CNS Chief's 'Plan' To Contest The Election

[Mid]

Sonthi flayed over poll rumour

Mon, July 9, 2007 : Last updated 0:27 am

Critics warn CNS chief's 'plan' to contest the election would raise doubts

Coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin came under fire from both critics and allies yesterday following renewed speculation that he would enter politics by running in the next general election.

Fuelling the speculation was last week's passage of the new constitution draft, which states that the next prime minister must be elected, and a conspicuous move by a group of military-backed politicians to form a new political party.

Wattana Khamchoo,

Hassaya Chartmontri,

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation

[mrtoad]

I for one would not be suprised if this rumour turns out to be true. I just hope that it isn't.

[Mid]

Sonthi 'has right to be a politician'

Tue, July 10, 2007 : Last updated 13:11 pm

Ally of CNS chief says fight against Thai Rak Thai only half finished

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas yesterday said Council for National Security chairman Sonthi Boonyaratglin had every right to enter politics at the next election.

He added that Sonthi might consider it essential to ensure he achieves the objectives declared by the CNS.

Piyanart Srivalo,

Sucheera Pinijparakarn,

Kesinee Jaikawang

The Nation

[jbowman1993]

Im withholding judgement until I hear that he plans to do it. He has said repeatedly that he will not run, and while the Thai talking heads seem to disagree, he hasn't done anything to discount his words, yet.

I hope he stays true to his statements. Leave the politics alone. His legacy will be much shiner if he does.

[Jai Dee]

CNS Chairman refuses to say whether he will enter politics

The Chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS) declines to answer the press’ question whether he will enter politics after his retirement.

CNS Chairman Gen.Sonthi Boonyaratglin has traveled with Defence Minister Gen.Boonrawd Somtas (บุญรอด สมทัศน์) to the Parliament House today (July, 10th) to attend the Cabinet meeting.

Asked whether he will be a politician after he retires from his military post, Gen.Sonthi told the media to ask the Defence Minister.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 July 2007

[t.s]

CNS Chairman refuses to say whether he will enter politics

The Chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS) declines to answer the press’ question whether he will enter politics after his retirement.

CNS Chairman Gen.Sonthi Boonyaratglin has traveled with Defence Minister Gen.Boonrawd Somtas (บุญรอด สมทัศน์) to the Parliament House today (July, 10th) to attend the Cabinet meeting.

Asked whether he will be a politician after he retires from his military post, Gen.Sonthi told the media to ask the Defence Minister.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 July 2007

well he isn't denying his intentions to enter politics any longer. that in itself is fairly indicative.

he is observing the statutory two weeks required to reverse positions without the majority of the nation screaming hypocrite.

you would think a land with so many elephants would have a more developed memory.

does anyone else see the redundancy in a national news bureau having a public relations department?

he wont be able to let go. none of them can.

Edited July 10, 2007 by t.s

[soundman]

It appears the "true colours" of CNS will be on display soon enough. I couldn't see Sonthi running as a "one man show". Maybe all that ground work he did with key TRT figures was why he was so dissappointed with the Party Dissolution outcome.

Soundman.

[chanchao]

Im withholding judgement until I hear that he plans to do it. He has said repeatedly that he will not run, and while the Thai talking heads seem to disagree, he hasn't done anything to discount his words, yet.

Ok, allow me a smirk. He also repeatedly said that 'the military doesn't do coups anymore', until of course he did do it.

Please.

[LaoPo]

Im withholding judgement until I hear that he plans to do it. He has said repeatedly that he will not run, and while the Thai talking heads seem to disagree, he hasn't done anything to discount his words, yet.

Ok, allow me a smirk. He also repeatedly said that 'the military doesn't do coups anymore', until of course he did do it.

Please.

We knew already Politicians are never to be trusted.....the [Thai] Military is a more 'fragile' kind of trust but much more powerful and dangerous...for Thailand.

Money + Power = Superpower but add some guns and what do you get ? Hmm....

Maybe some more experienced-than-me can tell.

