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Coup Maker to Enter Politics… the Proper Way
11 Sep2009
Bangkok Post reports:
Former army chief and leader of the Sept 19, 2006 coup Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin confirmed on Thursday morning that he is interested in getting involved in politics.
…
The former chairman of the coup-makers’ Council for National Security said he would not set up his own political party but would join a political camp that has policies and political ideology he agrees with.
“The country is now facing the problem of social division and thus I want to join a political party that is impartial. It must be a party that the people can rely on,” Gen Sonthi said. One of his major aims was national reconciliation.
Should I laugh or should I cry?
I wonder if the 2006 coup leader realises at all that the coup he staged is one of the major causes, if not THE very cause, of Thailand’s “problem of social division” he is apparently so determined to rectify. Does he even know what he is on about here?
Although Thaksin was no champion of democracy when in power, Gen Sonthi’s coup was in every aspect a “giant step backward” as far as the country’s democratic development is concerned, as Thitinan Pongsudhirak put it (“Thailand since the coup” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 19, No.4, pp.140 – 153.) It is simply extraordinary for someone who killed democracy to come back and beg for a chance to be chosen by the electorate who saw their democratic rights taken away on that fateful night three years ago.
Having said that, I do not deny the possibility of someone who used to be involved in illiberal or dictatorial regimes redeeming him/herself and becoming an advocate of electoral democracy. Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a good example. Having previously served under the authoritarian Suharto, he has contributed a great deal to the country’s remarkable journey toward liberal democracy since becoming President for the first time in 2004 (see The Economist for more stories on post-Suharto Indonesia).
If Gen Sonthi wants to be the next Yudhoyono (however implausible that may sound), he will have to do a number of things. For a start, he could follow the example of media freedom campaigner Supinya Klangnarong (see AbsolutelyBangkok for an excellent interview with her) and denounce his role in the coup. Admitting his past failures seems to be the only way for him to even stand a chance.
6 Responses to Coup Maker to Enter Politics… the Proper Way
Wally
September 11th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Interesting he always said he was not interested in politics, hmmm. Sounds like he is fishing for invitations, probably the Dems best fi, unless he starts his own fascist/military coalition.
Steve
September 11th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I’m right with you on the notion that everything we are seeing now tracks back directly to the events of 19 September 2006 – courtesy of that nice General Sonthi and his accomplices. Fifteen months of get-nowhere limbo that solved – let alone achieved – nothing. One possible saving grace: the military may have finally realised that staging a coup is the childsplay bit – trying to actually manage running the whole Thai machine is very much a game for grown-ups…….. as the current (however notional) PM is discovering. To quote Thitinan Pongsudhirak’s latest Post article: “the Thai body politic is nowhere nearer than at any point over the past four years to reconciliation and workable compromise. A new consensus is still far off in the distance. This harsh reality is not what Mr Abhisit and his government of custom-made circumstances are meant to bring about”. Nor is it remotely close to what Gen Sonthi’s coup was said to be for.
One last thought: the good general is quoted/translated as saying “I want to join a political party that is impartial”. In English, an impartial party is a perfect (and obvious) contradiction in terms – and thus totally absurd; is it the same in Thai?
tumblerblog
September 12th, 2009 at 2:56 am
@Wally
Early reports have linked Gen Sonthi to the Matubhum Party (a party formed mostly by deep south MPs from the Wadah faction). Apparently it is believed that Gen Sonthi, as a muslim, has the expertise necessary to help tackle the insurgency there.
But more recently the Chart Thai Pattana Party is reportedly courting him as well.
@Steve
“In English, an impartial party is a perfect (and obvious) contradiction in terms – and thus totally absurd; is it the same in Thai?”
That hasn’t crossed my mind before, but I think you’re spot on. It would be absolutely pointless to be impartial in politics. Having read what he said in Thai, I think Gen Sonthi actually intended to say that he wanted to join a party that doesn’t seek to create division in society or worsen the conflict that already exists.
Bedwyr
September 12th, 2009 at 9:45 am
One of the fascinating things about Thai life and culture is that many Thais are able to adopt a wholly untenable and incongruous position, without seeming to be aware of how ridiculous it makes them look.
This guy is a typical example. Here we have someone who overthrew a legitimate (though corrupt) government at the bidding of Prem and his masters, and now wants to work to restore the very national unity that he and his equally dopey mates did so much to destroy.
The truly remarkable thing is that he can (apparently) keep a straight face and take himself seriously. It is one of the truly wonderful things about Thais that remind me so often of 9-year-old kids back on the sensible side of the looking-glass.
Andrew Spooner
September 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I think the point of creating the image an “impartial” party is to infuse it with a sense of “naturalness” and that it exists beyond the forces of history. No debate can therefore take place as this “impartial” party has access to the “truth” rather than having to take part in the tawdry process of dialectics.
It’s deeply ideological in the sense that it is an attempt to place its assumptions within the realm of the unconscious, thereby shutting down any alternative.
Fascists and other nutters have been saying stuff like this for decades. The PAD spout this kind of thing all the time.
» Old Soldiers Should Just Fade Away TumblerBlog.com – A Thai political and current affairs blog
November 24th, 2009 at 12:11 am
[...] Prisoners in Thailand has more on this subject. Readers may also want to see my earlier post on Gen Sonthi’s earlier announcement that he wanted to enter politics. Share this [...]