I think it would be interesting to see a study on the short term financial windfall that goes to the coup makers.
Based on anecdotal evidence from colleagues who have competed for government infrastructure contracts in Thailand (under democrat, military and Pheua Thai regimes), and studies from the world bank, Asian development bank, corruption indexes etc, the commission on government tenders in Thailand seems to hover somewhere around the 30% mark. Therefore, here’s how I see the generals and their key puppet masters benefiting to the tune of around 100 billion dollars in the short term.
Step 1) Shortly after assuming power and without adequate research, due diligence or viability studies, the Junta moves to increase the infrastructure project budget by 50% from 2 to 3 trillion baht so that the 30% corruption income from dispersing the construction tenders increases from around US$60 billion to US$90 billion.
Step 2) Is to ensure that all tenders are divvied out before any democratically elected people are again involved in the process. That way all tender commissions will be payable to the junta and not the elected representatives who will eventually try to oversee the completion of the projects. The generals have allowed themselves and the puppet interim government they intend to install about 18 mths before democracy is returned. By sheer chance, that’s the perfect amount of time to finalize infrastructure plans, divvy out all infrastructure contracts and lock in all commissions.
Step 3) The network monarchy will have their hand picked puppet interim government Dramatically increase the military budget by several billion dollars like they did last time as a token of gratitude to the generals.
Then network monarchy puppets will be placed at the helm of dozens of major state enterprises and monopolies with market capitalization of hundreds of billions of dollars. Each appointed person will funnel annual financial targets to the key players of the network monarchy by raising external funds through the same tender disbursement process mentioned above. Given the huge revenues and budgets of Thailand’s state enterprises, this revenue stream should be well in excess of US$10 billion annually.
Step 4) The final stroke of genius is to write the Juntas get out of jail free card in as article 1 in the new constitution, declaring full amnesty for the generals for everything that happens from the start of the coup until full democracy is restored.This is always the pre-requisite for Thai constitutions written under the military and of course all key players in the network monarchy are above the law anyway. So after guaranteeing that they can never be held accountable for the results of their actions, they can all proceed to enjoy the spoils that come from destroying democratic rule in Thailand.
At first glance US$100billion sounds like a lot in the short term, but the rewards for the coup makers need to be significant because they live quite high on the hog and know that they can only roll the tanks in occasionally to seize power and secure a large portion of the public purse from the democratically elected representatives.
Naturally when the revenue streams they create today through their strategic appointments and elimination of adversaries start to dry up, and they still can’t win an election, the tanks will certainly be rolled out once again because the financial rewards are simply too good to ignore, especially when your above the law!
Thank you David Streckfuss for your thoughtful and accurate caricature of what is and has been occurring in Thailand. Watching the events of the past 8 months unfold from inside Thailand, at Bangkok, and scrambling to make sense of events and the forces at work, despite the deeply flawed reporting bias of Thailand’s media the mysterious and misleading memes surrounding what turned out to be the orchestrated removal of the elected government is now clear in every detail.
Mr. Heinecke and the junta continue to play the mystical uniqueness of Thai culture, politics and people in spite the now blatantly obvious – the military was passed the ball in the final movements to institute a coup that, in addition to removing the elected government, has been repressive and intimidating to Thais with plans to ‘fix’ democracy in future and perfect their grip on the processes of governance. All the while lying outright wherever they can bend the truth to suit their purposes and encourage the impression of a paternal and caring authoritarian regime change for the good of Thailand. We’ve all ready seen their benefit from having packed previously the judiciary and the Senate with appointees.
It looks like a long march to keep calling the junta and it’s supporters like Mr. Heinecke out every step of the way into the future.
“The early promises and actions of the military were welcomed. Few liked the curfew but they liked the attempts at tackling corruption.”
Great article, followed by a rather funny reply. The most corrupts tackling corruption, now that’s a classy joke.
“The most significant action of the army, which resulted in some censorship abroad, is something of which Thais are most happy about.”
I really wonder, what exactly it could be, that MOST Thais are happy about. That their right to vote has been ignored and taken from them? That a guy in charge for murdering scores of innocent Thai demonstrators is now their new self appointed leader? No idea really, but most Thais I know are not happy at all in private. Officially we know by now, that 93% of Thais are happy with the coup, or so says the Suan Dusit Polls. My guess that those other 7% not so happy Thais could be the ones like Sombat, who are in jail for not being too happy…
Naive is not a word that springs to mind when I think of Bill Heinecke.it is however a wors which screams at me whilst reading this article.
