Thailand has had more coups than any other country. This is why.

[Thai at Heart]

What is the point in not daring to have a coup when there is virtually no consequence for your actioms

[Felt 35]

The only thing which can change anything in Thailand is a new constitution applying to everyone from top to bottom and teached at schools and delivered out to the whole society.

[punisher]

In western countries you learn already in school about humanity,about to be patient,you learn how to respect other people and cultures,they teach you also to be responsible for your doing.In western countries they teach you to obey laws and orders.In western countries you have one government who is responsible for all this.In western world we have the yr 2013,Thailand is still in 17 or 1813,Thailand stands still,no development

at all.Nobody obeys laws and orders, in Thailand,every rule has an exception..

The constitution of Thailand is a joke,Could you imagine the constitution of UK would has a passage what says the queen and her family are untouchable?Could you imagine

US army would build a state in a state?Could you imagine high class and rich people

have influence on the daily life in a democratic country?Exceptions like that keep Thailand in democratic stone age.I’m not a Thaksin friend,but he tried to do the right thing,He tried to take the power away from the establishment,his reasons for that are maybe not that great,but my thinking is once the establishment and old rules are away,then the way for development is open.Thailand should get a new westernized

constitution,Thailand should ban all current politicians for future elections,but after all here is Asia and it’s there country,so they can do whatever they like to do,and maybe we as westerners should not put our noses into their business

Oh man...I was with you until the part that I marked.

Thaksin IS the establishment! He just used this kind of "propaganda" to win over the vote of Isan.

He was sucessfull at that and actually pushed trough some of his populist politics (which by the way is more than most of the guys before him ever even tried!) but in the end, he just used "the poor" as pawns in his chess- game!

He is as much "elite" as the "elite" that fights him.

They are all a bunch of power- crazy rabid dogs and the don't give sh1t for "the people" as long as they got, what they came for!

Like i said,I'm not a Thaksin friend,but if he can be helpful to get rid of the cancerous ulcer then he should come back,after he cleaned up he can go.He is the only one who has the power to do so.Why do u think the establishment is so scared of him?They give a shit on nepotism or whatever other stuff he is involved with.They are scared of him because with him they will loose their status as untouchables

[bushman1666]

The hub of coups?

Damn! You beat me to it!!!!

[DGIE]

Some reasons why there is a coup…

• People do not want a dictator head.
• There is rampant corruption in the government.
• The opposition cannot wait for those sitting in position to finish their term.
• Oppositions are also eager to do their parts in the corruption.
• There was a massive cheating when counting votes after election and the people believed that the one who won was really lost in the election.
• The head doesn't know anything in governing and is manipulated by others.
• The oppositions act as if they are better...

Edited December 4, 2013 by Scott
Font

[ib1b4]

What is the point in not daring to have a coup when there is virtually no consequence for your actioms

Good point ; Would you be referring to the 2007 constitution ?

[JoeLing]

Just tried to work out about all the attempted, failed and quiet coup d'états here in the "Coup Land"

This list is by no means complete, so add more if you know of any other ones.

I believe there was some quiet coup's in 1966 and 1967 of which I am aware but there must be several quiet
coup attempts, failed or successful, of which no one ever heard.

1 - Uprising (attempt) of 1910:
Two attempted uprisings are put down by the Thai army.

2 - Coup (attempt) of 1912
Palace Revolt

13 January 1912

3 - Coup (attempt) of 1917
Aborted

4 - Coup (successful) of 1932
Siamese Revolution
Friday, 24 June 1932

5 - Coup (successful) of 1933
Coup by the "People's Party"
Tuesday, 20 June 1933

6 - Coup (attempt) of 1933
Boworadet Rebellion
11–23 October 1933

7 - Coup (successful) of 1939
Songsuradet Rebellion [siam changed name to Thailand]
29 January 1939

8 - Coup (successful) of 1947
Siamese coup d'état
Saturday, 8 November 1947

9 - Rebellion 1948
Songkhram’s military government crushes protest riots across the southern region.

10 - Coup (attempt) of 1949
Saturday, 26 February 1949

11 - Coup (attempt) of 1951
Friday, 29 June 1951

12 - Coup (successful) of 1951
Thursday, 29 November 1951

13 - Coup (successful) of 1957
Tuesday, 17 September 1957

14 - Coup (successful) of 1958
Monday, 20 October 1958

15 - Coup (successful) of 1971
Wednesday, 17 November 1971

16 - Coup (successful) of 1976
Wednesday, 6 October 1976

17 - Coup (attempt) of 1977
Saturday, 26 March 1977

18 - Coup (successful) of 1977
Thursday, 20 October 1977

19 - Coup (attempt) of 1981
Wednesday, 1 April 1981

20 - Coup (attempt) of 1985
Monday, 9 September 1985

21 - Coup (successful) of 1991
Saturday, 23 February 1991

22 - Coup of 2006
Tuesday, 19 September 2006

23 - ........