LaoPo

[vermin on arrival]

God, I hope we haven't gotten rid of Thaksin only to get something worse. I wouldn't be surprised if he were to run.

[Mid]

Gen Sonthi eyes political role

By Wassana Nanuam

The Army chief and coup-maker aims to prevent the return of Thaksin. Long gone is the promise to stay out of politics for two years as history, it seems, is about to repeat itself.

As army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin moves closer to retirement on Sept 30, his move into politics is becoming more certain.

The Post Publishing Public Co

History, it seems, is about to repeat itself.

yep the next honest polly will be the first ......................................

[Mid]

CNS chief set to run in election Gen Sonthi wants to represent Lop Buri

WASSANA NANUAM

NATTAYA CHETCHOTIROS

The question for Council for National Security (CNS) chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin is not whether he will enter politics, but under what banner he will contest the general election, according to a source in a team preparing the ground for the coup leader's transition. The fact that Gen Sonthi has never ruled out the possibility of running for parliament and always plays national security as his trump card has lent much weight to the speculation.

A source close to him said that Gen Sonthi, whose mandatory retirement as army chief is at the end of September, will seek election because he wants to ensure that the Sept 19 coup was not a waste of time.

The Post Publishing Public Co

[soundman]

Deleted Post - Doubled with above post.

Story Here.

Soundman.

Edited July 11, 2007 by soundman

[Mid]

snap

[Hampstead]

Sonthi must be hoping to head the next elected gov.which will in turn grease his palms with gold and silver, seeming as his colleague General Saprang has taken it upon himself to be on the boards of tot,aot and trying so desperatly to be on the biggest cash cow of them all ptt.

[cmsally]

All I saw on the news this morning was Sonthi in a suit not military uniform; that was enough to tell me the rumours were true!

I'm sure there was a deal done with the Democrats but I'm not sure if this is what they bargained for.

Unfortunately Thai politics is too much dependent on revenge and jealousy and this and the previous year are the results of that.

[jbowman1993]

Ok, seems like he is planning to do this. Im man enough to eat crow on that. Its unfortunate that he decided that. Don't think it will make much difference in the long run, except to put a damper on his "Take the high road" claim for the coup.

[larvidchr]

Seems there will be quite a few on this forum who will have to eat quite a "lot" this move if successful will cover the Army criminals from any future prosecution of their crimes, and if the new "military party" wins the election it effectively means the dictatorship just carries on slightly covered by them dressed in suits rather than uniforms.

Lets now see if not the upcoming elections will be timed with this new party getting their organisation in place, and the poles favourable

Kind regards

Edited July 11, 2007 by larvidchr

[Mid]

POLITICS: Thai Junta Going the Burma Way?

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jul 11 (IPS) - Thailand’s junta leader, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, is in danger of inviting comparisons with military strongmen in neighbouring Burma, where successive generals have refused to transfer power to a civilian administration for decades.

Suspicions have been triggered by the vague language Sonthi used while explaining his political future beyond a general election scheduled to be held at the end of the year. A debate is now swirling in the press and in university circles here about the political ambitions of the country’s army chief, who came to power following a coup last September, the country’s 18th putsch.

2007 IPS-Inter Press Service

didn't take long ......................

[jayjayjayjay]

he is observing the statutory two weeks required to reverse positions without the majority of the nation screaming hypocrite.

you would think a land with so many elephants would have a more developed memory.

[soundman]

After speaking to a few Thai's this morning, they all vehemently don't support Sonthi going into politics. They all say, that if he does, that will prove his agenda from the start was not to rid the country of the Thaksin plague, but to suit his own purposes & they will not vote for him. But with a few billion baht (if he is able to raise it) getting into office should not be too much of a problem. Back to the same old way of doing things I think.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[Jai Dee]

CNS Chairman will consider political career 2 months after retirement

The Chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS) and Royal Thai Army Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, dismisses the news that he is planning to campaign himself so he could enter politics. He says he will decide whether he would be a politician following his retirement in the next two months.

Gen. Sonthi visits the northern province of Chiang Mai today (Jul 11), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has invited him to give a lecture on security issues and the 2007 constitution draft to the farmers in the North. Thus, the farmers would understand the government’s work for the people in the grass-root level.

