By funding or tolerating the dissemination of Muslim hate, the rabid nationalists will soon find they have created a sectarian Frankenstein’s monster of religious fanatics beyond their control.
Sorry, while Thais do use a borrowed word (pronounced kho-rap-chan), there is the perfectly good Thai word ‘kan thujarit’ which is the term used in the title of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. There is no reason to believe that corruption was an alien concept to the Thais which required them to borrow a word for it.
Yes, I think that is a more accurate and clearly more complete analysis than my initial reaction (above). The remnant of the Pheu Thai government has now been almost completely marginalised (“Where is the government” – Prayuth) and the Senate should have enough scope to put in place their “neutral” PM and have him endorsed by the King. But since they evidently want at least to give the appearance of working within the confines of the 2007 Constitution, I still can not quite see how they are going to give the replacement government greater than caretaker powers so that the electoral procedures can once more be rejigged in their favour. Will the half-appointed Senate take on the responsibility unilaterally? Also, how will they get over the requirement for the PM to have been an elected member of the House of Representatives?
Actually, the military, democrats and “rayalist?!?” are above the law. The Law (as redefined under the military coup govt) only covers everyone else, particularly the Pro Thaksin popularly elected group.
Obviously, neither the “law” nor logic governs supporters like Vichai.
Burma blocked the entry of Timor Leste into ASEAN because “It had not met all the criteria”. What criteria ? You mean the ones that Burma itself has stopped meeting since U Nu was deposed ? Burma is not a middle power; it is not even a power. It is a sad case of
a nation, prosperous and democratic, in 1960, becoming a failed state since then. The re-found exoticism of neo-Orwell Burma, may be trendy in the U.S. State Department, but it belies an ignorance of Burma and its history. Cheap labour and a release-valve opening by the Tatmadaw, to stay in power, is not reform. The blocking of Timor Leste (former East Timor), at the urging of Indonesia, a nation which Indonesia committed genocide upon, is abhorrent, vindictive, immature and
not worthy of a Head of ASEAN. By this action alone, Burma has shown itself to be petty and not mature enough to adjudicate the merits of other nations, that are at least as worthy if not more, as Burma is, for ASEAN membership. Unlike Burma, Timor Leste never engaged in killing ethnic minorities, nor is it as autocratic as Burma. If Burma has not even met the criteria for ASEAN membership, its patently absurd and surreal denial of the same, to Timor Leste, is really what Thein Sein and Burma is about, and democracy and reform are not part of that. U Nu would never have done what Thein Sein has, and Burma should be embarrassed for such pettiness.
You are absolutely right BKK lawyer. This General Prayuth had violated the constitution by going above the Thai PM (what’s his name … could anybody remember the name of our lcurrent hide-and-seek PM?) and not getting a royal decree. He should indeed be removed from his ‘martial law chief’ position.
Why don’t you sue and arrest him BKK lawyer? I’ll be right behind you.
(my suspicion is that General Prayuth got his okay to proceed w/ the martial law from …. err … the US State Dept. via the CIA).
It appears that some people just have no shame, and they will do everything they can to white-wash their own beliefs and values to appear saintly. Round-and-round we go- their arguments are just like dogs trying to bite their own tail.
Will a “responsible Minister” (last paragraph) take the action recommended by the Khana Nitirat? Or will the final stage of the on-going coup process eliminate the last “responsible Minister” before the action is possible?
And very positive development to counter the spread of paranoia and hate speech. But there is a hidden agenda behind the rise of the nationalist monks some of whom have been duped into the movement like many lay folk.
Wirathu and his ilk are acting as cheerleaders and willing stooges to the regime’s ‘election winning’ strategy of playing the race and religion card, openly urging people to vote for the incumbent and against ASSK.
Notably this monk has enjoyed so much latitude and publicity while many others have had their preaching activities curtailed and even been banished from their monasteries as in the case of Shwe Nya Wa Sayadaw by the quango of senior monks ostensibly regulating the Sangha but actually doing the bidding of the regime whose senior members were culpable in the brutal crackdown of the Saffron Revolution and later the Letpadaung protests.
Thein Sein, in whose support Wirathu was the first to organise a demonstration and anti-Muslim protest rally in Mandalay, on his part enthusiastically endorsed the tabling of the inter-faith marriage restriction bill in parliament. Go figure.
Does a leopard change its spots? Does a tiger ever turn vegetarian?
