Charlie Campbell @charliecamp6ell June 13, 2014
Thai army chief and junta head General Prayuth Chan-ocha smiles as he leave after the meeting of the 2015 national budget at the Army Club in Bangkok, June 13, 2014.
Narong Sangnak—EPA
And it’s just as confused about vote-buying too
Thailand’s ruling junta — yes, the same military regime that seized power by force of arms on May 22, ousting a civilian government and detaining senior politicians — is now saying that no coup took place.
“Don’t call it a coup. The military action this time is totally different from the previous successful coups since the 1932 takeover,” junta spokesman Col Werachon Sukondhapatipak told baffled reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post.
Since seizing power, Thailand’s military has crushed all forms of dissent, imposed a nightly curfew and imposed severe curbs on civil liberties, and taken over all government departments.
That’s pretty coup-like. So are the junta’s ham-fisted attempts at buying off the masses. The military has launched a series of tawdry events designed to “Return Happiness to the People,” issued some fairly dreadful music, and unleashed a wave of populist policies. Among these are the screening on free TV of all World Cup matches, the wheel-clamping of hundreds of cars to unclog Bangkok’s chronically snarled streets, and the cancelation of free flights for executives for national carrier Thai Airways.
The regime has been trying its hand at serious policy decisions, too, scrapping a $24 billion high-speed rail scheme, championed by former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, that would have been a boon to her ardent supporters in the rural northeast even though it was vehemently derided by her opponents. But the axing is not about saving money, it would seem, for on Friday the junta announced that it was increasing the nation’s remaining $37 billion infrastructure improvement budget to $92 billion.
Alright, nobody’s going to cast a ballot for these guys. But still — vote-buying, much?
Supporters of the coup long objected to the Shinawatra government for populist policies they considered tantamount to vote-buying (high-speed rail was one, a disastrous rice-pledging scheme was another). Curiously, though, the military’s new ramped up infrastructure plans include a seaport, the expansion of the capital’s two airports and dual-track railways along six routes. And that’s just to start with. Presumably the junta will have another term for this than “vote-buying,” just as it shrinks from the word “coup.” But with apologies, gentlemen, the c-word really does suit you. — กับ Juab Thaidang และ 2 อื่นๆ
บทความนี้ผมไม่ได้มาต่อต้านหรือมาขัดขวางคณะรัฐประหาร....แต่ผมขอแนะนำว่า....
อย่าได้จัดตั้งรัฐบาลชั่วคราวเลย...เพราะปัญหามากมายจะตามมา…
ให้กำหนดวันเลือกตั้งขึ้นมาเลย...ให้เร็วที่สุดเท่าที่จะเร็วได้...การต่อต้านก็จะอ่อนไปในระดับหนึ่งทั้งจากประชาชนเจ้าของประเทศและจากมิตรนานาชาติ….
ในระหว่างที่รอการเลือกตั้งก็ให้คณะรัฐประหารมอบนโยบายให้ปลัดกระทรวงต่างๆทำงานไปเพื่อไม่ให้ติดขัดของหน่วยงานราชการ.....
โครงการใหญ่ต่างๆที่จะใช้เงินจำนวนมหาศาลยังไม่ควรทำทั้งนี้เพื่อความโปร่งใสของระบบตรวจสอบ
แต่ควรจะมอบเป็นนโยบายทิ้งให้รัฐบาลใหม่มาเป็นคนจัดทำเพราะรัฐบาลใหม่จะเป็น เสียงและตัวแทนของประชาชนที่ได้เลือกเขามาตามนโยบายที่ได้ให้ไว้ก่อนมีการ เลือกตั้ง....
คณะรัฐประหารทำได้แค่นี้ก็ถือได้ว่าท่านได้ทำดีไปในระดับหนึ่ง...อย่างน้อย ก็ขจัดม็อบถ่อย ม็อบเถื่อนที่สร้างความรำคาญและความเดือดร้อนให้กับประชาชน...ออกไปจากถนน ได้.....
