Nirut, pity the Thai middle classes – nobody ever listens to them, and they have nobody to speak for them! Next time, they should take to the streets and call for direct help from the King.
The problem is that Thaksin’s anti-drug spree was applauded by nearly everybody, from farmers up to the King. The more some people complain about extrajudicial murders, the more other people will remember that 3 years ago, somebody had the balls to take the knife to drug dealers. I’m not defending Thaksin, I’m just being a political realist. The anti-drug campaign was one of his most popular policies.
Also, some of the worst human rights abuses (Tak Bai and Krue Sae) of the Thaksin government were committed by the military itself. Soliders ordered and then executed on those orders. The junta will not undertake any human rights probes because it has even more human rights abuses in its closet than Thaksin.
Mr Andrew, mai pen rai, I hope it is helpful, at least as it was meant , that is a penetrating critique of your methodology for the unwritten article, deduced (assumed) from the tone of the posts here and discussion leading up to now. But surely I was not that correct in my deductions (assumptions) that I “hit the nail on the head?”
Villagers and vote buying, muang and middle-class paternalism are, after all, imagined parts (or selectively emphasised aspects) of a whole political milieu, whose assumed differing needs and voting patterns might not be so different if we look at the demographics a little more closely…the middle-class at some stage did support Thaksin as well and so share with their rural compatriots a particular view of politics…what changed?..unlikely it was the extrajudicial killings as they were primarily rural with the exception of khlong Toey (BKK), didn’ t Thaksin’s monopoly on power start to redefine the limits of socal mobility of the middle-class and wasnt he putting a downward pressure on this group in the later part of his “reign”? I remember how he won the middle-class vote on his paltform of the social evils and his no nonsense remedy to them (extra judicial killings) but at the same time he started to eat away at middle-class legitimacy and access to the economy…His pro-republican alliance in TRT of course was problematic to the present coup co-conspirators and their interest,. but, most interestingly he was particulalry ideological regarding normative and sanook practices in the urban middle-classes stomping ground of BKK…hmmm…? Do not discount increased police power that he effected there …
I think that to accept the middle-class ideology and paternalism in the statements regarding the rural poor as representative of their (middle-class) “political values” you would valorise the rural position and if you take the rural at face value on what they say (as opposed to observing long term their practices–both sides would be ideal, of course but you have already set the site as a village in the north), then you are letting the stereotypes you propose to question set the parameters of your investigation…little room for “other” material to shape the process, wouldn’t you agree?
If you were to think about the broader political context and look at other areas of the whole, such as vote buying, not in terms of the face value approach “can anyone provide evidence of it working” but to look at how it works, allow for the possibility that the stated rationale by which you have come to know it may not in fact be an accurate account of what it is in practice or ever have been , nor that it is only important in those terms. For example vote buying may not occur as a reciprocal exchange/transaction between a candidate and his constituents but does that mean it is meaningless? Does the absence of corruption reduce its significance…(corruption of course being similarly problematic to engage with and not a good parameter for research I am sure you would agree)..?
Knowing as I do how particularly money-oriented local and national politics is and how people kill to get access to or control over the modest amount of 3 million baht per annum of OBT budgets to reclaim their “vote buying expenditure” as well as the left over “profits” and in general to have local power, i think it would be rather strange that the candidates would “buy votes” if it were ineffective (esp on a provincial or national level)…so do we have a left over practice that has lost its meaning through increased transparency of governance (become redundant in the face of enlightened western liberal democratic procedures?) there is no such thing as a redundant practice..so what is it candidates are doing…? Remembering you only have electoral official’s word that ballot boxes are not opened at village level etc…in a country where we have serial cheating in lotto, ranging from freezing the balls in the barrel to filling others to make them heavier etc..also the test fiasco with Chula etc etc etc it would be naive to accept this at face value also…all that would come of it is shock and outrage when the whistle is blown (yet again)…
Anyway back to the topic, if vote buying is to be the focus then I can say that in some cases it is effective…firstly hua kanan are not only village heads or so on but rather, include voting age adolescents, members of groups such as glum mae bahn, glum lieng vua, debtors, family group heads, temple Abbotts, all range of people, and where the handing out of money is concerned much of it is done after negotiations are made and promises set and these are not simply a case of vote for me and here is your 20 or 50 or 100 baht. In my experience in recent times the cash hand out is a sign of goodwill and display of financial capacity to rule as well as an upfont payment on the tacit agreement that is still actually tentative but perhaps (I think) an electoral campaign practice…Hua kanan are infact often talked about by their bosses in terms of the number each respective one is seen to have influence over, some are 5 people others 20 and so on…
Reghardless, I still think to look at vote buying as such an important or pre-eminent issue in political culture and values is not going to give you the kind of data you might like, or to avoid the reproduction of paternalism. Perhaps a bit of drama and metaphor by Victor Turner (or Max Gluckman) to elucidate political values in a coup situation will provide the context to avoid reductionism, paternalism and misdirection.
