Tulsi joins the party of Common Sense

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE

Three disparate figures voice concern about coup factor

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been in office barely a month and coup speculation has already appeared.

Anxiety over a power seizure will persist as long as rival camps continue to play up the military card. If democracy is to thrive, then it is imperative all sides should stop involving the military in partisan politics.

The armed forces are an integral part of the security apparatus to safeguard the nation and not a tool to install or oust a government.

Three leading figures, Jatuporn Promphan, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Anand Panyarachun, made separate comments which might become political prophecy.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn said he suspected a conspiracy to hatch a coup plot. Even though he did not explicitly single out anyone by name, many understood his comments as a veiled attack on the multi-colour shirt movement.

He saw the opposition movement as a pretext to force Yingluck out of power by undemocratic means. Unlike his past remarks, he appeared to be more articulate than in the days he led street protests. He no longer attacked the armed forces as a whole but just those he said were bent on grabbing power by force.

Former prime minister Chavalit reminded all sides that political mayhem would be repeated if opponents of fugitive PM Thaksin Shinawatra were to allow their hatred for him to cloud their judgement. Thaksin's anticipated homecoming might trigger street protests if his opponents become engaged in a bitter vendetta, regardless of consequences to the political system.

Chavalit said the end game would always be either a House dissolution or a coup if Thais paid lip service to democracy but refused to play by the rules of politicking.

Ex-PM Anand said a real danger to the political system was absolute power vested in a single leader or a clique of leaders.

He was critical of the way politicians were relying on legal tactics to advance their political agendas. He even called for the disbanding of the Council of State.

Instead of serving the people's aspirations, politicians paid attention to frivolous issues like rewriting charter provisions and electoral rules, he said.

Jatuporn, Chavalit and Anand voiced strong opposition to a repeat coup. What the three left unsaid was that the power seizure could happen again.

A large number of democracy advocates, including the red shirts, have been spearheading a campaign to de-link the military from politics.

Efforts to keep the soldiers in their barracks are admirable. But reining in the soldiers would not be enough to prevent the power seizure. Key players must rely on the art of compromise to overcome any clash of ideas. Past political conflicts often triggered a coup because rival camps opted to manipulate the rule book instead of playing by the rules.

All sides should examine events in 2005 in order to heed the lessons from the subsequent 2006 coup and how to avoid repeating it.

Thaksin's idea of a strong government to steer the country forward, which blossomed in 2005, turned out to be the catalyst for his downfall. What he saw as the country's boon was construed by his opponents as the bane of autocratic leadership.

Yingluck has not even warmed up to her job but critics have started to speculate about ousting her. Her misfortune appears to be blamed on being Thaksin's sister. It is completely unfair to attack the sister due to the fear of her brother's shadow.

While Yingluck's opponents allude to the coup, her supporters are quick to invoke democracy as the antidote. At issue is not the fight between the good and the bad of democracy, but the struggle to force the other side to make a choice: "my way or the highway".

-- The Nation 2011-10-04

[looping]

Why not wait for T to return, watch him become totally absolved, by which time all election promises will have been broken... If there was a coup on these grounds, then the election was immediately re-run the election to avoid a red shirt 'shin dig', this time with a MANDATORY LIVE DEBATE, everyone could fully explain their election promise policies (and explain ones from the previous election). Maybe the dems could canvass in all areas, explaining that this is the way democracy works.

Also, the T question could be debated.

Maybe, after this debate, it will be clear why there was a coup, even to the reds... Then again...

Edited October 3, 2011 by looping

[MILT]

Why not wait for T to return, watch him become totally absolved, by which time all election promises will have been broken... If there was a coup on these grounds, then the election was immediately re-run the election to avoid a red shirt 'shin dig', this time with a MANDATORY LIVE DEBATE, everyone could fully explain their election promise policies (and explain ones from the previous election). Maybe the dems could canvass in all areas, explaining that this is the way democracy works.

Also, the T question could be debated.

Maybe, after this debate, it will be clear why there was a coup, even to the reds... Then again...

Your Dreaming again. This is Thailand. With that said I have to totally agree with your statement.

[OzMick]

My day wouldn't be complete without Jatuporn spouting some idiocy.

And Chavalit, the ever-faithful lap dog, warning us that PTP's militia will be out again if people would be as silly as to expect the laws of the country to be carried out. He might be a convicted criminal, but he's a Shinawatra, so we'll just forget about that!