules to exempt him from paying taxes. This
brought the Bangkok middle class to the streets to demand his ouster in a
movement that bore a striking resemblance to the "People Power Uprising"
that overthrew Joseph Estrada in the Philippines in January 2001.
To resolve the polarization, Thaksin dissolved Parliament and called for
elections, knowing that he would win elections handily, as his coalition had
in 2001 and in 2005. Indeed, Thaksin's coalition won 57% of the vote in the
April elections. But the opposition boycotted, producing an opposition-less
parliament. After a not-too-veiled suggestion by the revered King Bhumibol,
the Supreme Court found the elections in violation of the Constitution and
ordered them held once more. Thaksin resigned as prime minister and said he
would be a caretaker until after new elections were held.
Polarization but not Gridlock
The Thai conflict, in broad terms, pitted the urban and rural lower
classes—the majority—against the middle classes, mainly the Bangkok middle
class. The system of liberal democracy split into its component parts of
liberalism and democracy. Invoking the legacy of liberalism, the people in
the streets sought to remove Thaksin for his violations of human and civil
rights and his arbitrary rule, while Thaksin's supporters sought to keep him
in power by appealing to the basic principle of a democracy--that is, the
rule of the majority. The anti-Thaksin forces, however, claimed that
Thaksin's majority rule fit the phenomenon that John Stuart Mill described
as the "tyranny of the majority."
Prior to the coup, Thailand was not in gridlock. And it was far from
descending into civil war. Thaksin's resignation as prime minister
indicated, more importantly, that the moral tide had turned against him. He
had lost control, criticism of him was widespread in a media that was once
tame, and the pressure was on for him to resign before the next elections,
originally scheduled for October 15 but rescheduled for November. On
Thursday, the day after the coup, the People's Alliance for Democracy had
planned to stage a mass rally to begin a final push against Thaksin from the
streets.
This was democracy in action, with all its rough and tumble and the
rambunctious efforts to resolve conflicting principles. Of course, the
outcome was not guaranteed, but indeterminacy and prolonged resolution of
disputes are part and parcel of the risks that come with democracy. Thais
were wrestling to resolve the question of political succession through
democratic, civilian methods. And it seemed like the democracy of the
streets would successfully determine political succession, creating an
important precedent in democratic practice. Direct democracy not only had
relevance for the political succession; it was reinvigorating and renewing
the democratic practice and democratic spirit.
Cure Worse than Disease
The military coup cut short a vibrant democratic process and was, everybody
agrees, unconstitutional, illegal, and undemocratic. Many say, however, that
yes, it is all this, but it is popular and it is valid because it ended a
crisis. This is questionable. For several reasons, this coup may have
temporarily ended the crisis but at the pain of provoking a much deeper one.
Thaksin's mass base of the poor and underprivileged will view post-coup
regimes as possessing little democratic legitimacy.
The military has reasserted its traditional, self-defined role as the
"arbiter" of Thai politics, a function that had been defined as illegitimate
for the last 14 years.
There has emerged a dangerous informal institutional axis that would subvert
future democratic arrangements between the military and the Royal Palace's
Privy Council, one of the few national political institutions not eliminated
by military decree. Retired military strongman, General Prem Tinsulanonda
heads up the council, and there is strong suspicion that he had more than
just a neutral role in the affair. Several days before the coup, Prem told
the military that their loyalty was principally "to the Nation and the King"
not the government.
The one really popularly drawn up constitution, the 1997 Constitution, has
been abolished by military fiat. This constitution, approved after
consultation with civil society, placed many controls on the exercise of
parliamentary and executive power and on the behavior of politicians and
bureaucrats. Ironically, the anti-Thaksin coup leaders, for all their
rhetoric about "restoring democracy," simply delivered the coup de grace to
a very democratic document that Thaksin had systematically subverted.
Coup leader Army Chief General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin may well be sanguine
about stepping aside. But personal predilections are no match for
institutional interests. More than any other military in Southeast Asia, the
Thai military has had a propensity for intervening in the political process,
having launched some 18 military coups since 1932. Thai military men have an
ingrained, institutional contempt for civilian politicians, regarding them
as blundering fools. The generals have often promised to return to civilian
rule after a coup, but proceeded to rule directly or indirectly through
military-appointed civilians. Gen. Sondhi's post-coup reassurances must be
taken with the same seriousness as his claim days before the takeover that
military coups "were a thing of the past."
Already, the generals have drafted an interim constitution that makes them
"advisers" to an interim civilian government. One of the two leading
candidates for the premiership, Surayud Chulanont, is a former Supreme
Commander of the Armed Forces. The other is a civilian. That is not
necessarily a virtue, since most previous civilian prime ministers appointed
by the military have been weak politicians, whose tenures were marked by
responsiveness to their military overseers. The civilian being eyed by the
generals will most likely follow in this tradition of pliability. Supachai
Panitchpakdi, a leading candidate, was a weak director general of the World
Trade Organization, who was overly responsive to the developed country
agenda rather than to the interests of developing countries. In 1997-98, he
was also deputy premier in the second Chuan government that rigorously
followed the IMF program that proved so devastating for the country. At the
time, he admitted at an interview: "We have lost our autonomy, our ability
to determine our macroeconomic policy. This is unfortunate." Such a record
does not inspire confidence that he is a person that can stand up to the
military and other power centers in the country.
This retreat from democracy bodes ill not only for Thailand. The coup is an
expression of a larger trend—a deep crisis of legitimacy among elite
democracies that came into being in the 1980s and 1990s as part of what
Samuel Huntington called the "Third Wave of Democratization." The Thai coup
is the second high-profile collapse of an elite democracy in the last seven
years. It may not be the last. Is there now a reverse wave leading
democracies back to authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes?
FPIF columnist Walden Bello is executive director of Focus on the Global
South and professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines. He is
the author of A Siamese Tragedy: Development and Disintegration in Modern
Thailand (London: Zed, 1998).
Just how naive was Temasek?
2 October 2006
SINGAPORE -
International Herald Tribune
Among the many measures of a successful foreign investment,
helping to trigger a coup d'état is definitely not one of them.
In hindsight, then, the $1.9 billion purchase of a controlling
stake in Thailand's dominant telecommunications conglomerate early this year by
a group of investors led by the Singapore government's investment arm, Temasek
Holdings, has been less than ideal, say analysts and people close to the deal.
Buying the company, Shin, provoked nationalist outrage in
Thailand. Buying it from the family of a prime minister widely accused of
corruption, moreover, touched off massive street protests that culminated last
month in the ouster of that prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
"I don't think anyone perceived there would be such political
fallout from the deal," said Stephen Bennett, a lawyer at Hunton & Williams in
Bangkok who advised Temasek on the purchase. "They wouldn't have done it had
they known this would happen."
On the contrary, Bennett said, political risk did not figure
into negotiations. "It wasn't an open-discussion issue," he said.
Thaksin is now in exile in London, Temasek's investment has
sunk by almost $690 million, and Thai officials are investigating whether the
deal was illegal. Temasek said executives were not available for interviews but
issued a statement in response to a list of questions saying it had not violated
any laws, was cooperating with investigators and stood by its investment.
"Temasek remains a long-term investor in Thailand, and we
believe that the long-term fundamentals of the country remain good," Temasek
said in a statement issued through its public relations agency. "We have
complied fully with the laws in our investments and will continue to cooperate
fully."
On Friday, however, Temasek's senior managing director for
investment, Jimmy Phoon, gave interviews to at least three reporters, including
one from Bloomberg News. Phoon's comments did not depart significantly from
Temasek's earlier statement, though he did reveal to Bloomberg that the purchase
had been carried out in Thailand, apparently contradicting earlier speculation
in the Thai news media that the transaction might have been carried out in
offshore accounts.
The coup has thrust into unusual focus a company that rarely
speaks with the news media. Though created, owned and overseen by Singapore's
government, Temasek says it operates entirely by the rules of the market. Its
troubles in Thailand are a relatively small setback in an overseas investment
push in which it spent more than $13 billion in its latest financial year. With
Singapore facing increasing competition for investment and trade from China and
India, Temasek is helping it hedge its bets by investing around Asia, notably in
China, where it is the largest foreign investor in the financial sector. It also
plans to move into developed markets like the United States, Europe and Japan.
"It's an insurance policy," said Song Seng Wun, regional
economist at brokerage firm CIMB-G.K. Goh in Singapore. "Even if things, knock
on wood, didn't turn out domestically, they'd still have a hand or fingers in
many pies across the world."
Temasek's portfolio, valued at $81.2 billion, makes it one of
the largest state-owned shareholders in the world, according to Thomson
Financial. Temasek is adamant that its investments are purely profit-driven, but
its appetite and government ownership have nevertheless raised reservations
among some other Asian countries.
Analysts say that Temasek may be overconfident but that it is
not political. Instead, its investments have a strategic purpose, they say: to
raise Singapore's relevance in the global economy.
"The more you invest in the region, the more capacity you have
to influence decisions about where people invest," said Garry Rodan, a professor
at Murdoch University's Asia Research Center in Perth, Australia.
Temasek's push is part of a broader effort by Singapore to
hitch itself to larger economic wagons. A port city with no natural resources,
Singapore has long depended on being a middleman. After independence in 1965, it
lured multinationals with low taxes and clean government. It also set up
companies to build essential infrastructure.