Gentlemen surely you won’t begrudge a General for having his strong opinion about what Thai Democracy is. After all we just recently had a corrupt Police-Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra demonstrate to us what Thai Democracy should be NOT . . and that lesson continue to haunt us still.
If I may add, General Sonthi surely must have been aware of Thaksin Shinawatra’s extrajudicial murderous nature. Taking that gun during the Burma trip was protection against his murderous Boss.
I also wonder why Thailand should hesitate to prosecute Thaksin Shinawatra, his wife and many relatives and maybe half of the TRT executives for the corruption spree carried out during Thaksin’s 6 year rule. If South Korea can jail corrupt Presidents, Thailand too should be able to jail corrupt ministers. Thailand should start with Thaksin Shinawatra . . Thailand has to start somewhere.
But Jeru has a good point on the Extrajudicial Killings ordered by Thaksin Shinawatra. That was a mass murder crime . . and Thaksin Shinawatra was prominently the man in charge. We do remember Thaksin Shinawatra as the micro-manager requiring blacklists from the police-hicks, then follow-ups on the body counts. Thaksin Shinawatra was enjoying his murderous extrajudicial show which was impressing the villages . . TRT’s entertainment to the poor I would say.
For the extrajudicial killings alone, Thaksin should be jailed for life.
James, asking the military to start human rights investigations is like asking the US to be honest when concocting evidence to support a declaration of War …or asking the Australian government to respect the rights of refugees…or asking the British government to respect Islam, the Israeli government to negotiate fairly with Palestine…or…like asking a foreign backpacker to stop resorting to ethnocentric stereotypes to illustrate innane point. Or is it? A military investigation into the Interior ministry would be sure to reveal more than a police investigation…which rights abuses are you thinking of?
In South Korea they did jail two Presidents: Roh and Chun, and that was for corruption. The anti-drugs extrajudicial killings were clearly direct orders from the top man himself then PM Thaksin Shinawatra. They do not have to indict the whole police force (they were only following orders, remember), they will only have to indict the Police Chief, the Interior Minister and of course Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thailand could then set the example to the world that extrajudicial killings is a horrifying crime . . even more criminal if instigated, directed and ordered the the country’s top elected leader. Jail Thaksin Shinawatra for mass murder! That should do it!
Mr Andrew, if I may I would very much like to hear more about what it is you are looking at in terms of “political values”. From what I can see here (in terms of the discussion regarding “political culture” and “vote buying”) in the “cause” you are championing of dispelling the myths and stereotypes that characterise discussion of Thai political culture, you risk performing the same disservice to the rural population as the middle-class you have systematically disregarded in each successive post on the subject. Can you on the one hand treat middle-class versions as illegitimate while then stepping up and, as I am assuming you propose to do.. speak OF and FOR the rural population in their stead? And if so by what merit is your project any different to those you decry? if you are interested in “political values” wouldn’t you need to try and reconcile the differences while treating each with equal legitimacy (be objective) and inquire equally into both as to what is “making them tick?”. Of course I think so and believe such a project would have great merit…however, the approach you take of taking things at face value and “seeing if they are so?” as they are said, combined with surveys and interviews as your primary data source I doubt you will do justice to the project you propose and simply reproduce the already rich source of paternalism that Foreign and Thai scholars alike have been passing off as scholarship for decades…of course you will find contradiction (as others before you have) and you can then talk about discourse (as others are want to do in smilar situations) and then when all is said and done the conclusions will pretty much be that there is more complexity to this “political values” than previously thought but what it actually is will remain elusive as ever…
Well, the Thai military could start by indicting the entire Thai police force for human rights violation. Once that is over then the police can indict the military on same grounds. Finally the Thai people can arrest both the military and police and start afresh. Reboot. Ping!!