In response to Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Chairman Prasong Soonsiri’s disapproval of him to play politics, Gen. Sonthi says he appreciates and understands the CDC Chairman’s concern for him over this issue.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 11 July 2007

[cmsally]

After speaking to a few Thai's this morning, they all vehemently don't support Sonthi going into politics. They all say, that if he does, that will prove his agenda from the start was not to rid the country of the Thaksin plague, but to suit his own purposes & they will not vote for him. But with a few billion baht (if he is able to raise it) getting into office should not be too much of a problem. Back to the same old way of doing things I think.

Cheers,

Soundman.

As my husband said this morning turns out to have been a self serving coup.

Maybe should start tracking where that big military budget is going!

[Mid]

CNS Chairman will consider political career 2 months after retirement

in related developements , the election date has been set .

[jayjayjayjay]

Ok, seems like he is planning to do this. Im man enough to eat crow on that. Its unfortunate that he decided that. Don't think it will make much difference in the long run, except to put a damper on his "Take the high road" claim for the coup.

He's a military man, they don't retreat until the enemy is DEAD..... Thaksin will have to stay in London.

Helps the coup cause, Thaksin will not come back for the trial, and arrest will be issued, they will claim his assets through courts under continues ASC sponsored kangaroo courts, Sonthi will become elected official under CNS sponsored consitution, and Thailand will be raped by the military 10 times worse than anything that has happened under elected government over the last 20 yrs..... Que Sera Sera whatever will be will be, The future's not ours to see............................................ dirty politics at it's best...... anybody dollar at 20 or 50 soon

[Jai Dee]

NLA Chairman says Gen.Sonthi’s decision to enter politics might do him more bad than good

Chairman of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) Meechai Ruchuphan (มีชัย ฤชุพันธ์) says the Chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS)’s decision to enter politics might lead to more criticisms and pressures on himself.

The NLA Chairman says he speculates that the idea of CNS Chairman Gen.Sonthi Boonyaratglin in the political arena after retirement is a bad idea. Mr Meechai also says there is no law indicating that the CNS Chairman must resign from the post if he enters politics.

Mr Meechai adds that it all depends on the CNS Chairman whether he will take a political role.

As for protests against the charter draft, the NLA Chairman says the protestors have the right to do so and suggests that they should not be concerned over the result of the referendum too much.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 11 July 2007

[LaoPo]

POLITICS: Thai Junta Going the Burma Way?

Important read!

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jul 11 (IPS) - Thailand’s junta leader, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, is in danger of inviting comparisons with military strongmen in neighbouring Burma, where successive generals have refused to transfer power to a civilian administration for decades.

excerpts:

"’Sonthi came under fire from critics and allies alike on Sunday for playing games and planning a return to power by the people,’’ reports Tuesday’s edition on ‘The Nation’, an English-language daily. ‘’It follows fresh speculation that he will run in the next general elections under a new political party backed by the army.’’

The prospect of Sonthi succumbing to the ‘Burma syndrome’ has been fed by Thailand’s new charter, approved by a military-appointed, constitution-drafting assembly earlier this month. This document, Thailand’s 18th constitution since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932, is to face a referendum in mid-August.

‘’Although the regime in Thailand has been at pains throughout to deny comparisons being made between it and its counterpart in neighbouring Burma, it is increasingly difficult to avoid them,’’ argued the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in a statement released over the weekend. ‘’In Burma too the junta is putting the finishing touches on a constitution that has the purpose of cementing the role of the military in state affairs for years to come and ensure the continued impunity of senior officers for any alleged wrongdoing.’’

‘’It is by now clear that if the referendum is passed and the bogus draft constitution brought into law it will return Thailand to a 1980s model of elite-bureaucratic government under military guidance,’’ added the Hong Kong-based non-governmental body. ‘’If it is not, the military regime reserves the right to pick and amend any of the country's previous constitutions in its stead. In either case, the generals have already taken steps to ensure that their presence will again be felt heavily throughout Thailand for many years to come.’’

