Thai Senator Urges People To Fight All Kinds Of Coups D'Etat

[webfact]

Wake-up call for elite: senator

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

Siriwat urges people to fight all kinds of coups d'etat

The Thai elite should not try to get involved in a "zero-sum game" to maintain its power because that will lead to violence and the eventual destruction of the current "pyramid of power", warned Nakhon Si Thammarat Senator Siriwat Kraisin.

The warning came after some people voiced fears that the military or "invisible hands" might not accept the result of the July 3 election and might even interfere with the formation of the next government chosen by the voters.

Siriwat said that in many countries, by the time the elite realised the folly of interfering with the democratic process, it was too late. "I'm saying this out of loving-kindness" for them.

He added that reforms and the sharing of power were the only way out. Siriwat also chairs the Senate's committee on education.

"The [Thai] elite are troublemakers and were behind the [political] crisis. They are selfish, even though they talk about religion and morality the most loudly.

"They are narrow-minded, but they can't hide from the truth. I don't know who their advisers are, but they're approaching a risky point with their zero-sum game," Siriwat said.

He was speaking yesterday at a forum on democratisation and conflict resolution organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Institute of Democratisation Studies. Siriwat urged people to fight against any and all forms of coups d'etat, saying Thailand needed to democratise and keep its society free from interference from any power outside the system, be it the Army or the so-called "invisible hands".

He also blamed the Thai education system for making people docile and accepting of the existing pyramid of power and believing in the simplistic notion of good versus bad.

"They're not adhering to the principle of justice, but more to the idea of good people. But who are these 'good people' we are referring to?" he asked.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, deputy leader of the Pheu Thai Party, who was also present at the forum, said the military needed to be reformed for the country to democratise.

"There will be problems as long as the military interferes and does not accept elected governments. Soldiers must return to the barracks, and they will become heroes. Otherwise, they will have to fight with the people," he said.

He also urged Thais to stop relying on senior non-governmental leaders or retired generals to "rescue" them.

"These people should meditate or run [non-profit] foundations that don't meddle with politics," he advised.

Meanwhile, the Democrat Party's Niphon Boonyamanee said he believed "soldiers would know what is appropriate and what is not where their role is concerned".

"If the public sentiment is clear, I don't think they will dare [to stage a coup]. If it were that easy to stage a coup, they would have done it by now.

"They must learn lessons. The 2006 putsch made it clear that it is impossible [to govern the country] after a coup in this day and age. As the old saying goes, 'You may be able to seize power, but you cannot govern'. Studies were conducted and printed in books about this at the National Defence College.

"They can't simply act, as there are eyes, domestically and abroad, watching" the upcoming election and the Army, he added.

-- The Nation 2011-06-02

[geovalin]

The Nation should not publish that, Army and Invisible hands will be angry.

[FOODLOVER]

"I'm saying this out of loving-kindness" for them.

Here you go, i have another one. Why did the condom cross the road? Because he got pissed off.

Edited June 2, 2011 by FOODLOVER

[pisico]

_{Coup De'etat?}

_{Food for thought about how to decide the outcome of an election without a coup d'etat.}

_{According to the EC there are 43 million eligible voters in Thailand. The law regulating the printing of ballots by the Royal Mint House limits the extra ballots not to exceed 7% of eligible voters. There is a projected printing of 15% of ballots over the number of eligible voters.}

_{It has been widely reported in Thai TV. Many a legislator have expressed preoccupation about this extra 8% of ballots.}

Edited June 2, 2011 by pisico

[Thaddeus]

These people should meditate or run [non-profit] foundations that don't meddle with politics," he advised.

And the chances of that happening are?

C'mon, anyone.

These people don't meditate, they plot.

[Junglejumbo]

I believe that the invisible hand will cheat in this election.

It's not in the Thai press but 13% more ballot papers than is necessary have been printed. Suthep won't allow foriegn observers into the country for this election, the first time ever. Several hundred thousand temporary Thai ID cards will be given out due to problems with government's IT system.

[geovalin]

The Dem guy tells: "soldiers would know what is appropriate and what is not where their role is concerned". "If the public sentiment is clear, I don't think they will dare [to stage a coup].

It means:

1

soldiers would know what is appropriate = soldiers know what they have to do, better than us, even if it's to shoot in the crowd or confiscate the electoral victory.