Asking the military to start human rights investigations is like asking a thai traffic cop not to take bribes.
Have you seen this story? Gen Sonthi “admits lack of solid evidence against Thaksin”: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1774302.htm
The best route towards bringing Thaksin Shinawatra to justice is to prosecute him for all his human rights abuses during his rule.
Meticulous scrutiny into Thaksin’s abysmal human-rights record would arguably send an even stronger signal to both the international community and the Thai public that the military’s political intervention was just and necessary to return Thailand toward a rule-of-law-based society after five years of misrule under Thaksin.
Thaksin violated the very rule of law he was elected to uphold when he directed the extrajudicial slaughter of 2,500 defenseless villagers merely because they were on some policeman-hick’s blacklist. That was mass murder and murder is still a crime even if it was commited by a Prime Minister.
Bangkok Pundit, thanks for pointing that out. The transcript and the front-page article reveal different details, and they complement each other. The fact that both Thaksin and Sonthi were in the same flight makes it even stranger – what was Sonthi so scared of? Thaksin telling him “you’re fired!” at gunpoint during the flight? And what the heck was Sonthi thinking of doing – shooting back and then jumping out of the emergency exit?
His comments in the transcript are somewhat confusing. He attacks the state of emergency decree, but defends martial law? And regarding the “underground opponent movement” that is “present in universities, the provinces and Bangkok,” he notes that “in one year from now the Armed Forces will deal with the movement via mass psychology like when they handled circumstances in the past.” Is he equating those who oppose the coup with 1970s/1980s-era communists?
[…] The Evan Williams documentary, “Burma: State of Fear“, will be broadcast in the US on Tuesday, 31 October, at 9 pm ET on PBS.┬ My investigations suggest that this is the American version of the program titled “Burma’s Secret War” that was shown in Britain in early October.┬ Some weeks ago, I posted a lengthy review┬ which highlights some of the issues in that documentary that may particularly interest New Mandala readers.┬ Good footage of events in Burma is, of course,┬ notoriously difficult to come by.┬ […]
hEY, bIG rAMBO,
Pirates? Who are pirates in Burma? No, there is no pirate.
But there pop up only ruthless dictators and women-hungry soldiers across the country. Generation to generation dictatorship is handed over and over ignoring its people’s desire. The Burmese people have been waiting for some one, of course RAMBO, to end the never-ever-ending-gun-ruling era of these tyrannical SPDC thugs.
Actually, the people of Burma also needs the Redeemer as do the captured missisonaries. So, RAMBO, why not to come to Rangoon City to rescue our Lady Suu Kyi and her supporters
whom butcher-like SPDC have jailed them for decades. Have you ever heard about INSEIN JAIL? Someone says,” If there is Hell on Earth, it must be Insein Jail.”She and her friends are dying soon
if there is no rescuer like RAMBO.
Therefore, just FEEL FREE TO BROADEN YOUR BATTLE FIELD in Burma. Assume that the people are your best friends as you are always fond to the civillians in your action films.
NMG: What was the real situation when you had to unprecedentedly accompany former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on his trip to Burma before the coup?
Sonthi: At first I did not understand why he wanted me to go with him then. He told me to wear a military uniform but I asked to put on a suit instead since I can hide something inside. I did not know what would happen then and I had to take precautions by taking a seat next to the pilot and close to an exit. I would be able to make an easy escape thanks to such a strategic seating in case something bad would happen
Patiwat, it was also after Gen Sonthi told Thaksin about the coup that Thaksin made his speech about someone overthrowing his government. Gen Sonthi could always argue later that the comment was made in jest.
Over the next few months I will be writing a paper on “political values” based on research undertaken largely in this village. When I have a relatively complete draft I will post it to New Mandala.
Andrew, thanks for the data. I’m tempted to link the villagers political views to their economic-demographic backgrounds, but feel that more comparison data would be neccesary to make any firm statements.
Do your surveys also cover indicators of political knowledge and opinions?
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Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Nirut, pity the Thai middle classes – nobody ever listens to them, and they have nobody to speak for them! Next time, they should take to the streets and call for direct help from the King.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
The problem is that Thaksin’s anti-drug spree was applauded by nearly everybody, from farmers up to the King. The more some people complain about extrajudicial murders, the more other people will remember that 3 years ago, somebody had the balls to take the knife to drug dealers. I’m not defending Thaksin, I’m just being a political realist. The anti-drug campaign was one of his most popular policies.