Analysts like Thitinan Pongsudhirak say that the junta has spent the last nine months ‘’gradually institutionalising the military’s role in politics’’ to ensure that the it ‘’remains as a body with influence after the parliamentary elections.’’

Consequently, the coup leaders are shredding the compliments the military were showered with last year for driving from power former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra through the putsch, said Thitinan, who is the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. ‘’The statements then that it was a good coup have become a myth.’’

Of particular concern, he explained in an interview, were the ‘’subtle and sophisticated ways’’ in which the junta has been shaping its political agenda, often doing so ‘’within the law’’ to avoid overt criticism. The dramatic spike in the military budget is a case in point, where defence spending has gone up by 66 percent in the two national budgets presented to the country’s army-appointed parliament since last year’s coup. The defence bill for the 2007-2008 budget is 4.5 billion US dollars.

‘’What the law does is give massive new powers to the army chief,’’ adds Chang Noi. ‘’It make him in many ways more powerful than the prime minister, and not answerable to anyone.’’

If approved, the act will see the return of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). Among the powers at this military-run agency’s disposal would be to ban public assemblies, block roads, detain suspects for up to 30 days without any charges, hold people deemed threats to national security, conduct searches on premises without any warrants, confine people to house arrests, and seize and confiscate anything considered suspicious.

But the Thai military will not have a free run with such plans, says Thanet Aphornsuvan, assistant professor of history at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. ‘’They will be aware of what happened in 1992. They will probably want to follow the public mood before making a decision; even Gen. Sonthi’s plans to become the prime minister.’’

From: IPS - "The story underneath"

Is this what's waiting for Thailand ? Is this TIT ?.....

LaoPo

Edited July 11, 2007 by LaoPo

[vermin on arrival]

I hope not Lao Po, but it looks like the case. I was one of those who was in favor of the coup, but it now looks as if we will have something just as bad as what was gotten rid of. I hope that the Thai people can somehow resist this. It looks like they are stuck with a choice between 2 really bad ruling elites-Thaksin and his cronies or the military.

[jayjayjayjay]

I hope not Lao Po, but it looks like the case. I was one of those who was in favor of the coup, but it now looks as if we will have something just as bad as what was gotten rid of. I hope that the Thai people can somehow resist this. It looks like they are stuck with a choice between 2 really bad ruling elites-Thaksin and his cronies or the military.

You invite a cobra into your house, expect to get bitten. I've being saying this since day one of the coup, Thailand needs to rid itself the military as self appointed judge jury and executioner. When will this ever happen! For democracy to grow in Thailand, 15 maybe 20 yrs down the track, there is going to be a lot of pain. At least Thaksin let demonstrations go ahead, sure some pressure and more lawsuits than ants on a honey pot, but never at the end of a gun. Now only those guys with the biggest guns rule.

This should have played out that democratic demonstrations pressured Thaksin into accepting the draft of a new constitution, that may have taken time, he may have lost a lot more supports in the mean time. He may have lost power, he may have been re-elected, but all of these options are better than where we stand now.

The bully in the play ground has to get more and more powerful, invite more of his mates into the gang to protect his ass. Dirty Politics at it's worst......

The Junta roles on..........

Edited July 11, 2007 by jayjayjayjay

[Jai Dee]

CDC Chairman sees parties approaching Gen. Sonthi as normal

Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Chairman Prasong Soonsiri says it is usual for political parties to invite Council for National Security (CNS) Chairman Sonthi Boonyaratglin as their party members following his retirement in the near future.

However, Squadron Leader Prasong says he is concerned for Gen. Sonthi and he does not think it would be proper for him to enter politics because military and political careers differ considerably. According to the CDC Chairman, the political arena is very competitive and there are no true friends but permanent foes.

Squadron Leader Prasong says Gen. Sonthi does not have to be worried about the old political group’s threat because the people and the army will give him support since he has done his best for the country.

In addition, the CDC Chairman says the draft bill on the constitution referendum of the Election Commission (EC) should not be too strict as people may be hesitant in voicing their ideas.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 11 July 2007