Matt Owen Rees is spot on. I find it scary that someone with a more objective and mature understanding of Thailand gets so many negative votes. I may well beat that here 😉
This coup has been far more carefully planned and thought out than is suggested by the author.
The army stood by during the pointless elections because they were pointless. Whatever the result it would have perpetuated the simmering tension, hatred and dare I say it naive understanding of governance in this country.
If you want a clue as to how this country operates (when the politicians are reined in) go into any government office (and there are a lot) and look at what people are wearing.How are you going to change that by wearing a red or yellow or pink or multicoloured shirt? It’s time to drop the past, drop the colours and reconcile.
You can’t get a democracy by wishing for it. And you can’t get it without leadership. The Thaksin family have played themselves out of the game and there hasn’t been a strong leader in the picture since Thaksin, greedy totalitarian that he was.
Thais only learn how to follow in school, unless they go abroad or to international school. This perpetuates the divide and the emerging “leader” whichever side’s cause they decide to champion, will inevitably be reviled by the other side.eg Abhasit, who seems to think he has a right to rule without doing anything to win over the country’s electorate.
Any curtailment of civil liberties is of course scary, but the collision course of a few months back has been averted and several very smart decisions have been made with a sense of moderation and unifying motivation. I do not include the mess over migrant workers in that.
But if you protest against that what exactly are saying? You want to go back to the childish bickering? It was going nowhere fast. They were given 2 days to get it together. They failed. Detention!
Let’s see if a climate for reform can be created. Without reform there is no chance of bringing democracy closer.It is has nothing to do with rebooting authoritarianism or democracy. It is about creating a relatively stable interim. I think Mr Heinecke understands that very well.
An amusing comment from Andrew but not advancing the debate of course.
Suthep never made any comment about dysfunctional government, Tom. He just didn’t want a Shiniwatra administration.
But having two right wing parties in Thailand under its feudal hierarchical system was clearly dysfunnctional, both corrupt and self serving. Neither Suthep nor Thaksin would agree with that though, would they?
You mention that Suthep and the judiciary were the main dysfunctional elements but you don’t elaborate but merely add “etc” to avoid giving a reasoned answer.
And saying “most Thais” is a perfectly acceptable comment. Election results aren’t the only indication of how people think particularly in a feudally democratic society such as Thailand.
You don’t comment on “The most significant action of the army, which resulted in some censorship abroad, is something of which Thais are most happy about.” You don’t seem to know how most Thais think.
Not a quality comment from either of you. You need to brief yourselves better before you hit the keyboard. But, hey, this is New Mandala and par for the course. The object is to flame and play voting games.
As I have aaid to the academics that run the site, good articles spoilt by unthought out comments from posters with bad attitudes.
But flame away. I’m more interested in reading quality comments which I may or may not agree with. But at least they are honest opinions.
Great piece even if it has missed one very important issue – racism.
The likes of the PDRC and PAD have used viciously racist and sometimes genocidal language against Khmers, Lao and Burmese for several years now even if it has been under-reported.
There’s been plenty of talk from these group of “washing feet with blood” or of “cleansing” Thailand.
So the fear we’re now seeing from Thailand’s Cambodian community has a genuine basis and even if there is still a myopia around anti-Khmer, anti-Burmese racism from NGO types the hate speech has done its job.
Billy Boy needs to stick to selling tasteless junk food and managing mediocre, over-priced hotels. Keep out of politics, my friend. Or else, you will open your company to a potential boycott and that would not be good for your bottom line.
However, in all fairness, Billy Boy’s words should not be criticized too harshly. They need to be viewed as representative of the Bangkok elite and of a large segment of the Thai/foreign business community. He’s only a messenger who is telling expats here in LOS that oligarchic capitalism requires a stable and orderly environment for it to grow and expand. Profits are more important than elections; indeed, democracy is over-rated. As such, the military is the only institution in Thailand that possesses the requisite power, influence, authority, and legitimacy to assume command and to straighten out the country. Reporting the Truth, focusing on the Facts, only aggravates the situation … it prevents Harmony from being realized. What has occurred is a marriage made in heaven between the Generals – National Council for Peace and Order – and Big Business. So, as guests of the Kingdom of Thailand, Western expats need to be more open-minded and see this “transition” as a positive development, as a change that serves their interests and their pleasure-oriented lifestyles. Remember, Western expats belong to a privileged community. If that was not the case, then what is happening to the Cambodians and Myanma would be experienced by Westerners right now. Thais are content, let us be content as well. Don’t worry, be happy!!