24 - ........

[skorchio]

I am of the opinion that when the cops (and judiciary) are as 'loose' as they are here (loose meaning whatever word you want to insert), Thailand will never move to the more normal democratic model. Unless the law is even-handedly applied to all Citizens across the board (and all has to really mean ALL), then the people cannot accept the fake democracy that this wonderful country wallows in. I for one would not like to see Thailand 'progress' to the nanny-state model which most Europeans are used to. I like it the way it is, but the protests and haves and have-nots will not go away until law is measured and dished out evenly.

[JoeLing]

Why?
Maybe because of bad, biased information and education people don't understand the term "Democracy" ?

[bigbamboo]

Thailand has had more coups than any other country.

And among other things, also the world's largest human christmas tree.

It is also the only country that speaks Thai, the democracy with the largest percentage of family connected parliamentarians and the only country ruled from another country by remote control.

I wonder of the Guinness Book of Records is up to speed on all this?

Edited December 4, 2013 by bigbamboo

[jdinasia]

http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/12/03/is-thailand-due-for-another-coup/

and more from Andrew Sullivan

[Tokay]

My view isn't going to fly with some of you, but having spent many years in the Middle East and in Thailand, I can say from my experience that Thais are a lot like Arabs in the sense that they just are not ready yet for a real democracy. Arabs and Persians are usually ruled with an iron fist, and as unfair as it may seem to the outside world, and even if they are evil, in a perverse way it works. Remove those dictators and all hell breaks loose, as we have seen time and time again.

It's a horrible thing to say, I know, but it is what it is.

[bigbamboo]

The why is actually that Thailand's elite think they are educated but they are not, they do not have manners and they did not move on from the beginning of the 1900's. Maybe it is because the history was falsified for centuries. The why can be found in the selfishness and unwillingness to share wealth and power.

Actually what you say applies exactly to the 2006 coup, where the unwillingness to share wealth and power by not paying taxes and the systematic dismantling of checks and balances were two key reasons for the ousting of KT.

Well done!

[belg]

time for bangkok to change its name to siam and become an independant state , rest of thailand for the reds ?

[Tokay]

time for bangkok to change its name to siam and become an independant state , rest of thailand for the reds ?

You forgot the south.

Thailand is not going to be unified in our lifetime. Probably not in our children's lifetime either. If the choice were mine to make and I could wave a magic wand, I'd break it into three parts. North Thailand, South Thailand, and then give the problematic area of the south back to Malaysia. Let the people choose where they want to go. Of course it's not that simple, as then trade wars would begin. Bangkok controls the ports, the north and north east control the rice and food, and so on. So even if these people had their own state, it wouldn't be enough. Thus my original statement of they need one person telling them how it is, and that is that.

They have an awesome King, they should have let him remain in power instead of taking it from him. Only a true King can keep the peasants in check. If he came on TV tonight and told them all to knock it off, it would be over and they would have to live with their inner political anger like adults. Since they get a pass to do whatever they want, they act out like unruly children in at attempt at a power grab, over, and over, and over again. I mean seriously, they took over a police station and army headquarters? Where else in the world would such an act fly without serious injury, mass arrests, or casualty?

Some groups of people can handle democracy, some can't. And since the Thai version of "democracy" really means vote buying, I'd say they are not yet ready for it, nor deserve it.

Flame away.

[punisher]

The why is actually that Thailand's elite think they are educated but they are not, they do not have manners and they did not move on from the beginning of the 1900's. Maybe it is because the history was falsified for centuries. The why can be found in the selfishness and unwillingness to share wealth and power.

Actually what you say applies exactly to the 2006 coup, where the unwillingness to share wealth and power by not paying taxes and the systematic dismantling of checks and balances were two key reasons for the ousting of KT.

Well done!

You can believe what you like to believe,but it does not make it right.The reasons why Thaksin had to go are the following.

1.He said it would be time to think about if monarchy still fits into the 21st century

2.He tried to take power away from the army, by cutting budgets,and by putting friends and family into high positions

3.BKK hiso and elite was afraid to lose their 5000bt slaves from esaan,on top they tried to bribe Thaksin as they did with former governments,but Thaksin told them to f....o.because he did not need their money.