2

If the public sentiment is clear = if the results are 50 / 50 or 51 / 49, thus not clear, army has the right to help the Dems to stay in charge.

3

I don't think they will dare [to stage a coup] = "I don't think but I don't know, they do not tell me what they plan for the country, nothing sure, they still could stage a coup. It's up to them. Us, Dems, we are not asked our opinion, we just have to obey."

Edited June 2, 2011 by geovalin

[jdinasia]

I believe that the invisible hand will cheat in this election.

It's not in the Thai press but 13% more ballot papers than is necessary have been printed. Suthep won't allow foriegn observers into the country for this election, the first time ever. Several hundred thousand temporary Thai ID cards will be given out due to problems with government's IT system.

Is there anything accurate in this post? "the first time ever"? 13%? etc ....

The Thai senator needs to rethink his terminology ---- as the "elite" would be all in favor of a "zero sum game" in one of its usages ---- and a zero-sum game in other usages is exactly what a democratic election is. (There is exactly 100% of a voting pool ---- doesn't matter how you divide it --- it remains unchanged at 100% --- no loss and no gain from the original total)

[citizen33]

The more usual usage of zero-sum game implies that if one side wins the other side loses in equal proportion. The good Senator is presumably contrasting this with a so-called 'win-win' situation, where a compromise or other way forward is devised that benefits the whole of society. Talking of democracy is rather like motherhood and apple pie. It would seem hard to disagree, but somehow that doesn't hold on TV. I keep thinking that a lot of posters would have been right there cheering in the streets with the good burghers as the Weimar Republic disintegrated.

Edited June 2, 2011 by citizen33

[brianb1944]

I believe that the invisible hand will cheat in this election.

It's not in the Thai press but 13% more ballot papers than is necessary have been printed. Suthep won't allow foriegn observers into the country for this election, the first time ever. Several hundred thousand temporary Thai ID cards will be given out due to problems with government's IT system.

What are you implying?

[brianb1944]

The Dem guy tells: "soldiers would know what is appropriate and what is not where their role is concerned". "If the public sentiment is clear, I don't think they will dare [to stage a coup].

It means:

1

soldiers would know what is appropriate = soldiers know what they have to do, better than us, even if it's to shoot in the crowd or confiscate the electoral victory.

2

If the public sentiment is clear = if the results are 50 / 50 or 51 / 49, thus not clear, army has the right to help the Dems to stay in charge.

3

I don't think they will dare [to stage a coup] = "I don't think but I don't know, they do not tell me what they plan for the country, nothing sure, they still could stage a coup. It's up to them. Us, Dems, we are not asked our opinion, we just have to obey."

Ssss your bias is showing

[ToffeEFCpower]

Stop talking about the "Invisibe Hands" As if you know who they are. LOL

[bungalownights]

judging by the huge mess the 2006 coup created for the thai people, it would be madness to even consider another coup.

Edited June 2, 2011 by bungalownights

[whybother]

judging by the huge mess the 2006 coup created for the thai people, it would be madness to even consider another coup.

Some people would suggest that the coup stopped the creation of a huge mess. The mess started forming with the sale of a little telecoms company, tax free.

Of course, the creator of that mess has been doing his best to stop the mess from being cleaned up, and also trying to get back into a position to start creating more of a mess.

[jdinasia]

judging by the huge mess the 2006 coup created for the thai people, it would be madness to even consider another coup.

A more realistic statement might be, judging from the huge mess Thaksin made for the Thai people it would be utter madness to consider another Thaksin proxy party. Yet there are some all in favor of such madness.

[slapout]

judging by the huge mess the 2006 coup created for the thai people, it would be madness to even consider another coup.

Then there are those who insist the mess made prior to the referenced event, resulted in the coup.

I admit that I do not understand politics nor those involved in same, here in Thailand nor other countries of the world. I do think that I can recognize some of the real self serving guys involved and Thailand seems to have an disproportional number of them.

[bf2002]

Whatever!!!!

As things look, the only hope is for a army rule until they get the masses educated to WESTERN 12th grade level.

Look at the alternatives.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Is there anything accurate in this post? "the first time ever"? 13%? etc ....The Thai senator needs to rethink his terminology ---- as the "elite" would be all in favor of a "zero sum game" in one of its usages ---- and a zero-sum game in other usages is exactly what a democratic election is. (There is exactly 100% of a voting pool ---- doesn't matter how you divide it --- it remains unchanged at 100% --- no loss and no gain from the original total)

Another way to look at the use of zero-sum is economically.