Also, some of the worst human rights abuses (Tak Bai and Krue Sae) of the Thaksin government were committed by the military itself. Soliders ordered and then executed on those orders. The junta will not undertake any human rights probes because it has even more human rights abuses in its closet than Thaksin.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
He\’s just a baby proxy, like a puppet .
everything in this abyss \’re Not fancy
Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Mr Andrew, mai pen rai, I hope it is helpful, at least as it was meant , that is a penetrating critique of your methodology for the unwritten article, deduced (assumed) from the tone of the posts here and discussion leading up to now. But surely I was not that correct in my deductions (assumptions) that I “hit the nail on the head?”
Villagers and vote buying, muang and middle-class paternalism are, after all, imagined parts (or selectively emphasised aspects) of a whole political milieu, whose assumed differing needs and voting patterns might not be so different if we look at the demographics a little more closely…the middle-class at some stage did support Thaksin as well and so share with their rural compatriots a particular view of politics…what changed?..unlikely it was the extrajudicial killings as they were primarily rural with the exception of khlong Toey (BKK), didn’ t Thaksin’s monopoly on power start to redefine the limits of socal mobility of the middle-class and wasnt he putting a downward pressure on this group in the later part of his “reign”? I remember how he won the middle-class vote on his paltform of the social evils and his no nonsense remedy to them (extra judicial killings) but at the same time he started to eat away at middle-class legitimacy and access to the economy…His pro-republican alliance in TRT of course was problematic to the present coup co-conspirators and their interest,. but, most interestingly he was particulalry ideological regarding normative and sanook practices in the urban middle-classes stomping ground of BKK…hmmm…? Do not discount increased police power that he effected there …
I think that to accept the middle-class ideology and paternalism in the statements regarding the rural poor as representative of their (middle-class) “political values” you would valorise the rural position and if you take the rural at face value on what they say (as opposed to observing long term their practices–both sides would be ideal, of course but you have already set the site as a village in the north), then you are letting the stereotypes you propose to question set the parameters of your investigation…little room for “other” material to shape the process, wouldn’t you agree?
If you were to think about the broader political context and look at other areas of the whole, such as vote buying, not in terms of the face value approach “can anyone provide evidence of it working” but to look at how it works, allow for the possibility that the stated rationale by which you have come to know it may not in fact be an accurate account of what it is in practice or ever have been , nor that it is only important in those terms. For example vote buying may not occur as a reciprocal exchange/transaction between a candidate and his constituents but does that mean it is meaningless? Does the absence of corruption reduce its significance…(corruption of course being similarly problematic to engage with and not a good parameter for research I am sure you would agree)..?
Knowing as I do how particularly money-oriented local and national politics is and how people kill to get access to or control over the modest amount of 3 million baht per annum of OBT budgets to reclaim their “vote buying expenditure” as well as the left over “profits” and in general to have local power, i think it would be rather strange that the candidates would “buy votes” if it were ineffective (esp on a provincial or national level)…so do we have a left over practice that has lost its meaning through increased transparency of governance (become redundant in the face of enlightened western liberal democratic procedures?) there is no such thing as a redundant practice..so what is it candidates are doing…? Remembering you only have electoral official’s word that ballot boxes are not opened at village level etc…in a country where we have serial cheating in lotto, ranging from freezing the balls in the barrel to filling others to make them heavier etc..also the test fiasco with Chula etc etc etc it would be naive to accept this at face value also…all that would come of it is shock and outrage when the whistle is blown (yet again)…
Anyway back to the topic, if vote buying is to be the focus then I can say that in some cases it is effective…firstly hua kanan are not only village heads or so on but rather, include voting age adolescents, members of groups such as glum mae bahn, glum lieng vua, debtors, family group heads, temple Abbotts, all range of people, and where the handing out of money is concerned much of it is done after negotiations are made and promises set and these are not simply a case of vote for me and here is your 20 or 50 or 100 baht. In my experience in recent times the cash hand out is a sign of goodwill and display of financial capacity to rule as well as an upfont payment on the tacit agreement that is still actually tentative but perhaps (I think) an electoral campaign practice…Hua kanan are infact often talked about by their bosses in terms of the number each respective one is seen to have influence over, some are 5 people others 20 and so on…
Reghardless, I still think to look at vote buying as such an important or pre-eminent issue in political culture and values is not going to give you the kind of data you might like, or to avoid the reproduction of paternalism. Perhaps a bit of drama and metaphor by Victor Turner (or Max Gluckman) to elucidate political values in a coup situation will provide the context to avoid reductionism, paternalism and misdirection.