In 1974, the government set up Temasek as a holding company
for its stable. Temasek's stakes in about 40 companies now earn an estimated
$2.5 billion in annual dividends, part of which Temasek pays the government as
income tax and dividends.
The bursting of the technology bubble in 2000, however, threw
Singapore into its worst recession since independence. Temasek's portfolio
shrank by almost a fifth.
In mid-2002, Temasek appointed a new executive director to
overhaul the company: Ho Ching, a Stanford-educated electrical engineer who
worked her way up to head the military- related conglomerate Singapore
Technologies. What drew as much attention as Ho's résumé, however, was the name
of her husband, then the deputy prime minister and now prime minister, Lee Hsien
Loong, son of Singapore's founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. The Temasek
chairman, S. Dhanabalan, said at the time he had to overcome Lee Hsien Loong's
reservations about hiring his wife.
One of Ho's first moves at the helm was to shift Temasek's
headquarters from a solemn skyscraper downtown to a new glass-enclosed building
with lower rents and an open floor plan to foster collaboration.
Bankers credit Ho with imposing investment discipline and
global expertise, often importing it - 27 percent of Temasek's 250 employees are
foreigners.
Then there was Temasek's overseas investment drive. Temasek
was already gaining overseas exposure through its Singapore subsidiaries.
Singapore Telecommunications, or SingTel, bought the Australian cellular
operator Optus for $7 billion in 2001. Singapore Airlines owns 49 percent of
Virgin Atlantic. And the port operator PSA holds stakes in 20 ports in 11
countries, including 5 in China.
Economists say investing abroad makes more sense for Temasek
than investing at home, if only to diversify without increasing the government's
dominance of Singapore's economy. Investing abroad also fits Singapore's
strategy of building trade and investment links. Singapore has signed bilateral
free trade agreements with the United States, Japan and six other countries.
Being a small country in the middle of a volatile region,
Singapore has always wanted to keep everybody engaged," said C. Fred Bergsten,
director of the Institute for International Economics in Washington.
Temasek's goal for its portfolio is a three-way split among
Singapore, developing Asia and developed countries. So far, though, it has been
concentrating largely on gaining exposure to Asia's rapidly growing middle
class. Temasek's biggest investments have therefore been in Asian banks.
Temasek says the government is not involved in investment
decisions. But its board is appointed by the Ministry of Finance, which Lee
Hsien Loong also heads, subject to approval by Singapore's president. Temasek's
chairman, S. Dhanabalan, is a former foreign minister. One of its two deputy
chairmen is a permanent secretary in the ministry of finance.
Temasek's critics abroad say resentment of Singapore's
affluence and perceived arrogance help fuel suspicion of the companies motives.
Singapore has become a haven for the fortunes of Asia's new millionaires, and
not all its neighbors are happy about this fact. Many Indonesians, for example,
resent Temasek for what they say is excessive control of Indonesia's cellular
industry: ST Telemedia and SingTel control the country's two leading operators.
"It galvanizes the ill feeling the public has toward
Singapore," said Drajad Wibowo, an Indonesian legislator.
India, on the other hand, rejected ST Telemedia's $390 million
bid last year for a 29 percent stake in its fifth- largest cellular operator
because SingTel already owns 30.5 percent of the Indian operator Bharti. This
year India blocked Temasek from raising its stake in ICICI Bank because the
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, which manages Singapore's budget
surpluses and foreign exchange reserves, already held 3 percent.
Temasek has had better luck in the United States. ST
Telemedia's 2003 purchase of a majority stake in Global Crossing overcame
opposition by the Pentagon after Singapore's prime minister at the time, Goh
Chok Tong, wrote to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Washington was less understanding toward one of its recent
partners in China, however. Last year, Temasek and Singapore Airlines took a 49
percent stake in a cargo airline with China Great Wall Industry, a satellite
launch company that since 1991 has been repeatedly sanctioned by Washington for
allegedly sending missile parts to Iran.
Great Wall Airlines started flying in June with two Boeing
jets, and in August the U.S. Treasury Department added it to the list of
sanctioned companies, forbidding any American company from doing business with
it, including Boeing. Deprived of technical assistance or parts, the airline
suspended operations. Singapore Airlines said that Great Wall Airlines was not
alleged to have done anything wrong and that China Great Wall Industry no longer
had a stake in it.
The Shin imbroglio is another episode that analysts say
Temasek should have seen coming. Thaksin became a billionaire building Shin into
a market leader; but after becoming prime minister in 2001, he faced repeated
allegations of using policies to benefit the company. Even as the deal was being
negotiated, tens of thousands of protesters had been attending anti- Thaksin
rallies.
After buying Shinawatra's 49.6 percent stake with a group of
Thai investors, Temasek and its partners were obliged to make a general offer
for the remaining shares and ended up with a 96 percent stake valued at $3.8
billion. Temasek gained control over Shin, Thailand's leading cellular operator,
a satellite company, and a local television broadcaster.
What outraged Bangkok's middle class, in addition to the sale
of key communications to a foreign government, was that the deal was conducted
in a way that enabled the Shinawatras to avoid any income tax.
Investigations into the Shin purchase now center on whether
Temasek's purchase violates Thailand's 49 percent foreign shareholding limit on
telecommunications companies. Temasek denies that any of its Thai partners are
proxies, an allegation they have also denied. Temasek says that it controls only
44 percent of Shin and that Thai entities control the rest. If the Shin deal is
found to be illegal, the company could face penalties and a revocation of its
licenses. The ministry could also force it to offload shares or void the sale.
Temesak's silent worries
29 September 2006
The fallout from the Thai coup is yet
to hit Singapore's Madame Ho, writes Eric Ellis - Sydney Morning Herald..
THAILAND'S military junta has gone out of its way to assure
that it's business as usual in Bangkok.
The baht has
wobbled, likewise the stock exchange, but neither with symptoms to have
neighbours sniffling with the contagion they caught here during the late 1990s
financial crisis. The coup has been smooth as silk, as Thais like to say.
But there is one woman in Singapore who desperately hopes
the generals are as good as their word, the person whose dealmaking with
Thailand's ousted Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, precipitated the coup.
Her name is Ho Ching. She is chief executive of the
Singapore Government-owned Temasek Holdings, which controls a $100
billion-plus portfolio, including Optus.
She bought Thaksin out of his family businesses, Shin Corp,
in March in a highly questionable $4.5 billion transaction that outraged
Thais.
The Singapore company bought the Thai leader's controlling
half share in Shin Corp and then quickly snapped up most of the rest on the
stockmarket. Temasek now controls 96 per cent.
As Thaksin banked Temasek's tax-free cash, Thais burnt
Madame Ho's effigy on Bangkok streets, traducing the reputation created for
her by Singaporean spin doctors as a safe pair of hands. It was, at best, a
spectacular misjudgement.
Far from being the great buy Temasek claimed, the deal
ignited six months of political turmoil, culminating in the coup. Thais
stopped using the television, airline, finance and technology businesses
Temasek bought.
Now Shin buyers wear a $US2 billion ($2.6 billion) paper
loss on the deal after less than six months.
As Thai regulators deepen their probe into the transaction
and Thaksin's "rampant corruption", Temasek and its partners reportedly face
fines of up to $US2 billion if it's proved, as many suspect, that Thai
licensing laws have been breached. Or have the deal declared illegal, the
assets nationalised.
Coups d'etat tend to arouse shrill demonstrations of
nationalism; Temasek is the convenient foreign villain, its predicament
entirely self-inflicted.
In these post-Enron days where blameless corporate
governance is paramount, if the chief executive blows $2 billion in six
months, the bloodletting in the boardroom would be swift and brutal. But even
if her Thai adventure worsens, that seems unlikely to happen to Ho, who is the
wife of Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong; the daughter-in-law of
the nation's long-time strongman, Lee Kuan Yew.
At 54, Ho is no Singapore Girl. Dour and grim, with a penchant
for unflattering grey business suits, she's been Temasek's unsmiling CEO since
2001, presenting as an untouchable corporate dominatrix protected by the
formidable Lee family edifice.The Lees, as compliant
Singaporeans famously know, don't make mistakes. Any questioning of their
methods - as bankrupted opposition politicians and the foreign press have
frequently discovered - hazard libel suits heard in Singapore's courts, where
the Lees' history of success is unparalleled.
Not that the Singaporean media does much questioning either.
The day's newspapers after the coup did not report Temasek's obvious dilemma,
odd given that ultimately it is Singapore taxpayers' money Ho has hazarded.
It was left to a sole letter writer, presciently published a
week before the coup, who suggested that an alliance with the much-hated
Thaksin might not be a wise risk for the national nest egg. "Hitching our
investment bandwagon to the first family is a double-edged sword," wrote Danny
Chua in Today.
"We can go higher with their rising star but when they fall,
we can fall too. Our investment must stand up to scrutiny in the eyes of the
law. There must be compliance with corporate governance and transparency. We
must be able to sleep peacefully, knowing that we have done the right thing."
Singapore loves to control and, when it can't, to quietly
work its power relationships behind the scenes. Temasek claims to be
independent of government but often seems to follow government policy in its
investment portfolio, spending to boost neighbours.
And in Thaksin, Singapore found an autocrat after its own
heart, rare in a region where mostly-Chinese Singapore isn't much liked,
derided though grudgingly admired as rich and arrogant.