As you can see from the list,those 3 parties are still trying to topple the government,but whatever they do,they never win an election.

Please spare me with how corrupt and evil Thaksin is.He is the smaller shit pile,and as long thais have more money in their pockets,and think the government cares at least a bit about them,as long they will vote for TRT or PTP or whoever is close to Thaksin.You don't win elections if you tell half of the population "you are to stupid to vote"

[F430murci]

American support this goverment. Amercan Press always support red shirt because of their benefit.

A Tale of Two Protests: Ukraine and Thailand

Western hypocrisy on full display as it backs pro-EU protesters in Ukraine, condemn Thai protests against US-backed regime in Thailand.

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/12/a-tale-of-two-protests-ukraine-and.html

A problem with your analysis is the conclusion that some pathetic commentary from one person in British Guardian speaks for the US.. US does not care about who is in power in Thailand and will work with either side. Nice try though.

[rjcampbe]

The hub of coups?

Well Done Mosha!

Wish I had thought of it sooner...

Somebody had to, I hadn't seen a "hub" joke since the riots protests started.

[Prbkk]

I think you make some telling observations. But if you look at the case of Taiwan, they faced many of the same issues....long period of martial law, violent conflict between ethnic/ linguistic/cultural(/religious groups....and their parliament, for years, makes Thailand's look like a picnic. Same problem,or worse, with corruption. And yet they have made it work. Yes, many differences as well. I like to think that something closer to democracy can work for the Thais, because the whole country is going to sink without trace with these conflicts and with emerging competition from around the region

time for bangkok to change its name to siam and become an independant state , rest of thailand for the reds ?

You forgot the south.

Thailand is not going to be unified in our lifetime. Probably not in our children's lifetime either. If the choice were mine to make and I could wave a magic wand, I'd break it into three parts. North Thailand, South Thailand, and then give the problematic area of the south back to Malaysia. Let the people choose where they want to go. Of course it's not that simple, as then trade wars would begin. Bangkok controls the ports, the north and north east control the rice and food, and so on. So even if these people had their own state, it wouldn't be enough. Thus my original statement of they need one person telling them how it is, and that is that.

They have an awesome King, they should have let him remain in power instead of taking it from him. Only a true King can keep the peasants in check. If he came on TV tonight and told them all to knock it off, it would be over and they would have to live with their inner political anger like adults. Since they get a pass to do whatever they want, they act out like unruly children in at attempt at a power grab, over, and over, and over again. I mean seriously, they took over a police station and army headquarters? Where else in the world would such an act fly without serious injury, mass arrests, or casualty?

Some groups of people can handle democracy, some can't. And since the Thai version of "democracy" really means vote buying, I'd say they are not yet ready for it, nor deserve it.

Flame away.

[Gonsalviz]

American support this goverment. Amercan Press always support red shirt because of their benefit.

A Tale of Two Protests: Ukraine and Thailand

Western hypocrisy on full display as it backs pro-EU protesters in Ukraine, condemn Thai protests against US-backed regime in Thailand.

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/12/a-tale-of-two-protests-ukraine-and.html

Not saying they are correct but the usually consider the currently elected government at legitimate.

[skorchio]

The why is actually that Thailand's elite think they are educated but they are not, they do not have manners and they did not move on from the beginning of the 1900's. Maybe it is because the history was falsified for centuries. The why can be found in the selfishness and unwillingness to share wealth and power.

Actually what you say applies exactly to the 2006 coup, where the unwillingness to share wealth and power by not paying taxes and the systematic dismantling of checks and balances were two key reasons for the ousting of KT.

Well done!

You can believe what you like to believe,but it does not make it right.The reasons why Thaksin had to go are the following.

1.He said it would be time to think about if monarchy still fits into the 21st century

2.He tried to take power away from the army, by cutting budgets,and by putting friends and family into high positions

3.BKK hiso and elite was afraid to lose their 5000bt slaves from esaan,on top they tried to bribe Thaksin as they did with former governments,but Thaksin told them to f....o.because he did not need their money.

As you can see from the list,those 3 parties are still trying to topple the government,but whatever they do,they never win an election.

Please spare me with how corrupt and evil Thaksin is.He is the smaller shit pile,and as long thais have more money in their pockets,and think the government cares at least a bit about them,as long they will vote for TRT or PTP or whoever is close to Thaksin.You don't win elections if you tell half of the population "you are to stupid to vote"

But what can one do if half the population are too 'paid' to vote? Do you really think the farmers are gonna continue to vote for YS without the rice scam? Of coure not. And who is paying for rice scam? The Protesters are paying for it. If I was a tax-payer in this country I would be absolutley incensed by this, I would be right there in the middle of it. I think it is hard for your average Thai guy or gal getting paid 20-30K a month, living the simple family life while their tax take goes to housing millions of tonnes of rotting rice so YS can stay in the job long enough to get big bro home. What would happen then? It would become Thaksinland .... and they can't take this and I don't blame them.