Well said, David. You have spoken for many who rolled their eyes when they read Heinkecke’s letter. Many of the old-timers in Bangkok, especially those in more rarified air, seem to use their access and ability to (in their eyes) better understand the situation and its nuances as reason to explain it all away and excuse it. It is sad and suggests they have lost touch with some basic universal values on which any strong society is founded and they themselves likely once valued – free speech for starters. The refrain becomes, once again, the catch-all “you don’t understand Thailand”. The attacks on foreign media and governments are always sharpest now because to listen to them would threatens the power structure’s positive, benevolent self-image.
I am amazed how easily supposedly educated people accommodate themselves with a totalitarian system, still in this day and age, after fascism, Nazism, communism, and whatever assorted military dictatorships the world has seen.
Of course a totalitarian system “gets things done”. Mostly because it is not hindered by things such as due process of the law and freedom of speech which democratic societies have to observe. A totalitarian system does not need to go through endless deliberations and debates in and out of parliament before formulating and implementing policies.
Most totalitarian systems see an initial reduction crime, and a very quick implementation of policies, often also very useful policies (and sometimes not so useful ones). Therefore – the same old line of argumentation – one should have no reason to be against it. So, in Germany after 1933, people were glad that there were no street fights between Nazis and Communists anymore, crime and unemployment decreased rapidly, the autobahn was built. The other side of the medallion is sufficiently well known…
Of course i don’t want to compare the Nazis with the resent military dictatorship in Thailand. But nevertheless – unity in the nation based on patriotism, including a change in the school curriculum along those lines (without any transparency and/or parliamentary control) is quite questionable.
But we can’t question that anymore, the right to question far-reaching decisions has been taken away. There is no right and stage to voice disagreement left anymore.
As comfortable the coup – sorry, i meant to say: “military intervention” – may be for people like Heinecke, as uncomfortable it is for anyone who disagrees, who prefers to be able to voice disagreement over the coup, or over certain actions taken by the military government. Isn’t discourse and debate the motor that drives modern society’s development?
While the last almost 10 years of the Red/Yellow conflict may have enormously painful, at times extremely violent, hasn’t Thai society not also benefited enormously from this conflict? Hasn’t this conflict been a catalyst for the development of political awareness in Thai society? I was always under the impression that this is the base of every Democracy – a political aware society. They talk about “citizen duties” – isn’t the prime duty of a citizen in a modern democracy to be politically interested and aware? Politically aware, as far as i understand the term, means not to be in total agreement. We are not ants, we are human.
Heinecke may have a problem with the foreign media reporting. He builds a strawman of foreign media making exaggerated reports, as David Streckfuss has pointed out quite well. I have not seen that any foreign media stated that foreign tourists, for example, were in any danger. Well, i have seen one Indonesian tourist briefly arrested by soldiers at the arts and cultural center as he was mistaken for a Thai anti-coup, sorry: anti-“military intervention”, protester.
But i think Heinecke is a bit confused over the role of the media. It is not our job to make sure that his hotels and restaurants are filled with customers. Our job is to scrutinize and analyze, to witness and report, impartially, factual and fair. We have certain rules to observe – of which protection of sources and corroboration of evidence may be the most important. If Heinecke and others (many of them seem to be in the tourism industry) have a problem with a report, he should point out the media outlet, the writer, and what exactly his disagreement is, instead of summarily accusing us of exaggeration.
Our job is now exceedingly difficult. Under the present rather broadly defined rules we don’t really know what we are allowed to write, and what not. And quite some of what we would need to write, we have to think very carefully if we get into trouble by writing. Which is a slight problem that a totalitarian system poses, the system Heinecke has now unquestioningly endorsed. Another problem for us is when people like Heinecke justify and are even fueling the anti-foreign media resentments by accusations voiced in his letter. Given Heinecke’s wealth and powerful position, this letter can be seen as intimidation of the media, a point Heinecke should have thought about.