Vichai: The 2007 constitution says nationwide martial law requires a royal decree. There does not appear to be a royal decree, so Prayuth has violated the constitution, hasn’t he? And so he should be removed from his position, shouldn’t he?
Wirathu turning Buddhism to a philosophy of hate. There is plenty Dhama quotes to negate his interpretation.
However Wirtharu will remain credible:
1) Devotion to saffron clad figure of average Buddhists, who are desperately poor.
2) Unaddressed or rather will not be addressed by the west for fear of being labeled as Islamophobes, similar egregious violation within Myanmar border, as well as neighboring Islamic countries with similar statue on marriages.
3) Help with ROL to clarify statuses as well as securing the border as India is doing, which is not very appealing to the useless careless west.
As longer as the 3 major factors and other periodic incidences are not address e.g Malaysia support for Rohingyas, there will be no peace in Yakhine.
Buddhism followers unlike Islam are never the issue. issue
Here is Constitutional Court rule or whatever you want to call..:
1) if it is a Democrat / royalist, no laws need apply. they can do what they want.
2) if it is PT/Red/UDD breaks the law (or ebven cooking show), they go to jail or are dismissed from office.
One thing is for sure – they’ve imposed martial law across the ENTIRE country. In other words, the whole of Thailand has now become like Patani, i.e under martial law. For sure the military elite fear Isarn-Lanna’s burgeoning separatism. The second front has started.
This looks like part of a plan to outmaneuver both the majority electorate and Suthep who top brass don’t want calling all the shots.
Act I was the judicial coup ousting PM Yingluck. Act II was the authority coup by the Senate where the body assumed new powers not found in the constitution to organize a government and appoint a prime minister. Act III was Tuesday morning’s security coup which occured without an order from the Prime Minister and claimed legal justification from a law dating to the by-gone era of absolute monarchy.
The three Acts go together and there are more to come. Yingluck’s expulsion opened the play. The Senate needed the security coup to ensure its authority claims weren’t countered by PDRC or UDD protests. Suthep is now being pushed off-stage and the UDD is not being allowed on it.
It seems likely that the next Acts of the play (IV, V, …the finale) will be designed to create a route for yet more constitutional re-engineering so Puea Thai can’t monopolize parliamentary power in the next election. Perhaps those behind this believe this strategy can achieve “political reform before election” without Suthep in charge. The UDD won’t fall for this though and will likely force their way on stage.
Such an orchestrated plan is hardly for the “preservation of law and order” as Gen. Prayuth claimed in his public justification for imposing martial law (again, without a legitimate executive order to do so). Rather, it is more evidence that Thailand’s traditional elite view basic law as pliable, as merely a tool to serve their own interests.
Whatever it is labeled (I’m calling it a security coup), it is another sad chapter in Thailand’s history with constitutional rule. Rule by law trumps rule of law in Thailand once again.
I haven’t seen the tanks and military vehicles … but then again I live in another part of Bangkok across the Chaophraya river. But I did notice two soldiers-manned bunkers while driving out to Hua Hin today.
Deja vu … after one or two coups … this Gen Prayuth ‘this is not a coup’ gets predictably boring. I am hoping it stays that way … boring, I mean.
I am also hoping that General Prayuth would do us a big favor by doing a thorough audit of CAPO and Capo chiefs Chalerm Y. and Tarit. I think the CAPO themselves were behind all the bloody murderous attacks against the peaceful protesters supporting the Kamnan.
My Thai associate indeed believed this recently military rule was not a coup, but a law and order necessity for the protection of Suthep T’s followers, more than anything else. My Thai associate said that Suthep T and his followers could continue on and on with the uproot-the-shinawatras campaign indefinitely even in the face of nearly daily M79/machine gun murderous attacks from the men-in-black under the protection of and under the direction of Chalerm Yubamrung, the military rule does provide protection.
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May flowers
By funding or tolerating the dissemination of Muslim hate, the rabid nationalists will soon find they have created a sectarian Frankenstein’s monster of religious fanatics beyond their control.
All for a vote? The fools.
A lesson for researchers
This is Professor Aspinall’s response to Professor Carey’s earlier article for New Mandala. http://www.newmandala.org/2014/05/07/uses-and-abuses-of-history-peter-carey-responds/
A democratic anti-corruption discourse for Thailand
Sorry, while Thais do use a borrowed word (pronounced kho-rap-chan), there is the perfectly good Thai word ‘kan thujarit’ which is the term used in the title of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. There is no reason to believe that corruption was an alien concept to the Thais which required them to borrow a word for it.