But I do have to agree with the sentiments that this country can't handle democracy, as it is too difficult to clean out the corruption sufficiently to make Democracy actually work. Democracy needs a certain environment in which to flourish, and that environment is a long long way away in Thailand. And so many important (rich or uniformed) people do not want it to happen.

But I love it here, if it were to change for the better, maybe I would not love it here so much .... such a delicious irony!

[MW72]

In western countries you learn already in school about humanity,about to be patient,you learn how to respect other people and cultures,they teach you also to be responsible for your doing.In western countries they teach you to obey laws and orders.In western countries you have one government who is responsible for all this.In western world we have the yr 2013,Thailand is still in 17 or 1813,Thailand stands still,no development

at all.Nobody obeys laws and orders, in Thailand,every rule has an exception..

The constitution of Thailand is a joke,Could you imagine the constitution of UK would has a passage what says the queen and her family are untouchable?Could you imagine

US army would build a state in a state?Could you imagine high class and rich people

have influence on the daily life in a democratic country?Exceptions like that keep Thailand in democratic stone age.I’m not a Thaksin friend,but he tried to do the right thing,He tried to take the power away from the establishment,his reasons for that are maybe not that great,but my thinking is once the establishment and old rules are away,then the way for development is open.Thailand should get a new westernized

constitution,Thailand should ban all current politicians for future elections,but after all here is Asia and it’s there country,so they can do whatever they like to do,and maybe we as westerners should not put our noses into their business

Are you from the UK? The UK does not have a constitution and the Queen is untouchable. She could murder someone live on TV and she cannot be prosecuted. That's why all us Brits are subjects and not citizens. As for your comment on high class and rich people influencing western democracies, come on are you for real? Big businesses pour million of £, €, $ a year into lobbying and paying off politicians to get laws made that suit them and help them make even more profit. I don't want to be offensive but your comment seem very naive.

Sent from my KFTT using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Bender]

sorry to say, but you got it all wrong folks.

Its for the love of the money.

Here everything is about money, nothing else

only the money!

revolve around the money.

money, money and money.

give me money!

ps: they dont make coup because of ideolgy, politics or whatever but because of ... oups i forgot.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Bender

[bushman1666]

sorry to say, but you got it all wrong folks.

Its for the love of the money.

Here everything is about money, nothing else

only the money!

revolve around the money.

money, money and money.

give me money!

d

ps: they dont make coup because of ideolgy, politics or whatever but because of ... oups i forgot.

Thailand: Land of Scams

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[paz]

So difficult to beat Thailand on certain things!

My favorite runner-up, Argentina, only had six coups since 1930! But they killed many more people in the process.

[icare999]

"Almost all coup attempts, successful or failed, occur in countries that are relatively poor ..."

More accurately it is a history of poverty among a large segment of the population, with little hope of escaping from it. We have seen coups in many countries where the ruling class had obscene amounts of wealth, but the majority of the populace were poor and uneducated. With no opportunity to escape poverty under their present conditions, revolution/coups appeared to have been their only hope. Unfortunately for them, the new regimes just moved in and took over the role of the oppressors.

Although there is a significant population in America who perceive themselves to be poor (compared to well to do Americans. Not compared to those in other parts of the world who are truly poor), there are possible opportunities to raise themselves out of their present situation and thus have realistic hope of moving up in economic class. It is this possibility which keeps them in check and prevents the probability of revolution. In Thailand, those who are disenfranchised see no such hope, and live in a constant state of desperation. For them it appears that they only will see a change in their oppressors, but very little chance of escaping their poverty. Thus, ongoing desperate times will call for desperate actions, and they will support the overthrow of the present regime in the unrealistic hope that they will miraculously be lifted out of their impoverished lives.