While for Heinecke the only thing wrong with the coup, sorry: military intervention, may be the foreign media and the negative reception by many western countries, for opponents and political journalists the protests of the group that called on the military to step in and the coup, sorry: “military intervention”, has created a climate of fear which in this day and age should not be existing in Thailand anymore.
Of course we wish that hotels have high occupancy rates, but shouldn’t Heinecke also wish that *all* Thais and foreigners residing in Thailand could live without fear, regardless of political views and occupation?
This is an outstanding article and a pertinent answer to Mr. Heinecke┬┤s shameful stance on the coup. As a regular visitor to Thailand in the past , I personally would not put my feet in the country unless I had friends living there. I would boycott the place until such a time that there are free elections and all democratic rights have been restored to all Thais.In the mean time I especially will avoid any hotels associated with Mr. Heinecke┬┤s companies.
Those who call for reform are less incline to reform themselves. For example many of the better-off Bangkokians (I live in Bangkok but am not one of such), found the political system unsatisfying despite the fact that the central administration in the capital spend roughly 70% of national revenue and the whole province use over 30% of electricity supply. Bangkok is the only province in Thailand with 2 international airports, subways, skytrains as well as more shopping malls than any other provinces. However, a number of Bangkokians do believe their are more qualify to tell the rest of their countrymen what’s and what’s not corrupted.
by the way, any good one can do for Thailand is to first admit that Priyuth was just pimped by Suthep and his sponsors to jump into this fray.
This coup has not gone well, the army backing for Suthep was clear from the start, the General has not suppressed dissent and does not have the backing of the royals (how many times has he been to the palace? none!) so is unsure about his own soldiers loyalty.
So the next step for this military is either the Bangkok mall bombings of 2006, or the war with a neighboring country, like Cambodia of 2009.
Create an enemy, then justify the coup as the battle against this enemy, that is really the Generals.
Cambodians fear they will be the fake enemy, tourists should read up on the 2006 Bangok bombings, as they may be the victims too.
If Mr.Heinecke was a Thai he’d be known as elite. Some expats love Thailand because they hate the rule of law and regulations in their home countries. The Coup guarantees the continuation of the class society in Thailand. The problem in Thailand ,which is a paternalistic society, isn’t so much as the class divide but the greed of the upper echelons of society. You don’t mind a” father ” who is kind and considerate but fair. Mr.Heinecke is considered a success story in Thailand for a foreigner; he got super rich under a system which disenfranchised a major section of Thailand’s population. No wonder he writes and signs the praises of the junta. He may have been asked to do that by the Generals as a quid for pro. It is certainly in his vested interest to co-operate. Put it in that light we can discount it as I’m sure most democratically minded people will.
If the news reports this morning are true, and 110,000 Cambodians have created a mass exodus from Thailand for the Thai-Cambodian border–many of them without money or the means to get home once across the border–I have to believe that the threat of violence by the Thai military has created a climate of fear as the cause.
Just getting fired from your job as an undocumented worker isn’t reason enough to create a panic like this. Can anyone confirm the reports that eight Cambodian workers were beaten to death in Chon Buri?
The junta are denying they have had anything to do with this humanitarian crisis. One spokesperson said, “They just want to return to farm rice.”
RE the above comment – “Most Thais have tired of the dysfunctional Governments they have experienced”
When someone says “most Thais” unless they are referring to a general election then this statement holds no water. It is the sort of statement Suthep bandied about while ignoring the majority. The Government was only dysfunctional due to him and a politicized judiciary etc.
Outside of Strait Times, the coverage overall is very poor in the rest of ASEAN. ST does a pretty good job, they did an analysis of each of the Presidential Debates.
ditto sarah’s comments – where did you find that! great article – it seems that the powers that be are not really able to think or act strategically and their PR plan to ‘clean up’ has gone horribly wrong here, coming out with ‘rumour mills’ basically meaning, ‘oh, we did not mean for that to happen.’
I think the military is uniquely suited to tackle corruption. All they will need to do is insert the corruption detector card in their (nearly) 1-million baht (each) GT200 and the needle will swing in the direction of the corrupt.
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Seven questions for Thailand’s military
An excellent article!
I think it would be interesting to see a study on the short term financial windfall that goes to the coup makers.
Based on anecdotal evidence from colleagues who have competed for government infrastructure contracts in Thailand (under democrat, military and Pheua Thai regimes), and studies from the world bank, Asian development bank, corruption indexes etc, the commission on government tenders in Thailand seems to hover somewhere around the 30% mark. Therefore, here’s how I see the generals and their key puppet masters benefiting to the tune of around 100 billion dollars in the short term.
