Public embraces junta: Thai analysis

[webfact]

ANALYSIS: COUP A MONTH LATER
Public embraces junta
The Nation

NCPO's second month in power begins with goodwill as it now tackles long-term issues

BANGKOK: -- A MONTH AFTER the May 22 coup, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has managed to win widespread public approval as its short-term measures and policies have borne fruit and are evidence of tangible results for many people.

The junta appears to have won the hearts and minds of different groups with essentially populist policies that aim to "return happiness to the people", although NCPO chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has said he opposes "making people choke with populist policies".

Some 800,000 rice farmers were quickly paid the Bt90 billion owed to them by the ousted government, while live broadcasts of all World Cup football matches on free-to-air TV have also proved a hit.

Many people are satisfied with the absence of street protests and political violence that continued for several months before the coup. Others are happy with the NCPO's crackdown on weapons.

The ruling NCPO is now turning its attention to tackling many problems left unsolved for a long time, such as mafia activities, illegal gambling and corruption. It will be tested by more difficult tasks, including bringing about reconciliation between rival political groups involved in deadly conflict over the past decade.

The first month in power is part of the "honeymoon period" usually enjoyed by every new administration. The junta has been able to make quick decisions due to an absence of opposition. Only time will tell whether its perceived successes today will lead to sustainable changes and improvements in the long run.

The latest public opinion polls have shown a high approval rating for the NCPO. A survey by Suan Dusit Poll gave it a score of 8.82 out of 10 on its one-month performance after seizing power.

A poll by the National Institute of Development Administration found that more than 41 per cent of respondents nationwide want the NCPO chief to become the next prime minister.

On the economic front, consumer and business confidence is up as is investment, amid signs of political stability. Tourism, however, has yet to recover. Despite the apparent optimism, academics say a lot more needs to be done to push for successful reforms.

End of bloodshed

Chulalongkorn University political scientist Chaiyan Chaiyaporn gave credit to the NCPO for stopping the violence and ending confrontations between the opposing political sides. The decision was brave because anti-coup sentiment was stronger than it was in 2006 when the military staged its last coup, he said.

Chaiyan noted that the NCPO could effectively stop political confrontation. Its crackdown on weapons could also end political violence.

However, more needed to be done to achieve real reform.

"It is now a good time for reforms in many aspects," he said.

Pirongrong Ramasoota Rananand, from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts, said the past month was a honeymoon for coup supporters and a nightmare for its opponents.

One month might be too soon for an evaluation and the junta must think about the consequences of its conduct, she said.

Short-term measures taken by the junta might become a burden for elected governments in the future, she warned.

The junta also should think about human rights, she said, as people who oppose the coup have not expressed so in public but instead vent their anger on social media and with family and friends. The longer they are oppressed by the coup, the more their dissatisfaction will increase.

"Sooner or later, you [the junta] have to open up common space for the people. Space doesn’t mean instigation. It means catharsis where people can release tension," she said.

Other academics urged the NCPO to take this chance to put Thai society in order. They noted that over the past month, the junta obviously zeroed in on some chronic problems, such as drug trafficking and illegal taxi activities.

Sukhum Chaleysab, from Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, said previous governments had failed to solve these problems and their solutions were hampered by the fact that those behind such vices were politicians.

"The NCPO should make sure that the mafia figures are punished, even if they have connections with politicians or men in uniform," he said.

Sukhum, who is in charge of the Suan Dusit Poll, said that the latest opinion survey showed that the NCPO's five most impressive actions were repaying farmer debts under the rice-pledging scheme; the crackdown on illegal weapons, drugs, gambling and influential figures; the reduction of the cost of living, including capping gas and oil prices; the investigation into the transparency of state enterprise boards; and structural reform of the energy sector.

On the international front, foreign countries have evaluated the May 22 coup and the junta's actions in two ways.

Western countries mostly regard the coup as violation to the principles of democracy and human rights. They have demanded that the junta restore democracy.

No love from the West

The United States, the European Union and Australia imposed sanctions that suspended military aid and military cooperation with Thailand.

