Prayuth tops people's choice as next PM

[JAG]

In fact possibly one of the best organised coups in recent times, remember the military is sworn to protect the king and royal family, guess their doing their Job quiet well, it remains to be seen how the economy will hold together but so far they seem to be moving fast on what people want, fuel, water, shelter and safety. And, cheaper lottery, motorcycle taxis and reducing corruption which hurts the poor more than anyone.

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Well it should be well organised - according to one umm, well connected source, the planning started the day after Yingluck was elected!

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[baboon]

Best read the constitution then,

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What constitution? I thought it had been suspended?

[Prbkk]

In effect, Hobson's choice

[IAMSOBAD]

If I could vote it would be for Prayuth.

Have a nice day...

[heybruce]

If I could vote it would be for Prayuth.

Have a nice day...

Would you have also supported the Burmese military after their 1988 coup? Apparently the Thai junta believes it is doing something similar: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/04/thailand-politics-idUSL4N0PE17F20140704

[IAMSOBAD]

The Thai hunta is nothing like the Myanmar hunta. So far they have saved a war and helped people and gone after corruption.

Have a nice day...

[heybruce]

The Thai hunta is nothing like the Myanmar hunta. So far they have saved a war and helped people and gone after corruption.

Have a nice day...

As the article points out, the Thai military staged the coup for the same reason as the Myanmar military, which says a lot.

I don't think Thailand was on the verge of war, I'm certain that if the military had made it clear there would be no coup and that elections should proceed that the protests would have fallen apart immediately. Also, they haven't gone after corruption or attempted any kind of reform of the military, which also says a lot.

[larsjohnsson]

I do think people expected it and see the coup as stability and a fresh start. However, from what I see the Junta can be trusted more than many of the politicians they replace, and remember this is a Kingdom so whatever your view, under Thai law the coup is perfectly legal. It's too early to see how it will turn out, but I'd rather than have a coup than a revolution.

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Are you joking. The coup is perfectly legal !!!!!!!!

[kimamey]

Best read the constitution then, and now the King has given his approval. Perfectly legal and bloodless Coup. In fact we should always think about the King, possibly the greatest ambassador for sorting problems you could ever have, solved or instigated many many agricultural and technological advances. A man who is quiet rightly loved and respected, even by non Thais.

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That does mean that it wasn't legal as approval hadn't been given at that time. The military rule after that has royal approval so is probably legal.

You're right about the king but I don't think he is given real respect. He is used for political purposes by people claiming to be protecting him. If he is so loved what is he being protected from. His views are often listened to and then ignored.

There's another thread at the moment regarding the opening of a submarine centre even though Thailand doesn't have any subs. Someone pointed out that the king had said subs would be of no use in the Gulf of Thailand as it's too shallow. Has anybody listened? No.

In 2005 HM made comments about making mistakes and that people should be able to criticise him if they feel he has done something wrong. Have the LM laws been changed or got rid of ? Again no.

It would appear to me that the LM laws themselves and anyone using the would be flouting those very rules.

The LM laws give a very negative view of the king. When I first started speaking to my wife on the internet I didn't even realise Thailand had a king. Looking at Wikipedia and the LM laws plus the unflattering picture used gives the impression of a fairly unpleasant man who accepts no criticism and imprisons those who do so. This isn't the case of course and it's others who do that but that's not the picture that's shown.

The military who seem to be doing a reasonable job so far also appear to be falling into this trap of not accepting negative statements. Whilst I agree that anything that promotes violence or disorder can't be accepted simple criticism is a different matter and suppressing it creates a unnecessary negative view of the military rule. Democratic countries were never going to be able to support a coup but allowing dissent and a free press would make the relationship between Thailand and western democracies much easier.

If the general is considering a political career he needs to understand that it will be very different from now where everyone is doing as they are told, consensus doesn't need to be found and negative comments can be stopped.

[Old Man River]

Do people really have a choice? If they're against the military etc then they're not allowed to legally speak out about the main reasons why. Don't forget these things. Plus all the news is good news when the military controls the news.

For many of us living in Bangkok, the really good news is our families can walk the streets of Bangkok without fear of bombs killing them. I tell my friends abroad that Bangkok has never been safer.

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[Old Man River]

The Thai hunta is nothing like the Myanmar hunta. So far they have saved a war and helped people and gone after corruption.

Have a nice day...

As the article points out, the Thai military staged the coup for the same reason as the Myanmar military, which says a lot.

I don't think Thailand was on the verge of war, I'm certain that if the military had made it clear there would be no coup and that elections should proceed that the protests would have fallen apart immediately. Also, they haven't gone after corruption or attempted any kind of reform of the military, which also says a lot.

Thailand was on the verge of a guerrilla war.

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[heybruce]

The Thai hunta is nothing like the Myanmar hunta. So far they have saved a war and helped people and gone after corruption.

Have a nice day...

As the article points out, the Thai military staged the coup for the same reason as the Myanmar military, which says a lot.

I don't think Thailand was on the verge of war, I'm certain that if the military had made it clear there would be no coup and that elections should proceed that the protests would have fallen apart immediately. Also, they haven't gone after corruption or attempted any kind of reform of the military, which also says a lot.

Thailand was on the verge of a guerrilla war.

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Interesting claim. What is your evidence? And do you think there would have been a civil war if the military had simply dashed the hopes of Suthep and his supporters by stating there would be no coup?

[rubl]

All interesting remarks from posters aside, Prayuth is still tops, allegedly that is, as far as I can read that is, in Thailand that is.

Soon the BBC will offer its own social media based information stream. Now I wonder how they will do the filtering as mandated by British Law. Especially the Thai language part

Edited July 9, 2014 by rubl