Thaksin was a big fan of the Lee's long-ruling People's
Action Party and its compliant "Singapore System". Thaksin and Lee were allies
in pushing EU-style ASEAN integration and there was resentment in Jakarta and
Kuala Lumpur of a supposed Singapore-Bangkok axis within the group. Not any
more.
Serious questions abound for a Singapore that likes to
lecture the world about "best practices" of corporate governance it supposedly
employs.
Temasek is suspected of funding Thai partners in the Thaksin
deal, the implication being to avoid breaching foreign investment laws.
And where did Temasek pay Thaksin? Thailand's central bank
limits personal cash transfers to $US1 million a year - thus it would take
about 2000 years to transfer Thaksin's pile - and needs special permission
from the central bank to go higher.
But Thailand's central bank governor is seen as a cleanskin,
and a contender to be appointed caretaker prime minister by the generals.
Thaksin presumably knew that so it raises questions whether
Temasek paid some of the funds offshore, in a foreign tax haven perhaps,
avoiding Thai rules altogether.
And then there's impact beyond Bangkok. Economic contagion
seems to have been contained but the bloodless ease in which Thaksin has been
removed, the popularity of the coup, has been noticed in Jakarta and Manila,
both struggling to secure their own democracies.
Temasek is in serious trouble in Thailand. It's suddenly
friendless, losing its main political ally in Bangkok and his cronies, and
runs the risk of having its assets seized as the Thaksin probe deepens. The
deal itself is a fait accompli; Thaksin banked his $US2 billion months ago
and, now in gilded exile in London, is unlikely to offer to return Temasek's
cash.
If Temasek and Thaksin fall out, the legal implications are
fascinating. For the moment however, the silence from Temasek has been
deafening. It simply says it is "monitoring events". With $4 billion of other
peoples' money in the balance, it might've added "anxiously".
1984 in 2006
27 September 2006
In his book Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
wrote that there are only four ways that a ruling group can fall from power:
"Either it is conquered from without, or it governs so
inefficiently that the masses are stirred up to revolt, or it allows a
strong and discontented Middle group to come into being, or it loses its own
self-confidence and willingness to govern. These causes do not operate
singly, and as a rule all four of them are present in some degree. A ruling
class which could guard against all of the would remain in power
permanently."
Food for thought!
A Banned Book Challenges Saintly Image of Thai King
The New York Times
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 24 — When soldiers and tanks rolled
onto the streets of Bangkok last week and the king appeared on television with
the generals, it was not the first time
Thailand’s wildly popular monarch had given his blessing to a military
takeover.
A new and comprehensive history of the Thai modern monarchy,
written by an American journalist, Paul M. Handley, and banned in Thailand,
argues that in his 60-year reign King Bhumibol Adulyadej has generally exercised
a preference for order over democracy.
In doing so, Mr. Handley said, the king has put the
preservation of the institution of the monarchy ahead of a democratic Thailand.
The book, “The King Never Smiles,” presents a direct
counterpoint to years of methodical royal image-making that projects a king
beyond politics, a man of peace, good works and Buddhist humility. It also runs
counter to how most Thais see their king, as a man of mystique and charisma but
also as a bastion of Thailand’s moves to modernity.
The book’s publisher, Yale University Press, said it came
under heavy pressure from the Thai government not to publish it.
The director of Yale University Press, John Donatich, said the
pressure included a visit to New Haven by a delegation of Thai officials,
including the cabinet secretary general, Bowornsak Uwanno, and the Thai
ambassador to the United States, Virasakdi Futrakul.
Mr. Donatich said he ruled out canceling publication of the
book, and copies are now on sale in Asian capitals and the United States. But he
did agree, he said, to their request that publication be delayed until July, a
month after the June 9 celebrations in Bangkok of King Bhumibol’s 60th
anniversary on the throne and his 80th birthday.
“We didn’t want to be accused of exploiting the event,” Mr.
Donatich said.
The televised coverage of the gala provided an unusual look at
the court’s unyielding protocol that emphasizes a godly king above ordinary
mortals. In one live segment, white-liveried attachés could be seen running
ahead of the king to open an elevator door, and then lying prostrate on the
floor as the king and his wife passed by.
Mr. Handley, who worked for 13 years as a journalist in
Thailand, does not argue with the king’s unequalled status among the people or
his dedication to rural development projects. He writes that King Bhumibol’s
prestige has “survived unscathed by the virtue of his sheer longevity and his
personality — earnest, hardworking, gentle, with an impeccably simple
lifestyle.”
But his book does note that the king sided with a brutal army
takeover in 1976, and in 1992 waited three days before stopping a four-star
general from ordering troops to fire on demonstrators.
Much of what Mr. Handley writes is not new, and most of the
facts are not in dispute, reviewers and Thai historians say. It is the book’s
interpretation of the facts that can be disputed, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak,
the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at
Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
He disagreed, he said, with the argument that the trouble with
Thailand’s democracy lay with the king.
“That Thai democracy is weak because of the king — I don’t
think so,” Mr. Thitinan said. In fact, he said, the king had approved the 1997
Constitution, the most democratic so far, and that was abolished last week
That Constitution worked well, he said, until Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted last Tuesday, was acquitted of asset concealment
by the constitutional court in 2001, a decision the king had nothing to do with.
The
Yale press agreed to consider some factual errors that the Thais said were
of concern. In the end, Mr. Donatich said, the Thais submitted only three or
four minor corrections, like the correct title of a royal daughter’s thesis. “He
did his homework,” Mr. Donatich said of the author.
A portion of a document from the Thai cabinet that appeared on
a Thai Web site and appearing, by all accounts, to be authentic, listed the ways
the Thais tried to prevent publication, and if it went ahead, how to block the
book’s distribution in Thailand.
According to the document, the government contacted the
American law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae, which told it that
publication would be impossible to stop on constitutional grounds. Such efforts
would generate unwanted publicity, the lawyers advised.
The document said the authorities had banned the book in
Thailand on the grounds that it was a threat to stability. It said Thai
officials had contacted the Yale University president, Richard Levin, and had
sought the help of former President
George H. W. Bush, an alumnus of Yale.
For fans of royals as royals, Mr. Handley offers up plenty of
what might be classified as high-class dish, like a recounting of the mystery
surrounding the death of the king’s elder brother, Ananda, who was found in 1946
in his bed with a bullet through his head six months after being crowned king.
(The official version at the time was that Ananda had accidentally killed
himself.)
King Bhumibol was born in the United States, grew up in
Switzerland and married the lithe, pretty Princess Sirikit, a favorite of the
1960’s jet set, who by the 1980’s had weathered into a much more fulsome version
of a queen with her own court favorites, expensive tastes and pet charities.
The book describes their only son, Vajiralongkorn, as a
willful man prone to violence, fast cars and dubious business deals. It may well
be, Mr. Handley suggests, that the king’s favorite daughter, Princess Sirindhorn,
who is a dutiful royal with wide-ranging interests in rural development and
architecture, will be his successor.
“Bhumibol’s most fundamental failing is the Achilles’ heel of
every monarchy: he has been unable to guarantee an orderly succession to a wise,
selfless, and munificent king like himself,” the book concludes.
Wider Ban on Political Activities
BANGKOK, Sept. 24 (AP) — Members of Thailand’s military
council on Sunday issued new orders intended to stave off opposition to their
coup, banning political activities at the district and provincial levels.
The military has been restricting freedom of assembly and
pressing the news media into self-censorship. One of the first actions it took
was to declare martial law, which barred public gatherings of more than five
people.
Speculation has been rife in Thailand that Mr. Thaksin may
have taken some of his wealth out of the country just before the coup, but there
has been no confirmation of this from the military council. Airline officials
said Sunday that two planes chartered by Mr. Thaksin days before the takeover
were carrying more than 100 cases and trunks. He was at the
United Nations when the coup occurred and is now in London.
Thai Junta to Stay After Appointing P.M.
New York Times - BANGKOK, Sept. 26 -- One week after seizing
power in a coup, the leader of Thailand's military junta said today that it
would not disband after naming a civilian prime minister in the next few days
but would stay on in an advisory role.
Thai newspapers reported that the generals had offered the
prime minister’s job to Supachai Panitchpakdi, a former head of the World Trade
Organisation, but the coup leader, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, declined to
confirm this.
At a news conference, General Sonthi did not make clear how
much power he intended to exercise, but said national security in the coming
months remained unpredictable. It was the first indication by the generals that
they intend to retain power in the new government.
"We do not know what the internal situation will be in the
future," he said. "As of today the situation is calm, orderly and peaceful, but
we do not know what is going to happen in the future."
Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democratic Party, said
General Sonthi seemed to be backing away from his promise, made on the night of
the coup last Tuesday, that within two weeks, "We are gone."
"If they hold on to power," Mr. Abhisit said, "it will be the
opposite of what was announced and we hope that it will not happen."
General Sonthi said the martial law he imposed when he seized
power would remain in effect until the situation is stable. One indication of
his concern was a decree issued Sunday that banned political activity or
meetings in the rural areas that are Thaksin’s base.
At the time of the coup, the military was split between
officers supporting or opposing Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister.
During his five years in power Mr. Thaksin had put loyalists in control of
almost every sector of government and region of the country.