International organisations and many rights groups have expressed grave concern over the detention and arrest of politicians, activists and academics under martial law. They urged the junta to conduct prosecutions with transparency and respect for fundamental rights.

Most Asian countries, however, have been more supportive. Some Asean diplomats told Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow that their countries will continue relations and cooperation with Thailand as usual.

One Asean diplomat said the junta had done many good things over the past month.

"Payment to farmers in the rice-pledging scheme is a smart policy to win the hearts and minds of people in the lower class who are strong supporters of the previous government," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Diplomats and representatives of foreign countries in Thailand have kept a close eye on the junta's economic policies to see whether it will change foreign concessions in Thailand, the diplomat said.

As long as the junta stresses that it is business as usual, many countries could support its reform efforts, he said.


-- The Nation 2014-06-23

[NongKhaiKid]

BBC World TV is doing a heavy piece on the NCPO's crackdown on dissent and showing people in Bkk being arrested for very innocuous acts.

I can see the station being blocked once more and Jonathon ' Dick ' Head having to get out of the country fast, again.

[siampolee]

So far so good.

However early days yet. Let us hope that the positive attitude being shown at this ,moment in time is for real and will be an effective and an ongoing scenario.

Corruption and the abuse of power and position will never ever be completely eradicated, human nature being what it is (greedy) hence ongoing vigilance is essential.

Thailand and its peoples are in a position now to change their future. It is up to, in fact it is the duty of those in power to remember that they are serving the people and for those in power to to remember that they are public servants not the other way round.

When the honeymoon period is over then we may well in fact we will be able to judge matters with a more discriminating critical eye and the outcome of the military take over and the subsequent events that emerge from the matter.

Indeed we live in interesting times.

[thesetat2013]

There is also a nationwide search bein done for illegals and illegal workers including farangs

In my city immigration has been systematically hitting every school.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[siampolee]

thesetat2013 post # 5

There is also a nationwide search being done for illegals and illegal workers including farangs

In my city immigration has been systematically hitting every school.

Well be a decent poster and at least let us know which city you are referring to so as the truth of the matter can be verified.

[NeilSA1]

So far so good.

However early days yet. Let us hope that the positive attitude being shown at this ,moment in time is for real and will be an effective and an ongoing scenario.

Corruption and the abuse of power and position will never ever be completely eradicated, human nature being what it is (greedy) hence ongoing vigilance is essential.

Thailand and its peoples are in a position now to change their future. It is up to, in fact it is the duty of those in power to remember that they are serving the people and for those in power to to remember that they are public servants not the other way round.

When the honeymoon period is over then we may well in fact we will be able to judge matters with a more discriminating critical eye and the outcome of the military take over and the subsequent events that emerge from the matter.

Indeed we live in interesting times.

Yes, time will tell but so far the General and the Junta have been impressive. Give them more time, (another month?), to work their magic freely. We don't need any adverse reports at this time and especially by the the likes of Jonathon Head.

[SABloke]

There is also a nationwide search bein done for illegals and illegal workers including farangs

In my city immigration has been systematically hitting every school.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good - illegal foreign workers(westerners included) make life more difficult for those of us that do everything legalky: whenever there is a problem with immigration, there's a change to non-b/non-o regulations, be it monthly income, savings etc. The ''border runners''however, just keep running and running and every now and then pay overstay fines.

[ihunnieibee]

AFAIK the military is still controlling the press and media in Thailand. Please keep that in mind while reading all the wonderful news and stories.

[Seastallion]

""Sooner or later, you [the junta] have to open up common space for the people. Space doesn’t mean instigation. It means catharsis where people can release tension," she said." (Pirongrong Ramasoota Rananand, from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts,)

I love it. A Thai academic hippy.

She's right though.

[NongKhaiKid]

thesetat2013 post # 5

There is also a nationwide search being done for illegals and illegal workers including farangs

In my city immigration has been systematically hitting every school.

Well be a decent poster and at least let us know which city you are referring to so as the truth of the matter can be verified.