Coup? What coup?
Yes, I think that is a more accurate and clearly more complete analysis than my initial reaction (above). The remnant of the Pheu Thai government has now been almost completely marginalised (“Where is the government” – Prayuth) and the Senate should have enough scope to put in place their “neutral” PM and have him endorsed by the King. But since they evidently want at least to give the appearance of working within the confines of the 2007 Constitution, I still can not quite see how they are going to give the replacement government greater than caretaker powers so that the electoral procedures can once more be rejigged in their favour. Will the half-appointed Senate take on the responsibility unilaterally? Also, how will they get over the requirement for the PM to have been an elected member of the House of Representatives?
Thailand’s juristocracy
Actually, the military, democrats and “rayalist?!?” are above the law. The Law (as redefined under the military coup govt) only covers everyone else, particularly the Pro Thaksin popularly elected group.
Obviously, neither the “law” nor logic governs supporters like Vichai.
Myanmar as middle power
Burma blocked the entry of Timor Leste into ASEAN because “It had not met all the criteria”. What criteria ? You mean the ones that Burma itself has stopped meeting since U Nu was deposed ? Burma is not a middle power; it is not even a power. It is a sad case of
a nation, prosperous and democratic, in 1960, becoming a failed state since then. The re-found exoticism of neo-Orwell Burma, may be trendy in the U.S. State Department, but it belies an ignorance of Burma and its history. Cheap labour and a release-valve opening by the Tatmadaw, to stay in power, is not reform. The blocking of Timor Leste (former East Timor), at the urging of Indonesia, a nation which Indonesia committed genocide upon, is abhorrent, vindictive, immature and
not worthy of a Head of ASEAN. By this action alone, Burma has shown itself to be petty and not mature enough to adjudicate the merits of other nations, that are at least as worthy if not more, as Burma is, for ASEAN membership. Unlike Burma, Timor Leste never engaged in killing ethnic minorities, nor is it as autocratic as Burma. If Burma has not even met the criteria for ASEAN membership, its patently absurd and surreal denial of the same, to Timor Leste, is really what Thein Sein and Burma is about, and democracy and reform are not part of that. U Nu would never have done what Thein Sein has, and Burma should be embarrassed for such pettiness.
Thailand’s juristocracy
You are absolutely right BKK lawyer. This General Prayuth had violated the constitution by going above the Thai PM (what’s his name … could anybody remember the name of our lcurrent hide-and-seek PM?) and not getting a royal decree. He should indeed be removed from his ‘martial law chief’ position.
Why don’t you sue and arrest him BKK lawyer? I’ll be right behind you.
(my suspicion is that General Prayuth got his okay to proceed w/ the martial law from …. err … the US State Dept. via the CIA).
Thailand’s juristocracy
It appears that some people just have no shame, and they will do everything they can to white-wash their own beliefs and values to appear saintly. Round-and-round we go- their arguments are just like dogs trying to bite their own tail.
Coup? What coup?
Yes, “they’ve imposed martial law across the ENTIRE country,” apparently illegally –
http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/3973
Will a “responsible Minister” (last paragraph) take the action recommended by the Khana Nitirat? Or will the final stage of the on-going coup process eliminate the last “responsible Minister” before the action is possible?
May flowers
And very positive development to counter the spread of paranoia and hate speech. But there is a hidden agenda behind the rise of the nationalist monks some of whom have been duped into the movement like many lay folk.
Wirathu and his ilk are acting as cheerleaders and willing stooges to the regime’s ‘election winning’ strategy of playing the race and religion card, openly urging people to vote for the incumbent and against ASSK.
Notably this monk has enjoyed so much latitude and publicity while many others have had their preaching activities curtailed and even been banished from their monasteries as in the case of Shwe Nya Wa Sayadaw by the quango of senior monks ostensibly regulating the Sangha but actually doing the bidding of the regime whose senior members were culpable in the brutal crackdown of the Saffron Revolution and later the Letpadaung protests.
Thein Sein, in whose support Wirathu was the first to organise a demonstration and anti-Muslim protest rally in Mandalay, on his part enthusiastically endorsed the tabling of the inter-faith marriage restriction bill in parliament. Go figure.
Does a leopard change its spots? Does a tiger ever turn vegetarian?
Thailand’s juristocracy
Vichai: The 2007 constitution says nationwide martial law requires a royal decree. There does not appear to be a royal decree, so Prayuth has violated the constitution, hasn’t he? And so he should be removed from his position, shouldn’t he?