"Let us not forget that Mr.Thaksin, although out of power for
now, has not thrown in the towel yet," wrote Veera Prateepchaikul, deputy
editor-in-chief of The Bangkok Post daily newspaper, in a column. "He is still
very much loved by the grassroots population and has built up a huge network of
support over the years."
Some Thai newspaper commentators are saying it does not appear
that the junta had thoroughly prepared the steps to be taken after its seizure
of power.
The military leaders are being criticized for their decision
not to immediately freeze the assets of Mr. Thaksin and his associates, for
appointing some figures associated with Mr. Thaksin to key positions and for
failing to make policy statements on important national issues apart from
security.
A small anti-coup movement has begun, and political analysts
say it could swell into a larger problem for the junta if the military does not
quickly replace itself with a civilian administration.
A group of civil society groups calling itself the N.G.O.’s
Network for Political and Social Reform urged the junta today to withdraw its
restrictions on free assembly and free press; to restore the constitution,
particularly its articles on civil rights; and to appoint officials who are free
of corruption and have no ties to the Mr. Thaksin government.
Chaiwat Satha-anand, a political scientist at Thammasat
University, said he understood the reasons for ousting Mr. Thaksin but he said
he was disturbed by its broad and immediate acceptance by the public.
"It is sad to see how popular this coup has become because
accepting violent situations to political problems could also be seen as a sign
of despair," he wrote in a column in the Bangkok Post.
In its report on the selection of a prime minister The Nation
daily newspaper said Mr. Supachai had tentatively accepted an offer to lead the
interim government.
Mr. Supachai, who is now head of the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development in Geneva, has held a number of financial posts in the
Thai government, including that of commerce minister after the Asian financial
crisis in 1997.
Under the junta’s plan, the interim prime minister would hold
office during the year-long drafting of a new constitution and preparations for
a parliamentary election that would restore democracy.
"I have someone in mind but would rather not say it at this
time," General Sonthi said. "I will try to pick a prime minister as soon as
possible."
He said he would name a civilian who would be free to make his
own decisions and appoint his own 35-member cabinet. But he said his definition
of a civilian prime minister included former members of the military.
General Sonthi said the military rulers had been in touch with
Mr. Thaksin, who is now in London, and that as a Thai citizen he was free to
return whenever he wants.
"But I think Mr. Thaksin can decide for himself," General
Sonthi said. "I think Mr. Thakskin may not come right now because he can see the
situation is unstable."
Investigations have begun into the assets of Mr. Thaksin and
his associates and into possible government corruption and these could affect
his decision whether to return.
A nine-member investigating committee was formed Sunday and
its chairman, Sawat Chotiphanit, said, "If we find evidence that they tried to
transfer their assets overseas we will freeze the assets."
As it prepares to settle in for the long term, General Sonthi
said the junta, which had insisted on being called the Council for Democratic
Reform under Constitutional Monarchy, was renaming itself the National Security
Council.
Concerns deepen over Thailand's direction
26 September 2006
It is almost a week since Thailand's bloodless coup. But
it is still unclear whether Thailand's coup leaders have a well-thought-out
plan to return the country to democracy.
Staging the coup now appears to have been the easy part.
Running the country is more problematic. The coup increasingly appears to
have been a hasty action, spurred by Thaksin's absence from the country and
the potential for conflict between pro and anti Thakin factions.
What is clear is that the CDRM is concerned at the
possibility of a popular backlash in Thaksin's favor. There has been a clamp
down hard on civil liberties and media freedoms to suppress any pro-Thaksin
activity.
Soldiers have been stationed inside television newsrooms, and at least one
website critical of the junta, www.19sept.com, has been shut down. When
government-run Channel 11 attempted to air footage of Thaksin speaking from
London, soldiers blocked the signal and warned station managers they faced
reprisal if they broadcast any clips of the ousted premier. The junta has
also unplugged hundreds of community radio stations across the country's
northern regions, where, and this is no coincidence, Thaksin's political
support was strongest.
Those tough tactics have hardened already skeptical international opinion
against the coup with media and political commentators decrying the
suspension of democracy. The following article is typical.
To clear the air, the CDRM will need to appear even-handed
rather than heavy-handed in its tactics. Above all else it needs to
re-establish rather than further undermine the independence of the
judiciary. But with a number of TRT leaders and Thaksin cronies already
detained without charge there are concerns about how independent the
judiciary can and will be.
This coup is far from over and the end result remains very
unclear.
Thailand’s coup leaders suppress democratic rights
By John Roberts and Peter Symonds - World
Socialist Web site
25 September 2006
It is less than a week since Thai military leaders ousted
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and installed themselves as the Council for
Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM). While the media have
emphasised the coup’s bloodless character and featured pictures of smiling
soldiers with young children, the junta backed by the monarchy is no more
benevolent than the repressive Thai military regimes of the past.
The CDRM, which seized power on September 19, has already
imposed measures that drastically curtail democratic rights. The generals have
imposed martial law, abrogated the constitution, dissolved both houses of the
national parliament and shut down the Constitutional Court. All political
activities and any public gatherings of more than five people have been banned.
Army chief and CDRM head General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin called
a meeting of all newspaper and television executives last Thursday to impose
censorship regulations. Military spokesman Lieutenant-General Palanggoon Klaharn
confirmed the extensive character of the measures, stating that the military
“would like to urge those who have different political opinions to halt their
activities for the time being.”
In addition to banning radio stations from taking phone calls
from listeners and TV stations publishing text messages, Internet webmasters
will be held responsible for any messages posted on their sites. All references
to the king are to be removed. According to the Nation newspaper, the
military has banned anything considered “detrimental to peace and morality”.
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology official
Thaneerat Siritachana warned: “We have asked for cooperation, but violators...
could face a shut down of their businesses.” The ministry has already closed
down 300 community radio stations in the country’s north, where ousted Prime
Minister Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai (TKT) party had their strongest electoral
support. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that
Thailand’s 2,000 community radio stations are under threat.
On Friday morning, the website “19 September Network against
Coup d’Etat”, set up the previous day, was taken off the air. Publisher Sombat
Boongnam-among told the media: “We had nearly 5,000 hits on our first day. The
ISP [Internet Service Provider] said our information was too dangerous.”
Nevertheless, about 100 students from the newly-established
network defied martial law and gathered outside the Siam Paragon shopping mall
last Friday to protest against the junta. Dressed in black, the protesters
carried placards declaring “No to Thaksin, No to coup”. Some wore symbolic gags
over their mouths. Police arrested a female student who tried to read out a
statement.
Chulalongkorn University academic Giles Ungpakorn, who
supported the protest, told the press: “I never supported the Thaksin
government. We were protesting against Thaksin’s human rights abuses long before
the anti-corruption protests began.” But the situation is worse now, he said.
“We were allowed to protest under Thaksin. There was no ban on demonstrations.
The media weren’t completely clamped down the way they are now.”
Making clear that it will tolerate no opposition, the junta
announced on Sunday that anyone participating in political gatherings will face
“tough and swift penalties” of up to five years jail and fines of 100,000 baht
[$US2,700]. The televised announcement called for all district and provincial
level organisations to halt their activities “until the situation returns to
normal”. An army spokesman told Associated Press that opposition politicians had
held meetings in the northern city of Chang Mai, where they “criticised the coup
as wrong”.
Military spokesman Palanggoon Klaharn announced on Saturday
that the country’s foreign ministry had been ordered to take “proactive action”
to correct “misreporting” in the international media. He complained in
particular that some foreign journalists had presented news that insulted King
Bhumibol Adulyadej. At one point, CNN and BBC reportage of the coup was blacked
out.
The junta is particularly sensitive to any mention of the
king’s involvement in the coup because, in the first instance, the military’s
claims to legitimacy derive from his support. The CDRM and its backers in ruling
circles are relying on the king’s authority to stifle opposition, particularly
among Thaksin’s supporters in rural areas.
There is no doubt, however, that the royal palace was
intimately involved in the coup. A picture has been released showing the king
meeting with the military plotters on the night of the takeover. The following
day, the palace issued a decree ordering the public service and population to
obey the orders of the CDRM. Last Friday, at a ceremony at army headquarters,
the king formally endorsed Sonthi as interim head of the military government.
The monarchy is closely intertwined with the military, which
ruled Thailand for much of the twentieth century through direct and often brutal
dictatorships. In key crises, the king’s authority as a “revered” and neutral
arbiter has been critical in containing opposition and propping up the state
apparatus. In 1992, King Bhumibol stepped in to defuse mounting mass protests
against the military junta headed by General Suchinda Kraprayoon after soldiers
fired on and killed hundreds of unarmed protesters.
Protracted political turmoil
The latest coup took place as social and political tensions
were again reaching breaking point amid a bitter feud in ruling circles over the
Thaksin government’s policies. Thaksin initially came to power in 2001 by
capitalising on popular disaffection with the pro-market reforms of the
Democratic Party-led ruling coalition that took office following the 1997-98
Asian financial crisis. His populist pledges won significant support among the
rural poor as well as layers of business hard hit by the economic turmoil.
Under pressure from international markets, however, Thaksin
alienated his former backers among the ruling elite by continuing economic
restructuring, including privatisations and a free trade deal with the US. He
also provoked opposition through increasingly autocratic methods, a ruthless
anti-drugs campaign and attempts to suppress separatist opposition in the Muslim
south of the country.