A couple of days ago I posted on another thread that a usually unreliable source was claiming that police in Khon Kaen were about to crackdown on farangs who don't have I/D etc. He didn't know if it was to be nationwide so maybe the other poster can name his city so we can get to the bottom of this.

[love1012]

Who cares what western people think - now we can run our own country properly without red shirt US influence - strange that a country so against communism would support such communist methods

[Loles]

I see same.

Thais like junta, cause they can attack on greedy and disgusting politicians, corrupt police officers, human traffickers, drug and taxi mafia, crazy traffic, high energy prices, etc ....

So far they made a special good job.

[baboon]

AFAIK the military is still controlling the press and media in Thailand. Please keep that in mind while reading all the wonderful news and stories.

Quite. Any government with the ability to control the media would be doing a terrific job and enjoying widespread support.

[AleG]

AFAIK the military is still controlling the press and media in Thailand. Please keep that in mind while reading all the wonderful news and stories.

Indeed, that's why one should look around and see for oneself the situation. Have you noticed an overall improvement or deterioration of the country since the coup? Do the people seem in better spirits, same, worse?

[The stuttering parrot]

Public embraces propaganda should be the headline !

[h90]

BBC World TV is doing a heavy piece on the NCPO's crackdown on dissent and showing people in Bkk being arrested for very innocuous acts.

I can see the station being blocked once more and Jonathon ' Dick ' Head having to get out of the country fast, again.

BBC went down from one of the best News channel to a propaganda channel for US/UK new world order.

And Jonathan Head is known for his close relations with the red shirts.

So both sides just put their propaganda...

[TimCM]

It does make me chuckle when you read the exact opposite in the foreign press, including how those that don't are sent for reeducation, North Korea style.

As stated above, remember these stories are little more than propaganda from the dictatorship now in place

[fab4]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

Edited June 23, 2014 by fab4

[trainman34014]

Big sea change in attitude here in the North and many people would like the Coup to continue for a year or two. Villagers like the way the red thugs are being suppressed and cannot scare everyone into doing their will.

[Just1Voice]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

I also read that report, and my very first thoughts were: "Why am I not surprised?"

[h90]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

For me that sounds like Suthep want to bring himself into the game again. And make himself more important than he is. If the secretly plotted to bring down Yingluck why telling the secret now?

[bigbamboo]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

From the evidence of what we've seen the junta have done something which doesn't appear anywhere in the Book of Thainess. It's called forward planning.

Or did you think the general woke up one morning and thought, "Hmm....nice day for a coup."

[fab4]

BBC World TV is doing a heavy piece on the NCPO's crackdown on dissent and showing people in Bkk being arrested for very innocuous acts.

I can see the station being blocked once more and Jonathon ' Dick ' Head having to get out of the country fast, again.

The other paper reported on those arrests yesterday: one man for reading the novel '1984' silently and I kid you not, for playing the French national anthem on his phone (all that liberty, equality, fraternity stuff get's them all hot and bothered) outside Siam Paragon, he was dragged off by undercover police officers, several were arrested for preparing to hand out sandwiches and the eighth person, a woman, was arrested for wearing a T shirt that had the 'Respect my Vote' slogan on it.

[tingtongteesood]

Public embraces propaganda should be the headline !

No, not at all. I guess out in Nakhon nowhere on the farm it looks the same every day but here in a big city with lots of other people there has been a huge improvement in the last month. Life has returned to normal and people seem happier and nobody is talking about the violence, I have seen no red shirted idiots, no more loud speakers blaring vile rhetoric about killing people. MUCH BETTER ! Keep up the good work Col. Prayuth and co., the country ( at least the majority of it ) salutes you for your fine work thus far.

[NongKhaiKid]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

For me that sounds like Suthep want to bring himself into the game again. And make himself more important than he is. If the secretly plotted to bring down Yingluck why telling the secret now?

Maybe he feels neglected.

[fab4]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

From the evidence of what we've seen the junta have done something which doesn't appear anywhere in the Book of Thainess. It's called forward planning.

Or did you think the general woke up one morning and thought, "Hmm....nice day for a coup."

Not at all. I'm well aware of what has been happening.