Thai junta supremo lectures on democracy
Gentlemen surely you won’t begrudge a General for having his strong opinion about what Thai Democracy is. After all we just recently had a corrupt Police-Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra demonstrate to us what Thai Democracy should be NOT . . and that lesson continue to haunt us still.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
If I may add, General Sonthi surely must have been aware of Thaksin Shinawatra’s extrajudicial murderous nature. Taking that gun during the Burma trip was protection against his murderous Boss.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
I also wonder why Thailand should hesitate to prosecute Thaksin Shinawatra, his wife and many relatives and maybe half of the TRT executives for the corruption spree carried out during Thaksin’s 6 year rule. If South Korea can jail corrupt Presidents, Thailand too should be able to jail corrupt ministers. Thailand should start with Thaksin Shinawatra . . Thailand has to start somewhere.
But Jeru has a good point on the Extrajudicial Killings ordered by Thaksin Shinawatra. That was a mass murder crime . . and Thaksin Shinawatra was prominently the man in charge. We do remember Thaksin Shinawatra as the micro-manager requiring blacklists from the police-hicks, then follow-ups on the body counts. Thaksin Shinawatra was enjoying his murderous extrajudicial show which was impressing the villages . . TRT’s entertainment to the poor I would say.
For the extrajudicial killings alone, Thaksin should be jailed for life.
Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Nirut, thanks for this penetrating critique of my not-yet-written article.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
James, asking the military to start human rights investigations is like asking the US to be honest when concocting evidence to support a declaration of War …or asking the Australian government to respect the rights of refugees…or asking the British government to respect Islam, the Israeli government to negotiate fairly with Palestine…or…like asking a foreign backpacker to stop resorting to ethnocentric stereotypes to illustrate innane point. Or is it? A military investigation into the Interior ministry would be sure to reveal more than a police investigation…which rights abuses are you thinking of?
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
In South Korea they did jail two Presidents: Roh and Chun, and that was for corruption. The anti-drugs extrajudicial killings were clearly direct orders from the top man himself then PM Thaksin Shinawatra. They do not have to indict the whole police force (they were only following orders, remember), they will only have to indict the Police Chief, the Interior Minister and of course Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thailand could then set the example to the world that extrajudicial killings is a horrifying crime . . even more criminal if instigated, directed and ordered the the country’s top elected leader. Jail Thaksin Shinawatra for mass murder! That should do it!
Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Mr Andrew, if I may I would very much like to hear more about what it is you are looking at in terms of “political values”. From what I can see here (in terms of the discussion regarding “political culture” and “vote buying”) in the “cause” you are championing of dispelling the myths and stereotypes that characterise discussion of Thai political culture, you risk performing the same disservice to the rural population as the middle-class you have systematically disregarded in each successive post on the subject. Can you on the one hand treat middle-class versions as illegitimate while then stepping up and, as I am assuming you propose to do.. speak OF and FOR the rural population in their stead? And if so by what merit is your project any different to those you decry? if you are interested in “political values” wouldn’t you need to try and reconcile the differences while treating each with equal legitimacy (be objective) and inquire equally into both as to what is “making them tick?”. Of course I think so and believe such a project would have great merit…however, the approach you take of taking things at face value and “seeing if they are so?” as they are said, combined with surveys and interviews as your primary data source I doubt you will do justice to the project you propose and simply reproduce the already rich source of paternalism that Foreign and Thai scholars alike have been passing off as scholarship for decades…of course you will find contradiction (as others before you have) and you can then talk about discourse (as others are want to do in smilar situations) and then when all is said and done the conclusions will pretty much be that there is more complexity to this “political values” than previously thought but what it actually is will remain elusive as ever…
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
Well, the Thai military could start by indicting the entire Thai police force for human rights violation. Once that is over then the police can indict the military on same grounds. Finally the Thai people can arrest both the military and police and start afresh. Reboot. Ping!!