Protests began last year and mushroomed into mass rallies in
February after the Thaksin family avoided paying taxes on the $1.9 billion sale
of its share in the Shin Corp communications conglomerate to the Singapore
government’s investment arm Temasek. Thaksin attempted to shore up his
government by holding a snap national election in April, but an opposition
boycott provoked a constitutional crisis after not all seats were filled. Under
pressure from the king, Thaksin became a caretaker prime minister and promised
to step aside completely after fresh elections under a new electoral commission.
As the standoff dragged on, it became increasingly evident
that Thaksin and his TRT would be reelected in any new vote, leading to a new
round of political turmoil. The anti-Thaksin opposition was due to restart mass
rallies on September 20, that is the day after the coup. The military, with the
backing of the king, took control above all to preempt a protest movement
involving ordinary working people that threatened to slip out of the control of
the existing political parties.
Academic Giles Ungpakorn told the Independent: “It’s a
tale of two countries. You have the urban middle classes and the rural poor.
Thaksin was the first to really provide political programs for the poor. There
is this argument that he won elections fraudulently, but there’s no real
evidence for that. I think the rural poor voted for him because he provided
policies for them. That’s democracy and if you don’t like it you have to set up
a political party and offer something better. In this country, it’s the rural
poor who respect democracy—and it’s the educated elite who don’t.”
Thaksin’s populist pledges for the poor were very limited,
designed to gather support for an economic agenda that was inimical to their
interests. The opposition faced exactly the same political problem: how to
obtain popular support for a program that would inevitably undermine living
standards. Moreover it was divided. While key opposition figures backed more
protectionist measures, the Democrats advocated more aggressive economic
restructuring.
Openly contemptuous of the poor, leading Democratic Party
member Surin Pitsuwan told the Washington Post: “The problem is that in
Thailand, Thaksin created a class of people dependent on state handouts. We need
to teach these people that there are no such things as free gifts in a real
democracy and that it does them more harm than good to live off the largesse of
corrupt leaders.”
The junta has announced that it will draw up a new
constitution and hold elections next year. It is already clear, however, that
the military intends to break up the TRT and ensure that Thaksin does not return
to the political stage. That is the purpose of its new “anti-corruption” drive,
which has already resulted in the arrest of four leading TRT members, including
Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit.
A newly-appointed National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC)
has been charged with investigating Thaksin and 15 former cabinet ministers over
corruption and other charges, such as electoral fraud. The auditor-general is to
investigate other alleged corruption cases, including those associated with the
construction of the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.
What broad economic policies the CDRM will implement is
unclear. A civilian prime minister is due to be installed this week. The leading
contenders include former World Trade Organisation head Supachai Panitchpakdi,
Bank of Thailand governor Pridyathorn Devakula and two top judges, Charnchai
Likhitchittha and Akkharathorn Chularat. It cannot be ruled out that someone
close to the military and the palace, such as former prime minister and general
Prem Tinsulonda, might be chosen.
Whoever is installed will face exactly the same dilemma as
Thaksin: how to ram through economic policies that inevitably produce popular
discontent. The draconian measures already in place are a warning that the
military will brook no opposition and will not hesitate to use the violent
methods of the past to suppress protests and dissent.
Thaksin fled with assets
24 September 2006
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have whisked
some of his assets out of the country aboard two aircraft in the days before
a military coup ousted him from power, airline officials said Sunday.
An official from Thai Airways International, who demanded
anonymity because company policy did not allow him to speak to the press, said
he wanted the new ruling military council to investigate the allegations.
Speculation has been rife in Thailand that Thaksin may have
sneaked money out of the country in the days leading up to the coup, but there
has been no confirmation from the council.
Thaksin departed for Finland to begin a foreign tour on Sept.
9, loading up his government-assigned aircraft with 58 large suitcases and
trunks, the official of the national carrier said.
The prime minister's aircraft, named Thai Koofah, was then
left parked in Finland for more than a week as Thaksin continued on his trip
around the country on other transportation.
A second aircraft carrying 56 suitcases — an Airbus 340-600 —
was dispatched from Bangkok to meet up with the prime minister just days before
the coup, the Thai Airways official said.
The first flight would have included Thaksin's entourage, but
it wasn't clear if there were any passengers on the second flight.
Another official in the airline industry, requesting anonymity
because of the issue's sensitivity, confirmed the second flight, saying it left
on Sept. 17 — two days before the military toppled Thaksin in a bloodless coup.
It was unclear why Thaksin needed a second aircraft when his
own plane was already assigned to fly him to Europe and the United States.
Speculation has surfaced about whether Thaksin knew of the
coup in advance and moved some of his vast assets out of the country.
Asked about Thaksin taking his assets abroad, ruling military
council spokesman Lt. Gen. Palangoon Klaharn responded: "No comment. I can't
comment on that."
Thailand's new ruling military council says it will launch an
investigation into alleged wrongdoing under Thaksin's government, which critics
charge was riddled with massive corruption and abuse of power.
A spokeswoman for the airline said she was not aware of the
incident "and even if it is true, Thai Airways would only report it to the
(council), not to the media." She said company policy did not allow her to
reveal her name to the media.
The Thai Airways official said it was not known what was taken
aboard the second aircraft because only Thaksin's aides, citing security
concerns, were allowed to supervise the loading.
"I want the (military) council to investigate this because we,
the employees of Thai Airways International, believe that Thaksin exploited the
company through his power as prime minister by using a company airplane to
transport his assets out of the country," the official said.
Air force spokesman Capt. Pongsak Semachai said the Thai
Koofah aircraft arrived back in Thailand several days ago, but declined to give
the exact date.
Earlier, one of Thaksin's staunchest opponents, publishing
tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, suggested the former leader had chartered two Russian
aircraft to take some of his assets out of Thailand.
Sondhi, a key leader of mass street demonstrations against
Thaksin earlier this year, made the allegations a week before Thaksin departed
for Finland, and repeated them the following week, speaking at a weekly public
forum he hosts and televises on his own cable television channel.
"Russian cargo planes — big enough to carry four to five tanks
— stopped in Thailand and loaded boxes into dozens of containers and took off.
It is not clear who owned the stuff but the planes were given the privilege of
landing before any other planes," Sondhi said.
A spokesman for the Russian airline Aeroflot told The
Associated Press he knew of no such flights.
"No that didn't take place," Lev Koshlyakov, deputy general
director of Aeroflot, said in Moscow. "I haven't heard anything about it. We
don't operate charter flights of such kind."
Thaksin's family is among the wealthiest in Thailand, and in
2004 the American magazine Forbes ranked Thaksin as the 16th richest man in
Southeast Asia.
In January, the then-prime minister sold the centerpiece of
his empire — telecoms giant Shin Corp. — to Singapore's state investment
company, Temasek Holdings, for a tax-free 73.3 billion baht (US$1.9 billion;
€1.55 billion).
The head of the country's central bank, Pridiyathorn Devakul,
has said the proceeds from the sale were probably still in Thailand.
"I estimate that no large amount of Thai baht has been
converted into overseas currencies. However, I don't know whether the money
could have been packed in suitcases and taken abroad," he said last week.
Thaksin and one of his children have stayed in London since
the coup, while his wife and two other children remain in Thailand.
Overly sensitive
24 September 2006
Thailand's new military rulers complained yesterday about
what they consider inaccurate foreign news reports on the coup that ousted
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Lt.-Gen. Palanggoon Klaharn, spokesman for the ruling military
council, said the Foreign Ministry had been ordered to take "proactive action"
to correct what he called misreporting.
He also said some foreign journalists had presented news that
insulted the country's monarchy.
He didn't cite specific reports, nor say what kind of response
there might be, but said clarifications had been given to foreign diplomats.
Several foreign news reports have suggested tension between
King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Thaksin's administration could have contributed to
the staging of Tuesday night's bloodless military takeover.
Under Thai law, it is taboo even to suggest the king -- a
constitutional monarch -- might play a role in politics.
News reports have quoted western governments and hu-man rights
groups as calling the coup a setback for democracy and criticizing restrictions
placed by the military council on freedom of assembly and the media.
The coup, carried out while Thaksin was abroad, met no open
resistance and was generally welcomed by the public in Bangkok, where tens of
thousands of people demonstrated earlier this year seeking Thaksin's resignation
for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
The military has said it would hand over power in two weeks to
an interim civilian prime minister and a new election would be held by next
October.
It has assumed all security, administrative and legislative
powers.
Associated Press
Military may seize Thaksin assets
23 September 2006
BANGKOK- AFP: -- Thailand may seize the assets of ousted premier Thaksin
Shinawatra, a self-made telecom tycoon believed to be worth over $2-billion
(about R14,6-billion), the new military junta said on Friday.
"It's under consideration on how we will proceed," with Thaksin's vast
assets, said air force chief Chalit Pukbhasuk, one of the military leaders
who toppled Thaksin in a bloodless coup on Tuesday.
The junta also appointed a new nine-member National Counter Corruption
Commission, clearing the way for a probe of the financial affairs of Thaksin,
who was staying in London on Friday.
Forbes magazine in July said Thaksin is Thailand's fourth richest
businessman with a fortune worth $2,2-billion.
The 56-year-old, who took office in 2001, was the founder of Thailand's
telecom giant Shin Corp., which includes the country's top mobile phone
company, satellite services and a stake in a budget airline.