However, there are more than a few on here that have been constantly maintaining that suthep and the pdrc were not part of a common strategy to overthrow the government and that prayuth just decided to have a coup because the talks between the caretaker government and sutheps lot had failed after just two sessions of "talks".

Lecture them, not me.

[tingtongteesood]

BBC World TV is doing a heavy piece on the NCPO's crackdown on dissent and showing people in Bkk being arrested for very innocuous acts.

I can see the station being blocked once more and Jonathon ' Dick ' Head having to get out of the country fast, again.

The other paper reported on those arrests yesterday: one man for reading the novel '1984' silently and I kid you not, for playing the French national anthem on his phone (all that liberty, equality, fraternity stuff get's them all hot and bothered) outside Siam Paragon, he was dragged off by undercover police officers, several were arrested for preparing to hand out sandwiches and the eighth person, a woman, was arrested for wearing a T shirt that had the 'Respect my Vote' slogan on it.

And funny how they were being followed by reporters and trying to draw attention to themselves isn't it. It is all bs set up by 'reds' to try and make the military look bad. 'Zero tolerance' means just that and they should be arrested for gross stupidity ! I have no sympathy whatsoever.

[Just1Voice]

It's no surprise that this coup has been a long time in the making, and planning. I agree with BigBamboo, the good General didn't just wake up one morning and decide to have a coup. The junta were well prepared, and knew ahead of time the things they would have to tackle and change, with thought out, concrete plans laid for them, and an effective outline to guide them.

I'm not the least bit surprise by Suthep's announcement that he and the General have been planning this since 2010. Since the start of the PDRC I've felt there was a "secret alliance" between Suthep and the military, and Suthep's revelation now proves me correct in my thinking. There were just too many little "tell tale" signs that pointed to that.

They took a big bite out of the Thaksin/UDD power base by making a priority of paying the farmers, who had been screwed over enough as it was. Again, though, it was well thought out. Every wonder why the same banks that refused to give PTP the money to pay the farmers, suddenly lined up to throw money at the junta to pay the farmers? Not a hard one to figure out.

And while I can appreciate the junta's sweeping removal of many top officials, especially in the RTP, who are they really being replaced with? Royalist/Elite backers? Trading one demon for another perhaps? The silencing of all dissidents for any disparaging remarks about the coup or the junta is not a welcoming sign. Taking away freedom of speech and expression is not a way to "bring happiness", but to foster hatred and silent dissent that will one day raise to the surface, in possibly a very unpleasant way.

All we can do now is see how this plays out, and hope for the best.

[robblok]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

From the evidence of what we've seen the junta have done something which doesn't appear anywhere in the Book of Thainess. It's called forward planning.

Or did you think the general woke up one morning and thought, "Hmm....nice day for a coup."

Not at all. I'm well aware of what has been happening.

However, there are more than a few on here that have been constantly maintaining that suthep and the pdrc were not part of a common strategy to overthrow the government and that prayuth just decided to have a coup because the talks between the caretaker government and sutheps lot had failed after just two sessions of "talks".

Lecture them, not me.

I will lecture you as you either dont know or not want to admit the truth.

They always plan things in case of. This does not mean they wantes this. If the killings stopped or the talks worked the coup would not have happened.

There is a difference in planning for the event of something or actively planning for aomething.

Many newspapers have the obituaries of public figures ready. That does not mean they want them dead, it means they will act if certain things happen.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Nickymaster]

And surprise, surprise, Suthep reveals at his fund raising event, "have dinner with kamnan suthep", how he has been advising prayuth on how to get rid of the "Thaksin Regime" since 2010. The other paper goes so far as to suggest that prayuth has been actively plotting to bring down Yingluck Shinawatra - I expect their reporters will be "invited" for an "attitude adjustment" chat in the very near future.

So much for keeping quiet about politics in this period of "happiness"

I know it hurts to see your corrupt role models being eliminated from this country. Maybe you should stop supporting corrupt politicians and move on like the fast majority of Thailand is doing

Ever thought about joining Jakrapop?

Edited June 23, 2014 by Nickymaster