Commentary: Unhappy Anniversary

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FOCUS / FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPT 19, 2006 COUP

Little good about the 'good' coup

However the military coup of Sept 19 is assessed on its first anniversary, a passing grade is hard to come by

Tuesday September 18, 2007

By THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK

In assessing the military coup on its first anniversary, one must say that the Sept 19, 2006 putsch has made advancements in unwarranted areas and limited headway on the many fronts it was designed to achieve. On some of their stated objectives, the coup-makers have flatly failed. The coup has turned out to be much less than anticipated, its costs far outweighing its justifications.

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bangkokpost.com

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Coup: one year on, no lessons learned

Tomorrow marks one year since the coup that ousted the abusive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Published on September 18, 2007

The jury is no longer out - many things that the coup-makers said would improve did not, or in fact worsened - but the jury appears to be blind and unable to learn anything substantial from the past 12 months. Here are a few issues society has failed to learn

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nationmultimedia.com

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Prasong: Govt performs poorly since coup

BREAKING NEWS

(BangkokPost.com) - Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Prasong Soonsiri evaluated Tuesday the government's performance since the September 19 coup, saying that it "failed both writing and interviewing exams."

Sqn-ldr Prasong said the government cannot solve problems including economic, investment, social and those concerning national security.

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bangkokpost.com

[jumnien]

The coup has scared a limited amount of tourists and retirees from settling in Thailand, certainly a good thing for those of us living here. A bit less traffic and less inflation. Other than that its a complete disaster and a disgrace. Hopefully, Thaksinistas will be elected to put things right!

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Entrepreneurs happy with performance of CNS, government

Tuesday 18 September 2007 11:19:27 PM (GMT+7:00)

BANGKOK, Sept 18 (TNA) – The Council for National Security and the government have won the approval of entrepreneurs for their one-year performance in office following last year's coup, but only at a low level, according to a survey by the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

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MCOT Public Company Limited

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Your say:Today marks the one-year anniversary of the coup.

Here's what people think about it.

Published on September 19, 2007

nationmultimedia.com

[jumnien]

Who would have guessed that a year after the coup the military would still be in power and spending their entire day thinking up ways to blame a bad weather plane crash on Thaksin?

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Heaps of praise for junta after 1 year

BREAKING NEWS

(BangkokPost.com) – Interior Minister Aree Wong-Arya has heaped praise on the military government’s efforts in solving the country’s problems in the past year, saying it had consistently reflected on its performance and had been working diligently for the country.

Speaking on the one-year anniversary of the September 19 military coup, Mr Aree expressed confidence that the government had been working in a transparent manner to ensure the happiness of every Thai citizen.

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bangkokpost.com

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CNS to make public its achievements

BREAKING NEWS

(BangkokPost.com) - Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said the CNS will report to the public its achievement to mark the one-year anniversary of the September 19 coup in early October.

We will keep it as a surprise for now, Gen Sonthi said in a radio interview on Wednesday morning.

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bangkokpost.com

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Thailand sour over coup a year on

By Jonathan Head

South East Asia correspondent, BBC News

Wednesday, 19 September 2007, 16:54 GMT 17:54 UK

There was a time when people used to joke about Thailand's proclivity for military coups - there have been plenty.

But most Thais thought that the era of coups was behind them, until they watched in disbelief as tanks rolled through the streets of Bangkok on the night of 19 September 2006.

A year ago, many Thais accepted the coup

It was a textbook putsch, carried out without shedding a drop of blood, as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was preparing to deliver his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

And such was the intractability of the crisis surrounding his leadership, pitting his populist, rural-based party against a royalist, city-based elite, that many people simply accepted the military's intervention with a sigh of relief.

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Most of all, there is a commonly expressed view that the coup has moved Thailand backwards, not forwards.

news.bbc.co.uk