His family in January sold a nearly 50-percent stake in Shin Corp. and
earned R1,9-billion under a tax-free deal, setting off months of street
protests demanding his ousting over alleged abuse of power and corruption.
The commission said Friday that when Thaksin first took office he declared
assets worth 15.12 billion baht (about $2,9-billion) held in 27 bank
accounts and in stocks in 29 companies and investment funds.
Months after taking office, a top court found Thaksin not guilty on charges
that he had failed to disclose full assets to the authority.
Thaksin also owned four houses, 35 buildings and land in Bangkok, in his
hometown in northern Chiang Mai province, in the southern tourist resort of
Phuket and elsewhere.
He also declared 10 cars including a Porsche and a Ferrari, and stacks of
diamonds, rubies, topaz necklaces, rings and watches.
Earlier Friday, the junta expanded the powers of the national police chief,
which would make it easier to press ahead with prosecutions against Thaksin
and other members of his government.
Thailand's auditor general told local media that she would be ready to
complete at least one long-standing corruption investigation into him within
days.
The junta has promised to appoint a new civilian government within two
weeks, and to draft a new constitution to clear the way for elections in
October 2007.
Air chief Chalit said the generals were considering at least five candidates
to become the new prime minister, but he declined to reveal their names.
"The new prime minister is likely to be a legal expert because he has to
implement constitutional reforms, while his deputies can oversee economic
affairs," he said.
"There are more than five people under consideration, and I expect he will
be named soon," Chalit said.
Is this the thin end of
the wedge
21
September 2006
Our new military government is already getting sensitive
about titles. Acronyms are not good enough for post coup Thailand. The
Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) has asked
the local press to report its name in full and to exercise self-censorship
on political news in order to foster social unity.
The name is important in relaying a right message and its shortened version
might be misleading. a spokesman Lt General Palangkun Klahan said. How right
he is. In Britain people used to see advertisements for people to award
themselves the CDM; a Cadbury's Dairy Milk.
The CDRM have also asked that news reports should not try to link them to
past coups, such as the one staged by the National Peace-keeping Council in
1992.
He also reminded media outlets not to sensationalise reports relating to the
ousted government and its politicians. So much for reporting the facts.
In the meaning it is tempting to imagine what CDRM could stand
for - maybe Coups Dont Really Matter.
The generals strike
Leader
Thursday September 21, 2006
The Guardian
Thailand's move from the ranks of constitutional
monarchies to military dictatorship has been sudden, well-executed and dismaying
to those who hoped the country might overcome its severe problems through
constitutional means. The prime ministership of Thaksin Shinawatra, a
nationalist oligarch who ran the country as if it was his own private business
and roused support from his rural powerbase through a well-funded appeal to
patriotism, has been decaying for months. His rule did not serve the country
well and he should have remained out of office after leaving it briefly
following the country's confused general election earlier this year. Instead
Thaksin persisted, driven by a mix of arrogance and greed, in the face of
opposition in the country's main cities and from many of its established
institutions, including the army and the monarchy.
These forces came together in a coup that had the tacit
endorsement of the king and which has so far proved both bloodless and popular,
at least in Bangkok. Adrift in London and facing the threat of prosecution,
Thaksin is now unlikely to return to power, something which will not trouble
most Thai democrats. But the manner of his removal pollutes the country's claim
to be emerging as one of the world's developed democracies. It is a throwback to
a time when the king and his army saw themselves as the guarantors of national
stability. Democratic institutions, including parliament, the courts and the
constitution, have turned out to have shallow roots, ripped out with ease by the
tanks and troops which appeared on the streets of Bangkok. Promises of a return
to civilian rule and elections within the next year are no substitute for a
political system resilient enough to renew itself without the need to call on
the army.
Blame for the crisis lies at Thaksin's door, not just because
of the way he profited from his power but because of his systematic undermining
of national order. This was most explicit in the south of Thailand, partly
Muslim and witness to growing violence, where Thaksin's bull-headed
confrontation made the situation worse. The coup leader and army chief, General
Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who is Muslim, has called for a different approach, and
military and royal concern about Thaksin's record in the south was a factor in
his downfall. The opposition Democrat party, which can expect to gain from this
week's events, is strong in that part of the country.
But however dubious his record, Thaksin retained the affection
of many Thais, especially those who have not profited from the country's
breakneck pace of development over the past two decades. The fact that his
opponents had to wait for the military to remove him, rather than trust in a
second general election which might have taken place before the end of the year,
is a sign of this. Opposition democrats who took to the streets in Bangkok
earlier this year rather than engage in the first election are also partly
responsible for prompting this week's events. However well-intentioned, they too
helped destabilise the country.
Without Thaksin's presence and his money, his Thai Rak Thai
party is likely to fall apart. It remains to be seen whether he is confident
enough to return to Bangkok: the failure of any part of the army to back him
suggests he will not. Ultimate authority rests with the Thai king, who has
proved his democratic sympathies in past coups and who is likely to hold the
army to its promises this time. But he is ageing and increasingly unwell. In the
long-term, Thais will not be able to rely upon his presence to untangle the
country's political difficulties. The king's son and heir does not appear to
have his father's wisdom. The country needs to build democratic institutions
that are strong enough to ensure that Thailand's 18th military coup since
becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932 is also the country's last.
Promises ring hollow as democracy takes a
long step backwards
World Briefing by Bronwen Maddox 21 September 2006 The
Times
ONCE democracy is set aside it can take a long time to get it
back. Ask Pakistan.
So the reassurances of the leaders of the military coup in
Thailand that there will be a new general election in something over a year ring
hollow. The coup represents a long step backwards that will undermine the
progress of democracy in the region.
The most stabilising influence would seem to come from the
revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 78, whose picture adorns the walls of
restaurants and offices across the country. The coup leaders claim to be acting
with his support.
The more that is true (and the King, who speaks rarely, has
yet to comment), the better the hopes for immediate stability in Thailand. But
that is not the same thing as democracy — or long-term peace.
There is one uncomfortable feature of Thai politics that led
to the coup, and which is common to many rapidly developing countries, including
India: the deep rift between the rural poor and the huge urban populations.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Prime Minister, owed his
overwhelming majorities in 2001 and 2005 to the support of rural areas (although
he would not have won without some support in the towns, too).
That point exposes the bankruptcy of the justifications given
by General Sondhi Boonyaratglin for the coup. The complaints against Mr Thaksin
are about his handling of the office of prime minister: putting cronies in key
jobs and pouring cash into the countryside to secure his vote. Many of these
complaints are well founded; he was a poor prime minister.
But the complaints did not generally extend to the conduct of
the elections themselves. Mr Thaksin was popularly and overwhelmingly elected.
The army chief’s reasons for deposing him count for little against that central
point.
If Mr Thaksin were allowed to stand for election now he may
still win. That is why General Sondhi’s plan to allow at least a year for
writing a new constitution, which would permit a new general election, is
ominous. His clear intention is to rewrite the rules so that Mr Thaksin cannot
win. The changes are “necessary to institute reforms to resolve a political
stalemate”, in a preposterous euphemism. General Sondhi says that he — or an
appointed interim government — will make sure that the electoral commission is
stripped of Mr Thaksin’s cronies. The Prime Minister was hardly blameless in
that department, but this declaration perverts the vocabulary of democracy. Even
if elections do take place in a little over a year, it is not clear that they
will be fair.
Thailand had boasted that it had not suffered a coup for 15
years, like a patient distancing himself from the last discerned symptoms of a
disease. But this coup, the 18th since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy
in 1932, is an unfortunate echo of the past.
That does not mean Thailand has a propensity for coups that it
will never shake off. Its development in the past 15 years gives it some
protection against a repetition of the past. But it is Thailand’s difficulty in
coping with those radical economic and social changes that has given rise to
this crisis. And that is an affliction that could affect other countries in the
region, torn between their past, in the deep rural areas, and their future, in
the cities.
Outside pressure for stability will count for something. There
was immediate condemnation from America, the European Union, Australia and New
Zealand. The Thai stock market was closed yesterday but the baht currency is
liable to slide, the vaguer the commitment to democracy.
Pictures yesterday of the armed forces chiefs heading to the
palace may reassure the rural poor by implying that the coup is backed by the
Crown. But they are still likely to feel, with justice, that the Prime Minister
whom they put in power has been stolen from them.
India demonstrates how sharply a country can swing between
parties because of the clash of interests between cities and the hinterland. The
Congress party turfed out the BJP nationalist party in the 2004 elections, in an
extraordinary upset, because of rural resentment at the BJP’s “India Shining”
slogan, which glorified the cities’ astounding development.
But India managed that about-turn democratically. The
country’s sympathies may still be divided, but at least there is no question
about the Government’s legitimacy. The same surely goes for Thailand. Peace may
prove elusive until it returns to democracy.
More pictures
from the last 24 hours
20 September
2006 (Pictures from the Manager group)
Source:
http://w3.manager.co.th/home/
This morning in
Bangkok
20 September
2006
I went out to
Wireless Road, Chitlom, the World Trade Center and Siam Paragon. It is very
quiet on the streets. I did not see any tanks or troop carriers. There were
a few bored looking soldiers at the junction by the Hyatt. Gaysorn Mall was
closed. Siam Paragon was open but many stores were still closed. Maybe they
will open later in the day.