ข้อเสนอแนะนี้ผมคิดขึ้นมาได้หลังจากที่ได้อ่านข่าวข้างล่างครับ...เชิญอ่าน...
Thai junta says interim government by September
Thailand's Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, left, arrives at the Royal Thai Army Club in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 13, 2014. The head of Thailand's military junta said Friday that an interim government would be set up by September, offering the most specific timeline yet on a possible transfer of power after last month's coup. (AP Photo/ASTV Manager newspaper) THAILAND OUT
BANGKOK (AP) — The head of Thailand's military junta said Friday that an interim government would be set up by September, offering the most specific timeline yet on a possible transfer of power after last month's coup.
Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has already said it could take more than a year for new elections to be held because peace and reforms must be achieved first.
On Friday, he said that a temporary constitution would be drafted and an interim government installed in the next three months.
"A government will likely be set up in August or early September," Prayuth told a meeting of civil servants. "When ... we have a government, we will move forward. Then the reform council can begin."
A reform council tasked with instituting political reforms in the deeply divided country will include rivals from Thailand's long-running political conflict, he said.
The army seized power May 22 in a bloodless coup, overthrowing a government elected by a majority of voters three years ago. Prayuth has justified the coup as a necessary action to restore order after half a year of anti-government protests and political turmoil that left at least 28 people dead and the government paralyzed.
But since taking power, the army appears to be carrying on the fight of the anti-government protesters by mapping out a similar agenda to redraft the constitution and institute political reforms before elections. It has also gone after politicians from the grass-roots "Red Shirt" movement that had vowed to take action if there was a coup.
On Thursday, a military court extended the detention of prominent activist Sombat Boonngam-anong for an additional 12 days. He has been held without charges since his arrest June 5, but has been informed that under martial law he faces up to 14 years in prison on possible charges of inciting unrest, violating cyber laws and defying the junta's orders.
Sombat had spearheaded an online campaign calling for people to raise a three-finger salute borrowed from "The Hunger Games" to show opposition to the coup.
http://news.yahoo.com/thai-junta-says-interim-government-september-084509993.html
Standing up against Thai military coup
Share 3929 - The Guardian, Monday 9 June 2014 16.00 EDT
The military coup d'état in Thailand that took place on 22 May is the 13th since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. We stand with those protesters who are calling for a return to constitutional rule by a civilian government (Thai police warn online critics, 7 June).
As academics and university staff and students, we also wish to express particular concern at the surveillance, harassment, and roundup of academics and students calling for democracy and the reinstatement of civilian rule. Academics and students who have been critics of the lèse-majesté law have been summonsed and we understand that some have gone into hiding as a result. We join with all others who have also called upon the commander in chief of the Thai army to immediately release politicians, activists, journalists, academics and others who have been harassed and imprisoned following the military summons to stop making any political criticism or comment. We condemn the move ordering universities to monitor the political activities of staff and students on campuses, and are also concerned that some universities have issued orders to their staff and students to refrain from making any political comment in the public sphere.
We support and admire the courage of university staff and students who continue to gather at Thammasat University and other protest sites. Intellectual freedom and freedom of speech are fundamental tenets of a democratic society and functioning university system alike and we urge their restoration.