Step 1) Shortly after assuming power and without adequate research, due diligence or viability studies, the Junta moves to increase the infrastructure project budget by 50% from 2 to 3 trillion baht so that the 30% corruption income from dispersing the construction tenders increases from around US$60 billion to US$90 billion.
Step 2) Is to ensure that all tenders are divvied out before any democratically elected people are again involved in the process. That way all tender commissions will be payable to the junta and not the elected representatives who will eventually try to oversee the completion of the projects. The generals have allowed themselves and the puppet interim government they intend to install about 18 mths before democracy is returned. By sheer chance, that’s the perfect amount of time to finalize infrastructure plans, divvy out all infrastructure contracts and lock in all commissions.
Step 3) The network monarchy will have their hand picked puppet interim government Dramatically increase the military budget by several billion dollars like they did last time as a token of gratitude to the generals.
Then network monarchy puppets will be placed at the helm of dozens of major state enterprises and monopolies with market capitalization of hundreds of billions of dollars. Each appointed person will funnel annual financial targets to the key players of the network monarchy by raising external funds through the same tender disbursement process mentioned above. Given the huge revenues and budgets of Thailand’s state enterprises, this revenue stream should be well in excess of US$10 billion annually.
Step 4) The final stroke of genius is to write the Juntas get out of jail free card in as article 1 in the new constitution, declaring full amnesty for the generals for everything that happens from the start of the coup until full democracy is restored.This is always the pre-requisite for Thai constitutions written under the military and of course all key players in the network monarchy are above the law anyway. So after guaranteeing that they can never be held accountable for the results of their actions, they can all proceed to enjoy the spoils that come from destroying democratic rule in Thailand.
At first glance US$100billion sounds like a lot in the short term, but the rewards for the coup makers need to be significant because they live quite high on the hog and know that they can only roll the tanks in occasionally to seize power and secure a large portion of the public purse from the democratically elected representatives.
Naturally when the revenue streams they create today through their strategic appointments and elimination of adversaries start to dry up, and they still can’t win an election, the tanks will certainly be rolled out once again because the financial rewards are simply too good to ignore, especially when your above the law!
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Thank you David Streckfuss for your thoughtful and accurate caricature of what is and has been occurring in Thailand. Watching the events of the past 8 months unfold from inside Thailand, at Bangkok, and scrambling to make sense of events and the forces at work, despite the deeply flawed reporting bias of Thailand’s media the mysterious and misleading memes surrounding what turned out to be the orchestrated removal of the elected government is now clear in every detail.
Mr. Heinecke and the junta continue to play the mystical uniqueness of Thai culture, politics and people in spite the now blatantly obvious – the military was passed the ball in the final movements to institute a coup that, in addition to removing the elected government, has been repressive and intimidating to Thais with plans to ‘fix’ democracy in future and perfect their grip on the processes of governance. All the while lying outright wherever they can bend the truth to suit their purposes and encourage the impression of a paternal and caring authoritarian regime change for the good of Thailand. We’ve all ready seen their benefit from having packed previously the judiciary and the Senate with appointees.
It looks like a long march to keep calling the junta and it’s supporters like Mr. Heinecke out every step of the way into the future.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
“The early promises and actions of the military were welcomed. Few liked the curfew but they liked the attempts at tackling corruption.”
Great article, followed by a rather funny reply. The most corrupts tackling corruption, now that’s a classy joke.
“The most significant action of the army, which resulted in some censorship abroad, is something of which Thais are most happy about.”
I really wonder, what exactly it could be, that MOST Thais are happy about. That their right to vote has been ignored and taken from them? That a guy in charge for murdering scores of innocent Thai demonstrators is now their new self appointed leader? No idea really, but most Thais I know are not happy at all in private. Officially we know by now, that 93% of Thais are happy with the coup, or so says the Suan Dusit Polls. My guess that those other 7% not so happy Thais could be the ones like Sombat, who are in jail for not being too happy…
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Naive is not a word that springs to mind when I think of Bill Heinecke.it is however a wors which screams at me whilst reading this article.
Matt Owen Rees is spot on. I find it scary that someone with a more objective and mature understanding of Thailand gets so many negative votes. I may well beat that here 😉
This coup has been far more carefully planned and thought out than is suggested by the author.