what a total load of BS. Ive been here 30 years and seen lots of very poor get ahead and not just by finding some sugar daddy. Its very hard to do but in many ways no harder than in west. Theirs very little really grinding poverty here compared with hopelessness found on many UK sink estates. My wife and family come from dual poor and several still live hand to mouth getting a living by a mixture of farming and selling. Its far easier here for someone to open a food stall or other small business without oppressive bureaucracy and excessive rules and regulations prevalent in the west. Most of rural poor had/have their own land and no debt. Its true they lived very humbly but increasingly they are selling their land for a quick buck and becoming real slaves as workers in cities. Many are simply very lazy and ones who make a real effort often manage to drag themselves out of poverty but it takes a lot of work. My wife still keeps a small farm in Issan more to keep tradition these days than out of need. Several of her neighbours work all hours and have worked really hard to give their children a education and several have managed to send their children to university while themselves living in effectively huts. Those are exceptions I agree but its no hardener to do here than for a family living in some drug ridden estate in UK or many western countries. difference is only those in west mostly have much more material goods but give up. When my wives aunt's husband died leaving her with 3 kids she rolled up her sleeves and started a noodle stall which in west she could never have done due to all red tape, regulation and PC claptrap.

One of beauties of living here is its rare to see anyone hungry. In fact one only has to go to local temple to get food if in dire need.

Its not simply a case of rich against a poor downtrodden underclass and its definitely total crap to say its more difficult for someone to rise above normal very low standard. Problem is its just to easy here in many ways since up to recently one could live here on almost nothing so many maybe wisely simply decided not worth bother to get a bit more. I know many many hard working poor thais who don't just laze around and know many who prefer to sit back especially the Thai men and drink cheap whisky.

Its hard here for many but please don't make out poor here are anything like rap abject poverty you get in many countries in Africa and other Asian nations or India or large parts of China

[englishoak]

Very true Icare, the poor of Thailand really don't know the hardships of the other poor around the world. There is poor and there is poor. There is so much Thailand dosnt have have to worry about dealing with which is probably just as well.

I put a lot of the claims of Thais being lazy down to living in a blessed country where its almost impossible to starve, they just see sabbai sabbai and in a way isnt that what a lot of people would like ? the opportunity to live with enough to eat without freezing to death or mass droughts killing them ? maybe this is why buddhism also took off

can you imagine the poor able to give food every day in the west and adding it to their food bill ? or having no need for heating so they dont freeze or even brick housing ? how about a weather season where something is easily grown all year round ?

Thailand is blessed in many ways some other nations can only dream of. This may well go some way to explaining the difference in priorities by many here. What is enough if it isnt the ability to live well with a full belly in the company of family without the fear of dying through starvation, cold or drought ?

Don't knock living simply it is what many in the west yearn for..

[swoosh]

Watch the Film Documentary 'Paradoxocracy'. You can get it with English Subtitles too.

Might help you to better understand the people and country you live in.

[englishoak]

Watch the Film Documentary 'Paradoxocracy'. You can get it with English Subtitles too.

Might help you to better understand the people and country you live in.

Is indeed a good documentary

[NeverSure]

America is on the other side of the world. Hear we have different ethics and morals. Have you ever read the book The invasion of the barbarians? if not get hold of a copy and read it.

You mean : here in Thailand?

Oh yes, you bloody well have!

If you define the terms "ethic" and "moral" very loosely and include treating women as second class human beings, treating "inferior" people as second class citizens, whoring out 13 year old children to your neighbor...and I could continue for hours!

Back in Europe we had other ethics and morals too, you know!

We had a "good ol' tradition" of burning witches!

We learned, that it is not really an "okay- thing" to do.

Maybe you should start and consider some of your "ethics and morals" and adjust them to...let's start with the 20th century!

I don't want bash American people, because I know that the most people have a good heart. But about your politicans and multinational companies, sorry. So we should different between normal people and leader.

So often people fail to see the difference between the US private sector and the government. The private sector belongs to the people. The government is supposed to belong to the people, but in recent years it has turned a deaf ear to the majority. Because America isn't mixed with an autocracy, the people who are mostly better educated than those in 3rd world countries can vote them out. America has had such swings. Just in the past ten years there has been complete control by the Republicans (Bush, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and in the first 2 years of Obama's presidency he had both the House and Senate controlled by Democrats.)

The private sector including your "multinational corporations" belongs to the people. Their stocks are listed on the stock exchanges. Most employers have something like a 401k which could be called a retirement program and that money is invested in the name of the employee in - you guessed it - corporate stocks. Anyone can invest his own money too.

As an American, it is pretty hard for me to hate "multinational corporations" when they have made me so much money from the stocks I own in them, as they expand around the globe. There are several American companies doing business in Thailand that I own stock in. I own General Motors (Chevrolet) and McDonald's and Burger King and KFC stocks. I own them because they are multinational which gives them more room to grow than if they limited their business to the US.

I hope they make LOTS of money because a little bit of it is mine. YOU TOO can own part of American multinational corporations so:

If you think they have the world by the tail, I strongly suggest you buy yourself some stock!