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
Asking the military to start human rights investigations is like asking a thai traffic cop not to take bribes.
Have you seen this story? Gen Sonthi “admits lack of solid evidence against Thaksin”: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1774302.htm
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
The best route towards bringing Thaksin Shinawatra to justice is to prosecute him for all his human rights abuses during his rule.
Meticulous scrutiny into Thaksin’s abysmal human-rights record would arguably send an even stronger signal to both the international community and the Thai public that the military’s political intervention was just and necessary to return Thailand toward a rule-of-law-based society after five years of misrule under Thaksin.
Thaksin violated the very rule of law he was elected to uphold when he directed the extrajudicial slaughter of 2,500 defenseless villagers merely because they were on some policeman-hick’s blacklist. That was mass murder and murder is still a crime even if it was commited by a Prime Minister.
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
Bangkok Pundit, thanks for pointing that out. The transcript and the front-page article reveal different details, and they complement each other. The fact that both Thaksin and Sonthi were in the same flight makes it even stranger – what was Sonthi so scared of? Thaksin telling him “you’re fired!” at gunpoint during the flight? And what the heck was Sonthi thinking of doing – shooting back and then jumping out of the emergency exit?
His comments in the transcript are somewhat confusing. He attacks the state of emergency decree, but defends martial law? And regarding the “underground opponent movement” that is “present in universities, the provinces and Bangkok,” he notes that “in one year from now the Armed Forces will deal with the movement via mass psychology like when they handled circumstances in the past.” Is he equating those who oppose the coup with 1970s/1980s-era communists?
“The last true military dictatorship”
[…] The Evan Williams documentary, “Burma: State of Fear“, will be broadcast in the US on Tuesday, 31 October, at 9 pm ET on PBS.┬ My investigations suggest that this is the American version of the program titled “Burma’s Secret War” that was shown in Britain in early October.┬ Some weeks ago, I posted a lengthy review┬ which highlights some of the issues in that documentary that may particularly interest New Mandala readers.┬ Good footage of events in Burma is, of course,┬ notoriously difficult to come by.┬ […]
New Rambo and Free Burma
hEY, bIG rAMBO,
Pirates? Who are pirates in Burma? No, there is no pirate.
But there pop up only ruthless dictators and women-hungry soldiers across the country. Generation to generation dictatorship is handed over and over ignoring its people’s desire. The Burmese people have been waiting for some one, of course RAMBO, to end the never-ever-ending-gun-ruling era of these tyrannical SPDC thugs.
Actually, the people of Burma also needs the Redeemer as do the captured missisonaries. So, RAMBO, why not to come to Rangoon City to rescue our Lady Suu Kyi and her supporters
whom butcher-like SPDC have jailed them for decades. Have you ever heard about INSEIN JAIL? Someone says,” If there is Hell on Earth, it must be Insein Jail.”She and her friends are dying soon
if there is no rescuer like RAMBO.
Therefore, just FEEL FREE TO BROADEN YOUR BATTLE FIELD in Burma. Assume that the people are your best friends as you are always fond to the civillians in your action films.
yOUR fRIEND,
cHINrAMBO
Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just unhappy to see me?
Patiwat, are you sure? Isn’t Gen Sonthi referring to “their” trip to Burma in August?
From the transcript:
NMG: What was the real situation when you had to unprecedentedly accompany former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on his trip to Burma before the coup?
Sonthi: At first I did not understand why he wanted me to go with him then. He told me to wear a military uniform but I asked to put on a suit instead since I can hide something inside. I did not know what would happen then and I had to take precautions by taking a seat next to the pilot and close to an exit. I would be able to make an easy escape thanks to such a strategic seating in case something bad would happen
Patiwat, it was also after Gen Sonthi told Thaksin about the coup that Thaksin made his speech about someone overthrowing his government. Gen Sonthi could always argue later that the comment was made in jest.
Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Over the next few months I will be writing a paper on “political values” based on research undertaken largely in this village. When I have a relatively complete draft I will post it to New Mandala.
Some grassroots views on Thaksin and the coup
Andrew, thanks for the data. I’m tempted to link the villagers political views to their economic-demographic backgrounds, but feel that more comparison data would be neccesary to make any firm statements.
Do your surveys also cover indicators of political knowledge and opinions?