Military coup in Thailand

[Andiline]

I was a little bit shocked when reading after coming home from a great evening with Teezet and Jacko that there had been a military coup in Thailand while the prime minister is in New York. Of course I was concerned for my friends from the dive-base in Phuket although my guess was that nothing happened there and that mainly Bangkok is affected (but there is zero resistance so not even much is happening there). Just got an email from my friend who wrote that all is quiet on Phuket and that this was overdue. They don't expect any riots. Well.... let's wait and see. I hope she is right.

I am sort of glad though that we changed plans from Thailand to Playa for October...

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by Andiline

I was a little bit shocked when reading after coming home from a great evening with Teezet and Jacko that there had been a military coup in Thailand while the prime minister is in New York. Of course I was concerned for my friends from the dive-base in Phuket although my guess was that nothing happened there and that mainly Bangkok is affected (but there is zero resistance so not even much is happening there). Just got an email from my friend who wrote that all is quiet on Phuket and that this was overdue. They don't expect any riots. Well.... let's wait and see. I hope she is right.

I am sort of glad though that we changed plans from Thailand to Playa for October...

Spoken like a prudently reasonable person.
Enjoy Playa, there might even be an opportunity for some Thai cuisine down there. Is there such a place in Playa?

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by Andiline

I was a little bit shocked when reading after coming home from a great evening with Teezet and Jacko that there had been a military coup in Thailand while the prime minister is in New York. Of course I was concerned for my friends from the dive-base in Phuket although my guess was that nothing happened there and that mainly Bangkok is affected (but there is zero resistance so not even much is happening there). Just got an email from my friend who wrote that all is quiet on Phuket and that this was overdue. They don't expect any riots. Well.... let's wait and see. I hope she is right.

I am sort of glad though that we changed plans from Thailand to Playa for October...

There were indications that elections would take place as soon as December to address the rancor of fraud over the last election process. Why not wait till then to ascertain the will of the populous?
Evidently the military brass has a competing agenda parallel to the deomcratic option.

[Andiline]

Well, all this has been going on for a long time. Before I went to Thailand in march there have been demonstrations against and discussions about the prime minister. There was an election on April 2 which was declared void afterwards. From what I understand this prime minister would never go voluntarily probably not even if he wouldn't be re-elected. He seems to have overdone it by a lot of his actions. I am not sure what will happen, I just hope it will be for the best for that country.

And yeah, I know where to get Thai cusine in Playa...

[Thor Henning]

There are speculations that the King is behind the coup.

[MikeW]

Thailand's version of check and balances?

[Rissask]

They said on the radio this morning that all the tourists were going about as normal, no biggie, it's just business as usual over there...military coups are a dime a dozen in Thailand apparently.

We were a little concerned as we are planning on going next winter, but when we heard that, we were relieved.

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by Rissask

...military coups are a dime a dozen in Thailand apparently.
.

Correction, military coups were a dime a dozen. It's been quite sometime since the last one.
In fact, Thailand has been rather stable politically for most of the previous two decades, at the exception of the brief 1991-1992 military stint. So excluding this brief stint of military rule, one would have to go back to the 70s to find evidence of the unstable political scenario you refer to.

[MargaritaLupita]

A quality coup? Roll a couple of tanks down town...Walla new government... no one gets hurt. Business as usual. Very civilized.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by itsmysecondtime

Correction, military coups were a dime a dozen. It's been quite sometime since the last one.
In fact, Thailand has been rather stable politically for most of the previous two decades, at the exception of the brief 1991-1992 military stint. So excluding this brief stint of military rule, one would have to go back to the 70s to find evidence of the unstable political scenario you refer to.

Well, it was just the DJ giving his opinion...which likely isn't that educated.

Hmmm. Something to be concerned about after all?

Explain- it is the 'Kingdon of Thailand', right? They have a King. Do they also have a democratically voted in PM? Is the King just a figurehead or does he actually have a say? Any more info, in layman's terms of course?

I am still not worried as far as tourism goes...it's their lifeblood there, they wouldn't take any risks about hurting that, one would hope.

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by MikeW

Thailand's version of check and balances?

I see it more as senior military brass reflecting nostalgia over them gang ho days, back in the 70s, and a pretextual power grap just as the current prime minister had fallen out of favor with large sectors of the populous, and was marred in allegations of corruption and co-opting the last election.

No better example of political opportunism could have been scketched.

In effect, this military coup fails ever miserably to evocke sympathy, given their anti-democratic profile. So they desperately need the royal imprimatur to legitimize their power grab, but so far it has not been forthcoming.

The fact remains that King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great, who's been in power since 1946 and is arguably one of the most revered public figures in modern Thailand has yet to publically endorse the coup.

This peculiar fact itself may still prove decisive to the outcome of this coup. In the meantime most of the international community has condemned the coup. So the verdict is still out, irrespective of the politcal posturing of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by itsmysecondtime

The fact remains that King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) the Great, who's been in power since 1946 and is arguably one of the most revered public figures in modern Thailand has yet to publically endorse the coup.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...09-20-09-04-14

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by MargaritaLupita

A quality coup? Roll a couple of tanks down town...Walla new government... no one gets hurt. Business as usual. Very civilized.

I would not eulogize this military takeover in any way.
In fact this 'business as usual' phenomenon reflects rather troubling symptoms over the political health not only of the democratic regime, but also of Thai democracy as a whole.

On the issue of the democratic regime in place up to September 19, one could not see worse days ahead for prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist leader who'd been in power since early 2001.

After the fiasco earlier this year when the poll results in favor of the incumbent prime minister were seriously challenged over corruption allegations, followed by numerous displays of public outcry, and after much hagling and posturing, Thaksin Shinawatra finally saw the writing on the wall and appeared to give in to a tentative date in December for new elections.

Now that the military has bluntly stepped in it rests to be seen how the democratic process will be resumed, or whether we'll see yet another Burma (AKA Myanmar)?

On the issue of Thai democracy as a whole the ease with which the military affected the lack of public outcry so far may reflect the most troubling aspect of the Thai political establishment. In effect, this may indicate the degree to which Thai society still doubts the validity and authenticity of civil society and the democratic process as experienced so far. It may reveal a major crisis indeed.

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by Michael

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THAILAN D?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=20 06-09-20-09-04-14

It's so important to read between the lines in these news reports. To my knowledge, as of this moment there has yet to be any official, public pronouncement by the king in person condoning of the coup. It may help to look elsewhere.

So far what we see is a carefully orchestrated front to convey to the public the appearance that the king supports the miltary
i.e.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5362698.stm

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,...-804284,0.html

One thing is an anouncement on state run television (controlled by the coup leaders) that the king endorses the coup, and yet another to have the king come out in person and publically address the nation.

[STOGEY]

I just hope that the sex trade stays intact.