Teresa Kok

The Irrawaddy News Magazine
Some Coups are Good (Online Commentary)
September 20, 2006
By Bruce Kent

Most coups are bad affairs, normally involving a military figure or faction seizing power. Then there are relatively benign ones, not simple power grabs but a forceful way to put things right in the country.

The latest one in Thailand on Tuesday night appears to fall into the latter category. It will, however, inevitably be condemned by most world leaders, particularly in the West, because it constitutes a military ousting of an elected government by non-constitutional means. They are almost duty-bound to make such statements.

It is normal after many coups for the military victor to proclaim that it will only be a short period of military rule before the return of civilian democracy. In most cases these prove to be empty words, but this is almost certainly not the case in Bangkok. The new controlling Democratic Reform Council, comprising powerful Army Commander Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, the two other service commanders and the police chief, have given similar assurances of a return to civilian rule, but somehow they ring true.

The coup was mainly to remove Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and a government that he totally dominated. While popular at election time, mainly because of the large vote from the huge poor, rural area of northeast Thailand where his populist policies dazzled villagers, he was increasingly unpopular with a large segment of the urban population. The urban middle-class, most businessmen, academics and professionals, tend to be much more aware of what’s happening at the top than rural farmers, who have less access to newspapers and rely more on TV and radio, which in Thailand are totally under state control.

Thaksin’s critics, who gathered peaceful protest crowds of sometimes 100,000 earlier in the year calling for him to leave, accused him of abuse of power and allowing rampant official corruption. He eventually reacted by calling a general election on April 2, which he won because the opposition boycotted it. Thaksin said afterwards he wouldn’t be prime minister again, and indicated he would be leaving the scene soon. The poll was eventually annulled by judges and Thaksin has remained in power ever since as caretaker prime minister, with no real signs he would leave any time soon.

A new election was scheduled for November, but was massively wealthy Thaksin ever going to go, or at least allow an investigation of dubious business deals he was accused of? Among other things, his opponents accused him of dividing Thailand-between those for and against him-in an unprecedented way in a country normally remarkably united and stable. And this seemed to be becoming more pronounced the longer he stayed.

Soon after the coup, the new military leaders said they had taken over for four main reasons: there were unprecedented divisions in the country; widespread suspicion of abuse of power; and activities based on lese majeste, a curious law which makes insulting the monarchy a crime; and for leaders taking power for a period they promised would be temporary.

Although not named, these are all charges laid by the opposition at Thaksin’s door.Gen Sonthi is known as a professional soldier. He recently moved several of Thaksin’s defense academy preparatory school classmates-Thaksin was once a police colonel-from key commands in Bangkok and nearby. There has never been any hint he wanted power for himself, or anyone else. He and other similarly professional officers were known to be concerned about Thaksin’s meddling in the ranks to get his men to the top, particularly now, when a reshuffle of top commanders is due in October. Of more immediate concern to Sonthi apparently was the threat of violence at a massive anti-Thaksin rally planned to be held in Bangkok on Wednesday evening. A unit of well-armed forestry police from outside Bangkok was rumored to have been martialled by the government to be drafted into Bangkok to confront the rally.

Overall, it doesn’t look like Thailand is set to have another prolonged military regime, as in the old days. For a start, civilian Thaksin opponents, now happy he’s gone, would violently oppose it. So maybe this was one of the better coups.

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