The scariest scam
of all were the jewelery scammers on the sky walk by Central World Plaza. In
their best English they were telling innocent looking tourists that the
malls would be closed today but that their export stores were open and would
give a special 7% discount. Disgraceful.
It did inspire me
to thinking that some of the stores should be having special sales to
generate some business. A special one day "Coup Sale"; or maybe "Tanks for
the Memory" or a "He's Gone Sale." Restaurants could do special Coup
menus.....something French; after all they invented the coup d'etat.
Anyway, a few pics
from my travels this morning.
Gaysorn
closes on government advice - which government?
An empty
Siam Paragon mall
Editorial in the Houston Chronicle
20 September
2006
Democracy retreats: Thailand was better off with flawed president than
with authoritarian general.
Last March Thailand's army commander, The Associated Press reported,
announced that, "Political troubles should be solved by politicians. Military
coups are a thing of the past."
Tuesday, while Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York
to deliver a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, the army commander, Gen.
Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, staged a bloodless coup. Sondhi named himself acting
prime minister and declared martial law. The new rulers issued a statement
asking the public to pardon any inconvenience.
Apparently there were few complaints. News reports said Bangkok's many
tourists strolled about indifferent or oblivious to the tanks and police
vehicles in the streets. Apart from a few eddies in the corrupt flow of cash in
government and commerce, most people in Thailand will feel little or no effect
from the coup.
Military coups were once a staple of Thai politics. Before Tuesday, the last
one was in 1991. However, the seeming ease by which authoritarian rule replaced
elected government in Thailand without firing a shot suggests that in the
interim, democracy has not put down deep roots there.
Prime Minister Thaksin makes a poor example of elected government. He has
endured charges of corruption and abuse of power. He does not recognize freedom
of speech or of the press and refuses to resign.
However, the people elected Thaksin and soon will have a chance to replace
him, if the army allows. Thailand would be better off with a deeply flawed
leader ultimately accountable to the electorate than what it has now: a military
dictator who has revoked the constitution.
Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
Good morning
Thailand - the morning after
20 September
2006
Thailand is waking up this morning to news of a coup that has deposed Prime
Minister Thaksin and seen the arrest of man of his allies.
Mobile
phone and internet connections were are still online (except for when some sites
were overwhelmed by heavy traffic). International broadcast media has been cut,
most likely for fears that the tenacious Thaksin would attempt a speech that
would then find its way back to his rural supporters on television.
On
national TV there is no programming other than patriotic images of the King used
in conjunction with announcements from the new regime to show that its
activities were not being made at the expense of royalty. Even the junta's name,
"Committee for Democratic Reform under the Monarchy as Head of State,"
emphasizes this. Using royal imagery and the prompt audience with the King at
midnight Tuesday is intended to pacify die-hard rural Thaksin supporters who
might otherwise oppose the new order.
Bangkok
covers a large area and most of the overt military activity is only happening in
a small area that houses government offices far downtown near the old part of
the city. In addition to this there is a military presence at broadcast media
outlets around town and at key intersections in the city. Business and tourism
areas such as Silom, Sathorn, and Sukhumvit should not see much disruption.
Much of
the military's security activities now are aimed at making sure military units
loyal to Thaksin do not try to cause trouble or create a provocative incident,
as well as maintaining general law and order in a time of uncertain authority.
There will be concern that Thaksin will not give up easily if there is any way
to strike back.
The
business community will for now remain very nervous of what happens next. There
will be fears for the Thai economy if the Shin Corp buyout deal is halted or
reversed and this could have severe consequences for the Thai baht valuation.
How hard the military decides to go after Thaksin and his assets will be key.
How
far will the military go in terms of arrests and investigations of TRT leaders
and ex government ministers for alleged profiteering. Who, if anyone, might be
barred from future political life will also be watched closely.
The nature of the junta's plans should be known by midday Bangkok time as there
is a meeting at 9:00am with university presidents, permanent secretaries of
ministries, and other key government bureaucrats for an expected explanation of
the military government's plans.
So
far this has the hallmarks of a well planned and carefully exercised coup. The
apparent calmness could all come undone if forces loyal to Thaksin try to strike
back.
A Festive Coup in Thailand
On Scene: After having spent much of the spring trying on
their own to force out their elected government, many Thai citizens are happy to
let the military do the job
By
HANNAH BEECH/BANGKOK
TIME MAGAZINE - 20 September
It was near midnight on Tuesday, tanks had rolled up to
Bangkok's Government House and the monsoons were drenching the crowds. But the
mood during Thailand's first military coup since 1992—the previous one ended
with protesters gunned down in the streets—was remarkably festive. Women in
mini-skirts posed for pictures in front of tanks, while elderly men in pajamas
jabbered on cellphones. Last spring, hundreds of thousands of Thai citizens had
organized daily peaceful protests on Bangkok streets, calling for the
resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose popularity in
urban areas had nosedived after the controversial sale of his family telecom
business. Now, after months of political instability, the military brass
appeared to have gotten much closer to unseating the Thai leader than months of
democratic assembly had. "Of course, I wish that the political situation had
been solved in a democratic way," says Makarathep Thepkanjana, a physician who
joined the anti-Thaksin rallies back in the spring and who was now standing next
to a tank at the gates of Government House. "But, we are exhausted from having
so many rallies. We're happy that the military coup is happening, because it
means that Thaksin will be gone."
Welcome to democracy Thai style. Late on Tuesday evening, with
satellite feeds of BBC and CNN intermittently jammed, a military spokesman
announced on Thai TV that the armed forces, under the command of Army Chief Gen.
Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, had taken over Bangkok and surrounding areas and was
declaring martial law. The spokesman blamed the military's extreme measures on
what he termed corrupt practices by Thaksin, alleging that the Prime Minister
had hampered the workings of both parliament and the courts. Thailand's King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, a constitutional monarch, was named as interim head of
state, although the spokesman promised that a new caretaker would be named.
(Cavalry regiment soldiers stationed by Government House had yellow ribbons, a
color associated with the monarchy, tied to their uniforms and rifles in an
apparent signal that the coup enjoyed the King's tacit support.) By 3 a.m., TV
announcers had declared Wednesday a holiday for most citizens, while civil
servants were asked to report to military bases at 9 a.m.
Rumors of an army rebellion had been floating through Bangkok
for weeks, and they only intensified when Thaksin left for a trip abroad earlier
this month. (He was in New York on Tuesday when the coup occurred, from where he
declared a state of emergency.) The coup also comes just one day before the
scheduled resumption of anti-Thaksin protests similar to the ones that brought
hundreds of thousands of people to Bangkok streets earlier this year. Plumber
Somchai Nityomrath had planned to go to Wednesday's rallies but instead showed
up at Government House on Tuesday night to lend support to the coup plotters
inside. "I came because I'm so happy," he says. "The democratic process has been
taken over by Thaksin, so it's time for the people to take back democracy with
the military's help."
The Prime Minister had been voted to power in three landslide
elections, most recently in April. But that vote was invalidated after
opposition parties boycotted it. Thaksin's popularity in urban areas—he remains
well-liked among rural poor—began to wane early this year after the tax-free
sale of his family's telecom firm, Shin Corp, for $1.9 billion, a transaction
that was regarded by some as an abuse of power. He has also been criticized for
filling many government positions with his supporters. The military, too, has
been stacked with Thaksin appointees, including his family members, according to
top defense analyst Panitan Wattanayagorn. One of Thaksin's duties after
returning from abroad was to sign off on a major military reshuffle that could
have demoted more members of Gen. Sondhi's anti-Thaksin faction.
Whether the coup will, in fact, end Thaksin's tenure isn't yet
clear. Nor is it certain whether democracy will follow the military maneuver. In
the 1970s and 1980s, Thailand experienced nearly a dozen coups, which hardly
helped nurture democracy. "The success of this coup will hinge on whether the
military can quickly name a new caretaker leader and show that they are
committed to democratic governance," says Panitan.
For now, the coup plotters must first make sure that Thaksin
loyalists within the military don't stage a counter-coup. "Then things could get
violent," warns Panitan. Such military intrigue, though, was lost on the
sunburned tourists who were driving by Government House in the back of tuk-tuks,
as the local automated trishaws are called. "What's going on?" asked one
English-speaking passerby with large tattoos on his shoulders, as he glanced at
four soldiers lounging on a tank. "Is it a party?" Who knows how long the
festive mood on Bangkok streets will last.
PM's men
detained, wife in Singapore
Many politicians and those with links to caretaker prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra were spread far and wide last night as the news
of the coup broke in Bangkok.
First lady Pojaman reportedly flew to Singapore on Monday and it is not
known whether Panthongtae, the family's only son, followed his mother last
night.
The whereabouts of the PM's daughters Paethongtae and Pinthongta were not
known.
Thaksin is in New York at a hotel, where he has reportedly been watching the
United Nations General Assembly and keeping abreast of developments here.
Many Cabinet members and other people deemed hostile by the "Council of
Administrative Reform" have been detained. Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai
Vanasatidya and Supreme Commander Ruengroj Mahasaranont and pro-Thaksin
television host Dusit Siriwan are among them.
Head of the Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand Mingkwan Saengsuwan
was apprehended by anti-Thaksin troops at Channel 9 compound after it aired
a statement of Thaksin, from New York, announcing a state of emergency and
relieving Armycommander Sonthi Boonyaratglin from his post.