Professor Gurminder K Bhambra University of Warwick, Professor John Holmwood University of Nottingham, Professor Les Back Goldsmiths, University of London, Dr Ipek Demir University of Leicester, Dr Kirsten Forkert Birmingham City University, Dr Robbie Shilliam Queen Mary, University of London, Dr Lee Jones Queen Mary, University of London, Mark Carrigan University of Warwick, Dr John Narayan University of Warwick, Dr Madhumita Lahiri University of Warwick, Dr Peo Hansen Linköping University, Dr Daniel Orrells University of Warwick, Professor Luke Martell University of Sussex, Professor Andrew Sayer Lancaster University, Dr Malcolm MacLean University of Gloucestershire, Emeritus Professor Gavin Edwards University of South Wales, Professor Raphael Salkie University of Brighton, Dr Nessa Cronin National University of Ireland, Galway, Professor Jonathan S Davies De Montfort University, Dr Jo Ingold University of Leeds, Professor William Outhwaite University of Newcastle, Lauren Tooker University of Warwick, Professor Larry Ray University of Kent, Dr Justin Cruickshank University of Birmingham, Professor Robert Fine University of Warwick, Dr Rosa Vasilaki University of Bristol, Dr Carole Jones University of Edinburgh, Bernard Sufrin Emeritus fellow, Worcester College, University of Oxford, Professor Nickie Charles University of Warwick, Dr Luke Yates University of Manchester, Claire Blencowe University of Warwick, Professor Patrick Ainley University of Greenwich, Dr Kevin McSorley University of Portsmouth, Gabriel Newfield Retired pro-director, University of Hertfordshire, Professor Mick Carpenter University of Warwick, Dr Andrea Hajek University of Glasgow, Lisa Tilley University of Warwick, Dr Nicola Pratt University of Warwick, Dr J Sanchez Taylor University of Leicester, Dr David Featherstone University of Glasgow, Dr Angela Last University of Glasgow, Dr Bryn Jones University of Bath, Simon Dawes Independent scholar, Prof Chris Jones Liverpool John Moores University, Dr Vivienne Jackson, Chrysi Papaioannou University of Leeds, Lee Mackinnon Goldsmiths, University of London, Dr Goldie Osuri University of Warwick
Prajuab Charoensuk with Anan Saman and 6 others
40 mins · Edited ·
In Thailand ....This is so stupid, if you show a middle finger which is insulting is alright to the Thai dictator junta. Thank you and sawadee for the "middle finger F.ck Y.u).
However if you salute with with 3 fingers "respect" you will be arrested and jailed in Thailand prison.
This is so UNCONSTITUTION and in VIOLATION of the BASIC UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS.
6/04/2014 @ 5:16PM 1,155 views
In Thailand, Flashing 'Hunger Games' Salute Can Lead To Arrest
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As if it weren’t enough that a military coup in Thailand has imposed martial law and curfews, took over the radio and television stations and has been arresting partisans of the old regime. Now citizens can be arrested for flashing the three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games movies.
A spokesman for the military junta, Col. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, told the Associated Press “We know it comes from the movie, and let’s say it represents resistance against the authorities.”
An individual making the salute would likely have no problem, he said, “but if it is a political gathering of five people or more, then we will have to take some action,” including arrest.
Military coups have a long history Thailand – there have been 14 of them, plus some half-dozen attempted coups, since the nation abandoned absolute monarchy in 1932.
Thailand Politics
“Each year, Thailand tends to experience at least one period of frenzied coup speculation,” wrote Thailand scholar Nicholas Farrelly in the Australian Journal of International Affairs last year. “Coups clearly still play a major role in Thai mainstream politics.”
This coup, though, is generally seen as more severe than most. Begun on May 22, it is notable for the roundup of politicians, academics and “red shirt” supporters of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, ousted by the courts on May 7, and her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Coups in Thailand have generally left visitors alone, given the importance of tourism to the Thai economy; Bangkok, the capital, was ranked the world’s most visited city last year. Thai newspapers have reported that curfews were lifted yesterday in major tourist areas such as beach resorts.
Still, a U.S. State Department travel alert recommends that “U.S. citizens reconsider any non-essential travel to Thailand, particularly Bangkok,” and avoid large gatherings as “even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.”
Thailand Politics
It’s not hard to draw a line between the Hunger Games and the protesters of the junta. In the movies – and the books before them, by Suzanne Collins – elites in a wealthy capital rule over impoverished masses in outer “districts.” Competitors, called tributes, are chosen by lottery from each of the districts to compete in a death match, televised reality-TV-style.
No such games are happening in Thailand, thankfully, but the ousted Shinawatra government and her Pheu Thai Party were generally seen as being favorable to poorer, rural interests.
The second movie in the series, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was the top film at the Thai box office last November and December. The three-fingered salute appears at pivotal moments in the movies, such as this scene from Catching Fire. Characters played by stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson have won, and crowds flash the salute (around 2:50), leading to a deadly crackdown.
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