The established elite currently own/receive the vast majority of the country's property/income.

I believe that that many if not most of that group are taking the short-sighted view and trying to hold on to what they've got, their slice of a certain sized pie.

I believe this view is behind the fundamental problems facing Thailand at the moment, all of which accomplish the above, but at the price of holding back the country's development:

Crippled rule of law, including the perpetuation of corruption

Blocking the common people from freely electing whom they like

Failing to provide an effective standard of education to the common people - the rural poor, blocking the growth of a middle class outside of the cities.

These factors give the elite complete freedom to act with impunity, but effectively prevents "outsiders" (including Thais) from investing not just money but blood sweat and tears in the local economy.

If they were a bit more enlightened in their selfishness (no one expects true public spirit, working for the common good) they'd realize they'd actually benefit by encouraging the whole pie to grow more rapidly at the price of their accepting a smaller slice. That's the "win-win" solution behind the economic success of relative open competition, combined with relatively effective rule of law, relative transparency of governance, etc. Which is behind the rise of every successful economy you see in the world, with the exception of the one that proves the rule, China.

Of course that would mean the Thai elite would have to sharpen their game up and actually compete based on merit rather than relying on their network of connections, also reduce the endemic bureaucratic bloat and inefficiencies, etc.

I don't think we'll see these things changing anytime soon without a genuine major uprising by the common people as in the Middle East - and this IMO is quite unlikely here due to the acceptance of such extreme class stratification here, the fact that Thais are trained from birth to defer to their "betters".

Edited June 3, 2011 by BigJohnnyBKK

[ableguy]

They are afraid a general amnesty will not be tolerated and lead to a coup, they know they are wrong but hey everyone has to make money

[ableguy]

Is there anything accurate in this post? "the first time ever"? 13%? etc ....The Thai senator needs to rethink his terminology ---- as the "elite" would be all in favor of a "zero sum game" in one of its usages ---- and a zero-sum game in other usages is exactly what a democratic election is. (There is exactly 100% of a voting pool ---- doesn't matter how you divide it --- it remains unchanged at 100% --- no loss and no gain from the original total)

Another way to look at the use of zero-sum is economically.

The established elite currently own/receive the vast majority of the country's property/income.

I believe that that many if not most of that group are taking the short-sighted view and trying to hold on to what they've got, their slice of a certain sized pie.

I believe this view is behind the fundamental problems facing Thailand at the moment, all of which accomplish the above, but at the price of holding back the country's development:

Crippled rule of law, including the perpetuation of corruption

Blocking the common people from freely electing whom they like

Failing to provide an effective standard of education to the common people - the rural poor, blocking the growth of a middle class outside of the cities.

These factors give the elite complete freedom to act with impunity, but effectively prevents "outsiders" (including Thais) from investing not just money but blood sweat and tears in the local economy.

If they were a bit more enlightened in their selfishness (no one expects true public spirit, working for the common good) they'd realize they'd actually benefit by encouraging the whole pie to grow more rapidly at the price of their accepting a smaller slice. That's the "win-win" solution behind the economic success of relative open competition, combined with relatively effective rule of law, relative transparency of governance, etc. Which is behind the rise of every successful economy you see in the world, with the exception of the one that proves the rule, China.

Of course that would mean the Thai elite would have to sharpen their game up and actually compete based on merit rather than relying on their network of connections, also reduce the endemic bureaucratic bloat and inefficiencies, etc.

I don't think we'll see these things changing anytime soon without a genuine major uprising by the common people as in the Middle East - and this IMO is quite unlikely here due to the acceptance of such extreme class stratification here, the fact that Thais are trained from birth to defer to their "betters".

The common people vote for who they like make no mistake, they vote for the man that pays them, of their own free will, sadly they deserve all they get

[ableguy]

I believe that the invisible hand will cheat in this election.

It's not in the Thai press but 13% more ballot papers than is necessary have been printed. Suthep won't allow foriegn observers into the country for this election, the first time ever. Several hundred thousand temporary Thai ID cards will be given out due to problems with government's IT system.

What are you implying?

business as usual