Deputy Thai Rak Thai leader and caretaker Agriculture Minister Sudarat
Keyuraphan reportedly flew to Paris with her family.
Defence Minister General Thamarak Isarangura na Ayutthaya reportedly escaped
arrest narrowly and has fled upcountry.
PM's secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej reportedly made an unplanned
landing in the Phillippines during a trip abroad while Bank of Thailand
governor MR Pridiyathorn Devekula was in Singapore.
Deputy Thai Rak Thai Party leader Somsak Thepsuthin said he was shocked by
last night's coup and never thought it could really happen. A number of TRT
MPs may meet today at the party headquarters.
The Nation
The Administrative
Reform Committee under the Constitutional Monarchy cites social division and
disunity as reasons for reform
20 September
2011
The Administrative Reform Committee under the Constitutional Monarchy led by
General Sonthi Bunyaratglin(สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน) has declared its seizure of
power from the caretaker government led by Pol. Lt-Col.Thaksin Shinawatra.
In its first official statement issued last night at 11.50 pm. and read
through all television and radio stations, the Administrative Reform
Committee under the Constitutional Monarchy, said it has the necessity to
seize power from the caretaker government as the latter's national
administration had created serious conflicts, rifts and disunity in the Thai
society in a way that had never happened before in the Thai history.
Conflicting parties wanted only to defeat the other side and used different
tactics which seemed to be increasingly violent days by days, in order to
achieve their goal. Most people kept suspicious of the national
administration by the caretaker government which showed widespread
corruption. The statement said official units and independent organizations
had been dominated by political influence, which prevented them from
following their objectives specified in the Constitution and led to many
problems and obstacles in their political participation.
The Administrative Reform Committee under the Constitutional Monarchy
stressed that the said influence was often in contempt of the monarchy which
is highly respected by the Thai people. And despite continuous efforts by
several sectors to establish social compromises, the conflicts continue.
The Administrative Reform Committee under the Constitutional Monarchy, which
has as its members the commanders-in-chief of the three armed forces and the
commissioner general of the Royal Thai Police, reiterated that it never had
the intention to seize power for itself and will urgently return the power
under the democratic system to the Thai people in order to bring back peace
and national security, as well as to protect the beloved monarchy revered by
all the Thai people.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations
Department - 20 September 2006
Months of rumours come true - Finally, it had come down to a military showdown.
This is the first
report on the coup in Bangkok's English language newspapers and comes from
'The Nation' newspaper.
19 September 2006
Fighting
vehemently to ward off a coup plot against his government while he was still
in New York, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had to act first.
He went on TV Channel 9 at about 10:20 PM in a voiceover to head off the
coup at home by placing Bangkok under an emergency law.
Strangely enough,
other TV channels did not cover the prime minister's speech. TV Channel 5
still aired a programme about the royal activities as if nothing had
happened. But the Thais all knew that something very unusual was going on
when Channel 5, controlled by the Royal Army, removed its usual programme
from the air.
Rumours had
swirled around the capital since the morning that a coup was imminent. There
were unusual troop movements from the upcountry moving into Bangkok. The two
persons who got the most attention from the Thaksin camp were Gen Sonthi
Boonyaratklin, the army chief, and Gen Anupong Phaochinda, the head of the
First Infantry Division.
The First Infantry
Division had turned out to become the headquarters of unusual
troop|movements. One military source said troops from Prachin Buri, which
used to be under Gen Anupong, were arriving at the First Infantry Division
on the Viphavadee Rangsit Road in the evening. They were joined by the
troops of the Special Warfare Command from Lopburi, which used to be under
the command of Gen Sonthi.
But the members of
Class 10 of the Chulachom Klao Military Academy, who are loyal to Thaksin,
were standing by. They knew that the final showdown had come. They got the
Third and Fourth Calvary Battalion, the AntiAircraft Artillery prepared
within their barracks.
There was a tense
confrontation between the two opposing sides. Who would blink first?
Whoever moved
first in this dangerous game could be charged with treason against the state
or the Constitution.
A fuming Thaksin
had realised all along that his battle against the Thai elite would boil
down to this military confrontation. Through a voiceover heard over Channel
9, Thaksin read out the emergency statement ordering Gen Sonthi to report to
the Office of the Prime Minister under the command of Pol Gen Chidchai
Vanasaditya, the deputy prime minister.
This technically
amounted to a removal of Sonthi from his powerful post. He then assigned
Ruengroj Mahasaranond, the supreme commander, to be in charge of all aspects
of security in Bangkok.
Thaksin learnt
about the plot while he was in New York. At 9pm Bangkok time, he went to his
hotel room and called the reporters from the Mass Communication Organisation
of Thailand and Channel 11 to tell them that he would have an important
message to tell them.
As it turned out,
he would declare a state of emergency covering Bangkok in order to preempt a
military coup at home. He thought he had an upper hand because he was an
elected leader of a democratic country.
But logistics did
not go his way. Thaksin planned to have his message sent via satellite
signal to Channel 9. But he was told that it could not be done technically.
It would work out better if he spoke over the phone directly to the TV
channel.
Thaksin decided to
switch to Channel 11 to air his state of emergency declaration. But before
he could do so, the military took over Channel 11. The editors and reporters
were taken to another room.
All the other
statecontrolled TV stations, owned by the military, were ordered to stand by
to air an important message.
But somehow
Thaksin did not face a total blackout. He was allowed to air his state of
emergency declaration on Channel 9, with a still photo of him accompanied by
his live telephone speech.
Sources said the
military confrontation could last until tomorrow while all the combat
military personnel were summoned to station in their bases.
At the time of
going to the press, nobody would dare predict the final outcome.
Deputy Prime
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai appeared on CNN to try to calm the
international audience, who had been wondering all along about the timing of
the new election, about the political crisis in the capital. He said the
army chief was trying to oust the democratically elected government and that
Thaksin was still prime minister.
But a few minutes
later, at 11pm, the Gen Sonthi camp effectively took over with tanks parking
at all the strategic places around the capital.
A military coup
was finally staged.
It was as much a
military war as a media war for control of the time slot.
A statement was
read out through all the TV channels that all the armed and police forces
had taken control of Bangkok and the neighbouring areas without resistance.
The names of the coup leaders, who called themselves a military reformist
unit, were withheld. To maintain peace, the statement on behalf of the
Political Reform Group sought cooperation from the public to maintain peace.
It also apologised for any inconvenience the coup may cause to the Thai
public.
At first, it
looked like a deadlock situation, without any party showing an upper hand or
a convincing victory as yet. The situation was very confusing and remained
very fluid.
Troops supporting
to the Thaksin camp still put up a resistance as of last night. There were
reports that troops from Prachin Buri and Chacheongsao would move into the
capital early this morning to fortify the position of Gen Sonthi.
As the day was
over, it appeared that the Gen Sonthi camp gained the advantage. Gen Sonthi
appeared from the shadow to make a countermove by announcing a state of
emergency to override Thaksin's announcement earlier. He forbid any troop
movements without his order.
Political sources
said it would be interesting to see how the confrontation would develop and
how the Thaksin camp would rally supporters to protest against the coup.
Nobody could
predict the final outcome as Thaksin looked serious that he would fight to
his political end. Thaksin could go to the UN to tell the whole world not to
accept the coup at home.
The Sonthi camp
has also crossed the threshold into uncharted territories.
The Nation
Thai Coup -
timeline (from the Times and agencies)
19 September
2006
Recent political
developments in Thailand leading up to today's declaration of a state of
emergency by Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Prime Minister.
February 6, 2005: Thaksin
Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) Party wins a second landslide
election victory, taking 377 of the 500 seats in parliament.
September 9: State-run
television takes a current affairs show hosted by Sondhi Limthongkul, Mr
Thaksin’s former business associate, off the air, citing repetition of
"unfair" criticism of various parties.
January 23, 2006: Mr
Thaksin’s relatives sell their controlling stake in Shin Corp, the telecoms
empire he founded, to Temasek, the Singapore state investment firm. The
tax-free $1.9 billion sale angers Bangkok’s middle classes and adds momentum
to Mr Sondhi’s campaign.
February 24: Mr Thaksin calls
a snap election on April 2, three years early and two days before a big
anti-government rally.
February 27: Three main
opposition parties announce an election boycott after Mr Thaksin rejects
their demand for a neutral body to reform the constitution.
April 2: Election is held
despite opposition boycott.
April 4: After a strong
protest vote, Mr Thaksin meets revered King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, before
announcing on national television that he will step down as soon as the next
parliament meets.
April 5: Mr Thaksin hands
day-to-day power to his Deputy Prime Minister, Chidchai Vanasatidya.
April 26: The three main
opposition parties say that they will stand in a new election if April 2
poll is annulled.
May 8: Constitutional Court
rules that the election is unconstitutional and a new poll should be held.
May 23: Mr Thaksin takes back
reins of power, saying it was time to get back work on economic and security
issues.
May 30: Government sets
election re-run for October 15. King of Thailand approves the re-run in late
July saying he wants a swift end to the crisis.
July 20: Thai army chief
unexpectedly re-assigns more than 100 middle-ranking officers thought to be
supporters of Mr Thaksin, adding to rumours about divided army and possible
coup.
September 19: Mr Thaksin
declares a state of emergency after tanks surround Government House.
|