The army stood by during the pointless elections because they were pointless. Whatever the result it would have perpetuated the simmering tension, hatred and dare I say it naive understanding of governance in this country.
If you want a clue as to how this country operates (when the politicians are reined in) go into any government office (and there are a lot) and look at what people are wearing.How are you going to change that by wearing a red or yellow or pink or multicoloured shirt? It’s time to drop the past, drop the colours and reconcile.
You can’t get a democracy by wishing for it. And you can’t get it without leadership. The Thaksin family have played themselves out of the game and there hasn’t been a strong leader in the picture since Thaksin, greedy totalitarian that he was.
Thais only learn how to follow in school, unless they go abroad or to international school. This perpetuates the divide and the emerging “leader” whichever side’s cause they decide to champion, will inevitably be reviled by the other side.eg Abhasit, who seems to think he has a right to rule without doing anything to win over the country’s electorate.
Any curtailment of civil liberties is of course scary, but the collision course of a few months back has been averted and several very smart decisions have been made with a sense of moderation and unifying motivation. I do not include the mess over migrant workers in that.
But if you protest against that what exactly are saying? You want to go back to the childish bickering? It was going nowhere fast. They were given 2 days to get it together. They failed. Detention!
Let’s see if a climate for reform can be created. Without reform there is no chance of bringing democracy closer.It is has nothing to do with rebooting authoritarianism or democracy. It is about creating a relatively stable interim. I think Mr Heinecke understands that very well.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
An amusing comment from Andrew but not advancing the debate of course.
Suthep never made any comment about dysfunctional government, Tom. He just didn’t want a Shiniwatra administration.
But having two right wing parties in Thailand under its feudal hierarchical system was clearly dysfunnctional, both corrupt and self serving. Neither Suthep nor Thaksin would agree with that though, would they?
You mention that Suthep and the judiciary were the main dysfunctional elements but you don’t elaborate but merely add “etc” to avoid giving a reasoned answer.
And saying “most Thais” is a perfectly acceptable comment. Election results aren’t the only indication of how people think particularly in a feudally democratic society such as Thailand.
You don’t comment on “The most significant action of the army, which resulted in some censorship abroad, is something of which Thais are most happy about.” You don’t seem to know how most Thais think.
Not a quality comment from either of you. You need to brief yourselves better before you hit the keyboard. But, hey, this is New Mandala and par for the course. The object is to flame and play voting games.
As I have aaid to the academics that run the site, good articles spoilt by unthought out comments from posters with bad attitudes.
But flame away. I’m more interested in reading quality comments which I may or may not agree with. But at least they are honest opinions.
Ominous signs for migrant workers in Thailand
Great piece even if it has missed one very important issue – racism.
The likes of the PDRC and PAD have used viciously racist and sometimes genocidal language against Khmers, Lao and Burmese for several years now even if it has been under-reported.
There’s been plenty of talk from these group of “washing feet with blood” or of “cleansing” Thailand.
So the fear we’re now seeing from Thailand’s Cambodian community has a genuine basis and even if there is still a myopia around anti-Khmer, anti-Burmese racism from NGO types the hate speech has done its job.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Billy Boy needs to stick to selling tasteless junk food and managing mediocre, over-priced hotels. Keep out of politics, my friend. Or else, you will open your company to a potential boycott and that would not be good for your bottom line.
However, in all fairness, Billy Boy’s words should not be criticized too harshly. They need to be viewed as representative of the Bangkok elite and of a large segment of the Thai/foreign business community. He’s only a messenger who is telling expats here in LOS that oligarchic capitalism requires a stable and orderly environment for it to grow and expand. Profits are more important than elections; indeed, democracy is over-rated. As such, the military is the only institution in Thailand that possesses the requisite power, influence, authority, and legitimacy to assume command and to straighten out the country. Reporting the Truth, focusing on the Facts, only aggravates the situation … it prevents Harmony from being realized. What has occurred is a marriage made in heaven between the Generals – National Council for Peace and Order – and Big Business. So, as guests of the Kingdom of Thailand, Western expats need to be more open-minded and see this “transition” as a positive development, as a change that serves their interests and their pleasure-oriented lifestyles. Remember, Western expats belong to a privileged community. If that was not the case, then what is happening to the Cambodians and Myanma would be experienced by Westerners right now. Thais are content, let us be content as well. Don’t worry, be happy!!
