The ‘Hun Sen Model’: PAD’s Latest Ploy

Sunday’s PAD rally at Sanam Luang was eventful. Apart from the grenade, the shocking xenophobic rhetoric and Sondhi’s potentially troublesome remark, there was also a formal introduction to the PAD’s latest conspiracy theory: dubbed the ‘Hun Sen Model’. Prachatai summarised the key points in its excellent report of the rally:

Khamnoon Sitthisaman, ASTV Manager columnist and non-elected senator, gave a brief history of how Hun Sen came to power, and concluded it with the term ‘Hun Sen model’: getting support from a foreign military power [Vietnam], supporting an ‘unprepared’ royal to become king, having the new king appoint him a royal, using a communist organizing system to control a political party and the people to take power under the guise of western democracy (elections), centralizing political and economic powers and opening the country for western capitalists to exploit its natural resources.

[...]

He speculated that Thaksin would intensify his political campaign from December this year to early next year, when Parliament is closed.  The red shirts would also intensify their movement, besieging or even seizing Government House.  Thaksin would probably take a ‘long march’ from Cambodia, enveloped by a red-shirted mass. All this would be supported by the ‘underground operations’ of a certain retired general [another classmate of Gen Chamlong, Gen Panlop Pinmanee, who has switched sides from the PAD to support Thaksin].

The fact that PAD-aligned senator Khamnoon himself went on the stage to speak about this is remarkable in itself. As Thammasat academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul points out in this Thai-language forum post, Khamnoon is not a public speaker. He usually prefers to remain behind the scene, writing articles for ASTV-Manager and developing key strategies for the PAD. Very rarely does he address the crowd at a PAD rally. By making an appearance himself, it is highly probable that Khamnoon, along with other PAD leaders, intends to play up this theory and use it to attack Thaksin for a prolonged period from now on. Given the sensitivities surrounding the succession issue, this strategy of the PAD could lead to some very nasty things.

Note 1: The PAD has tried to spread a few Thaksin-related conspiracy theories before. Probably the best known of them is the so-called Finland Plot.

Note 2: A video clip of Khamnoon speaking at the rally and a complete Thai-language transcript of his speech are available here.

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. Red Siam Latest: Mainstream Reds “Lack Coherent Objective”
2. The King’s Health: King ‘Is Well’
3. New Politics Party – Part One: 3 Reasons Why It Will Succeed
4. Split in the Reds: When Differences Become Intolerable *UPDATE*