I’m basing this on your post of 19 May.
May flowers
Fight fire with fire.
Wirathu turning Buddhism to a philosophy of hate. There is plenty Dhama quotes to negate his interpretation.
However Wirtharu will remain credible:
1) Devotion to saffron clad figure of average Buddhists, who are desperately poor.
2) Unaddressed or rather will not be addressed by the west for fear of being labeled as Islamophobes, similar egregious violation within Myanmar border, as well as neighboring Islamic countries with similar statue on marriages.
3) Help with ROL to clarify statuses as well as securing the border as India is doing, which is not very appealing to the useless careless west.
As longer as the 3 major factors and other periodic incidences are not address e.g Malaysia support for Rohingyas, there will be no peace in Yakhine.
Buddhism followers unlike Islam are never the issue. issue
Thailand’s juristocracy
Here is Constitutional Court rule or whatever you want to call..:
1) if it is a Democrat / royalist, no laws need apply. they can do what they want.
2) if it is PT/Red/UDD breaks the law (or ebven cooking show), they go to jail or are dismissed from office.
Coup? What coup?
One thing is for sure – they’ve imposed martial law across the ENTIRE country. In other words, the whole of Thailand has now become like Patani, i.e under martial law. For sure the military elite fear Isarn-Lanna’s burgeoning separatism. The second front has started.
Coup? What coup?
Who is this “Asia Pacific Editor”, and why he is quoting that distinguished expert on the Australian flag, John Blaxland??
Coup? What coup?
This looks like part of a plan to outmaneuver both the majority electorate and Suthep who top brass don’t want calling all the shots.
Act I was the judicial coup ousting PM Yingluck. Act II was the authority coup by the Senate where the body assumed new powers not found in the constitution to organize a government and appoint a prime minister. Act III was Tuesday morning’s security coup which occured without an order from the Prime Minister and claimed legal justification from a law dating to the by-gone era of absolute monarchy.
The three Acts go together and there are more to come. Yingluck’s expulsion opened the play. The Senate needed the security coup to ensure its authority claims weren’t countered by PDRC or UDD protests. Suthep is now being pushed off-stage and the UDD is not being allowed on it.
It seems likely that the next Acts of the play (IV, V, …the finale) will be designed to create a route for yet more constitutional re-engineering so Puea Thai can’t monopolize parliamentary power in the next election. Perhaps those behind this believe this strategy can achieve “political reform before election” without Suthep in charge. The UDD won’t fall for this though and will likely force their way on stage.
Such an orchestrated plan is hardly for the “preservation of law and order” as Gen. Prayuth claimed in his public justification for imposing martial law (again, without a legitimate executive order to do so). Rather, it is more evidence that Thailand’s traditional elite view basic law as pliable, as merely a tool to serve their own interests.
Whatever it is labeled (I’m calling it a security coup), it is another sad chapter in Thailand’s history with constitutional rule. Rule by law trumps rule of law in Thailand once again.
Thailand’s juristocracy
I haven’t seen the tanks and military vehicles … but then again I live in another part of Bangkok across the Chaophraya river. But I did notice two soldiers-manned bunkers while driving out to Hua Hin today.
Deja vu … after one or two coups … this Gen Prayuth ‘this is not a coup’ gets predictably boring. I am hoping it stays that way … boring, I mean.
I am also hoping that General Prayuth would do us a big favor by doing a thorough audit of CAPO and Capo chiefs Chalerm Y. and Tarit. I think the CAPO themselves were behind all the bloody murderous attacks against the peaceful protesters supporting the Kamnan.
Middle class rage threatens democracy
The article is no more than a series of working hypotheses for which little or no empirical evidence has been presented.
When are so-called political scientists going to lift their game in order that the “discipline” is taken seriously by those working in the sciences?
Coup? What coup?
My Thai associate indeed believed this recently military rule was not a coup, but a law and order necessity for the protection of Suthep T’s followers, more than anything else. My Thai associate said that Suthep T and his followers could continue on and on with the uproot-the-shinawatras campaign indefinitely even in the face of nearly daily M79/machine gun murderous attacks from the men-in-black under the protection of and under the direction of Chalerm Yubamrung, the military rule does provide protection.
Thailand’s juristocracy
And now we have a coup that is not a coup. Just your nice friend Martial Law.
“The right to disperse protest groups, search and detain people, censor the media and enforce a curfew”.
And of course people are fine with this. Watch has the money starts to flow and flow- out of Thailand.