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Well said, David. You have spoken for many who rolled their eyes when they read Heinkecke’s letter. Many of the old-timers in Bangkok, especially those in more rarified air, seem to use their access and ability to (in their eyes) better understand the situation and its nuances as reason to explain it all away and excuse it. It is sad and suggests they have lost touch with some basic universal values on which any strong society is founded and they themselves likely once valued – free speech for starters. The refrain becomes, once again, the catch-all “you don’t understand Thailand”. The attacks on foreign media and governments are always sharpest now because to listen to them would threatens the power structure’s positive, benevolent self-image.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
I am amazed how easily supposedly educated people accommodate themselves with a totalitarian system, still in this day and age, after fascism, Nazism, communism, and whatever assorted military dictatorships the world has seen.
Of course a totalitarian system “gets things done”. Mostly because it is not hindered by things such as due process of the law and freedom of speech which democratic societies have to observe. A totalitarian system does not need to go through endless deliberations and debates in and out of parliament before formulating and implementing policies.
Most totalitarian systems see an initial reduction crime, and a very quick implementation of policies, often also very useful policies (and sometimes not so useful ones). Therefore – the same old line of argumentation – one should have no reason to be against it. So, in Germany after 1933, people were glad that there were no street fights between Nazis and Communists anymore, crime and unemployment decreased rapidly, the autobahn was built. The other side of the medallion is sufficiently well known…
Of course i don’t want to compare the Nazis with the resent military dictatorship in Thailand. But nevertheless – unity in the nation based on patriotism, including a change in the school curriculum along those lines (without any transparency and/or parliamentary control) is quite questionable.
But we can’t question that anymore, the right to question far-reaching decisions has been taken away. There is no right and stage to voice disagreement left anymore.
As comfortable the coup – sorry, i meant to say: “military intervention” – may be for people like Heinecke, as uncomfortable it is for anyone who disagrees, who prefers to be able to voice disagreement over the coup, or over certain actions taken by the military government. Isn’t discourse and debate the motor that drives modern society’s development?
While the last almost 10 years of the Red/Yellow conflict may have enormously painful, at times extremely violent, hasn’t Thai society not also benefited enormously from this conflict? Hasn’t this conflict been a catalyst for the development of political awareness in Thai society? I was always under the impression that this is the base of every Democracy – a political aware society. They talk about “citizen duties” – isn’t the prime duty of a citizen in a modern democracy to be politically interested and aware? Politically aware, as far as i understand the term, means not to be in total agreement. We are not ants, we are human.
Heinecke may have a problem with the foreign media reporting. He builds a strawman of foreign media making exaggerated reports, as David Streckfuss has pointed out quite well. I have not seen that any foreign media stated that foreign tourists, for example, were in any danger. Well, i have seen one Indonesian tourist briefly arrested by soldiers at the arts and cultural center as he was mistaken for a Thai anti-coup, sorry: anti-“military intervention”, protester.
But i think Heinecke is a bit confused over the role of the media. It is not our job to make sure that his hotels and restaurants are filled with customers. Our job is to scrutinize and analyze, to witness and report, impartially, factual and fair. We have certain rules to observe – of which protection of sources and corroboration of evidence may be the most important. If Heinecke and others (many of them seem to be in the tourism industry) have a problem with a report, he should point out the media outlet, the writer, and what exactly his disagreement is, instead of summarily accusing us of exaggeration.
Our job is now exceedingly difficult. Under the present rather broadly defined rules we don’t really know what we are allowed to write, and what not. And quite some of what we would need to write, we have to think very carefully if we get into trouble by writing. Which is a slight problem that a totalitarian system poses, the system Heinecke has now unquestioningly endorsed. Another problem for us is when people like Heinecke justify and are even fueling the anti-foreign media resentments by accusations voiced in his letter. Given Heinecke’s wealth and powerful position, this letter can be seen as intimidation of the media, a point Heinecke should have thought about.
While for Heinecke the only thing wrong with the coup, sorry: military intervention, may be the foreign media and the negative reception by many western countries, for opponents and political journalists the protests of the group that called on the military to step in and the coup, sorry: “military intervention”, has created a climate of fear which in this day and age should not be existing in Thailand anymore.
Of course we wish that hotels have high occupancy rates, but shouldn’t Heinecke also wish that *all* Thais and foreigners residing in Thailand could live without fear, regardless of political views and occupation?
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
This is an outstanding article and a pertinent answer to Mr. Heinecke┬┤s shameful stance on the coup. As a regular visitor to Thailand in the past , I personally would not put my feet in the country unless I had friends living there. I would boycott the place until such a time that there are free elections and all democratic rights have been restored to all Thais.In the mean time I especially will avoid any hotels associated with Mr. Heinecke┬┤s companies.
Seven questions for Thailand’s military
Dear notdisappointed
Those who call for reform are less incline to reform themselves. For example many of the better-off Bangkokians (I live in Bangkok but am not one of such), found the political system unsatisfying despite the fact that the central administration in the capital spend roughly 70% of national revenue and the whole province use over 30% of electricity supply. Bangkok is the only province in Thailand with 2 international airports, subways, skytrains as well as more shopping malls than any other provinces. However, a number of Bangkokians do believe their are more qualify to tell the rest of their countrymen what’s and what’s not corrupted.
by the way, any good one can do for Thailand is to first admit that Priyuth was just pimped by Suthep and his sponsors to jump into this fray.
Ominous signs for migrant workers in Thailand
Cambodians know how this works.
This coup has not gone well, the army backing for Suthep was clear from the start, the General has not suppressed dissent and does not have the backing of the royals (how many times has he been to the palace? none!) so is unsure about his own soldiers loyalty.
So the next step for this military is either the Bangkok mall bombings of 2006, or the war with a neighboring country, like Cambodia of 2009.
Create an enemy, then justify the coup as the battle against this enemy, that is really the Generals.
Cambodians fear they will be the fake enemy, tourists should read up on the 2006 Bangok bombings, as they may be the victims too.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Did you read the whole thing?? Im jus wondering.
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
If Mr.Heinecke was a Thai he’d be known as elite. Some expats love Thailand because they hate the rule of law and regulations in their home countries. The Coup guarantees the continuation of the class society in Thailand. The problem in Thailand ,which is a paternalistic society, isn’t so much as the class divide but the greed of the upper echelons of society. You don’t mind a” father ” who is kind and considerate but fair. Mr.Heinecke is considered a success story in Thailand for a foreigner; he got super rich under a system which disenfranchised a major section of Thailand’s population. No wonder he writes and signs the praises of the junta. He may have been asked to do that by the Generals as a quid for pro. It is certainly in his vested interest to co-operate. Put it in that light we can discount it as I’m sure most democratically minded people will.
Ominous signs for migrant workers in Thailand
If the news reports this morning are true, and 110,000 Cambodians have created a mass exodus from Thailand for the Thai-Cambodian border–many of them without money or the means to get home once across the border–I have to believe that the threat of violence by the Thai military has created a climate of fear as the cause.
Just getting fired from your job as an undocumented worker isn’t reason enough to create a panic like this. Can anyone confirm the reports that eight Cambodian workers were beaten to death in Chon Buri?
The junta are denying they have had anything to do with this humanitarian crisis. One spokesperson said, “They just want to return to farm rice.”
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Good article.
RE the above comment – “Most Thais have tired of the dysfunctional Governments they have experienced”
When someone says “most Thais” unless they are referring to a general election then this statement holds no water. It is the sort of statement Suthep bandied about while ignoring the majority. The Government was only dysfunctional due to him and a politicized judiciary etc.
Indonesia’s Elections: The View From Next Door
Outside of Strait Times, the coverage overall is very poor in the rest of ASEAN. ST does a pretty good job, they did an analysis of each of the Presidential Debates.
Ominous signs for migrant workers in Thailand
Thank you Sarah. I thought so too, perhaps I can ask him about it this week when he comes to visit Thammasat 🙂
http://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/415532/ncpo-targets-universities-in-pr-drive
Ominous signs for migrant workers in Thailand
ditto sarah’s comments – where did you find that! great article – it seems that the powers that be are not really able to think or act strategically and their PR plan to ‘clean up’ has gone horribly wrong here, coming out with ‘rumour mills’ basically meaning, ‘oh, we did not mean for that to happen.’
Mr. Heinecke cannot have his coup and eat it too
Re: comment #1, above.
I think the military is uniquely suited to tackle corruption. All they will need to do is insert the corruption detector card in their (nearly) 1-million baht (each) GT200 and the needle will swing in the direction of the corrupt.