LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Let's hope that the tools of democracy, once they are returned, are put to good use
By staging a coup Army leaders used negative ends for a good cause. The opportunity had been given back to the people to manage democracy, but look at what happened.
Selfishness and corruption overtook democracy. It is clear as day that Thaksin's plan was to take over Thailand by installing his close associates and cronies to positions of power. What chance did other parties have? The timing of the coup was perfect. Imagine if the new appointments in the Army had gone through and were implemented. The majority of Thais wouldn't have an audible voice or be able to effect change. The tools of democracy have been taken away, however they will be given back again. I just hope that my fellow Thais learn to look at both sides of the situation, consider right and wrong without taking personal interest into account but rather the best interests of the majority, then decide with conviction who to believe. The tools of democracy will be given back, please learn to use them correctly and effectively for the benefit of the majority. When things go wrong, don't blame the tools - it's the craftsmen that are the problem. Ariyachai Unchern Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Change via elections slower, but the results last longer
After reflecting on the events of September 19, I have come to realise that, although I personally think Thaksin deserved to be ousted and has definitely brought this onto himself, the coup was not the right solution for Thailand's problem of chronic political corruption and cronyism. The change should have been brought about by us through votes and not by the military. Though the process of change via democratic means might be slower, it is also more solid and permanent. Internationally, this incident will only reflect badly on the well-intended actions of the revolutionaries since the general election is just around the corner. The international community might ask why we didn't just wait for the election? Another question lingering in my mind is what changes the coup will bring. Will we be seeing the same old story being played out by different actors? How about our national credibility? Though it has been a peaceful coup, the word coup itself has a negative ring in the ears of civilised nations. Has this incident tarnished our reputation as a stable, democratic regional leader that we have built over the past decades? The only stability we have now is in our Royal institution. I guess His Majesty the King will be burdened once again with the task of guiding us back on the right track. Nant Thananan Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coup d'etat was the 'shock' needed to dislodge TRT
The term coup d'etat generally has a negative connotation, but not in this case. Usually when there is a coup the military takes over a legitimate government (usually elected democratically) to grab power and reap the country's wealth. In this case, although the military was dislodging a democratically elected leader, this leader was a parasite who had undermined all democratic mechanisms to secure his power, and was using his "legitimate" power towards illegitimate purposes (reaping astronomical wealth at the expense of the country's wellbeing). The integrity of democratic mechanisms had been so thoroughly corroded in Thailand (by the Thaksin gang) that it would have taken forever to clean it up, even though the jail terms for the EC three was a good start. We needed a shock to dislodge Thaksin and the numerous tentacles of his apparatus. Thankfully the coup has been bloodless, and will hopefully remain that way. Now the question is - can Thailand shore up the weaknesses in its democracy, and find some capable and trustworthy people to finally run the country? Eight Years in Thailand Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARC's actions needed to end ongoing divisions in country
Despite the negative foreign reaction to the coup d'etat, we must praise the Army for doing what had to be done at the right time and at the right moment. Kofi Annan was right to say, "this is not a practice to be encouraged", but on the other hand what better way was there to resolve the country's crisis? In Udon Thani for example, the Thaksin camp always alleged that there were "one hundred thousand Udon supporters" whenever a show of force is needed, despite the fact that a lot of the villagers here do not have a clue of what is going on. One of the reasons the Administrative Reform Council gave for staging the coup was the disunity caused by the current administration, and this is valid. The council should look into other misdeeds made by the Thaksin administration, not only to show Thai people the reasons for the coup, but also to ease the concerns of Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other high profile heads of government with whom Thailand has an amicable relationship. Raymond Hsu Udon Thani ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coup evidence of a strong anti-democratic sentiment
This has shown how immature Thailand's democracy is. Having the Army take charge is not the way to develop a democracy. We should have waited for the court rulings and the upcoming election held by the new Election Commission. People just want to win by whatever means possible, and that has led us to this point. If Thais don't want democracy, they should admit it rather than saying they love democracy and behaving in a completely different way. Many people are happy to see this undemocratic revolution going on. What kind of message does that send and how does it reflect on us? Sad but true. Nuttaa Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ray of hope might finally be visible for strife-torn South
The fact that Thaksin didn't resign after the last general election proves that he wanted to stay in power to protect his own personal interests and those of his cronies. Staying in charge gave him the opportunity to benefit from a certain political immunity, which protected him from lawsuits. His handling of the situation in the Muslim South wasn't beneficial to the country at all. His "divide and rule" style of politics has sent Thailand into chaos. I support the military coup of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, a Muslim, because prior to Thaksin's regime, the military had a reputation for being able to maintain a relative peace in the troubled South. Thaksin's aggressive "police state approach" has turned out to be more provocative than healing. There have never been as many bombings and killings of innocent people as there were during Thaksin's rule. So, every day he stayed in power was a day too long! Waiting for the next elections certainly wouldn't have been a good thing. The country needed direct action to reverse the chronic malaise in Thai politics. Mamox Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shutting out public's access to media outlets 'misguided'
Democracy does not necessarily equate with good governance - a point that the world leaders who rushed to condemn the coup consistently fail to understand - and the new military government promises to be an improvement on the parody of democracy that exists after six years of corruption and abuse under Thaksin. However, the military government's haste to impose media censorship is misguided and inappropriate. An unrestricted exchange of views from a broad spectrum of the public - from Isaan farmers to Bangkok academics to southern Muslims to businessmen - will assist the military government in making informed and consensual decisions on the very difficult issues that it must tackle. Censorship is, in any event, futile. As soon as the UBC international news channels were shut down on Tuesday night. Others and I went straight to the websites. The channels are now on the air again, but with interruptions put down to "sun outages" that, unsurprisingly, coincide with reports on Thailand Three cheers for the coup, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, but as a measure of your sincerity, please set the media free. Nigel Pike Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The end of a corruption-plagued era in Thai politics
The military takeover was forced by a prime minister who caused the country to be partitioned into two camps ready to fight each other. Thanks to the courageous, thinking portion of the population, including judges, the People's Alliance for Democracy and its supporters, as well as deans, teachers and students, the military were able to take responsibility and carry off their duties. I take my hat off to them. I thank them and respect them. Hopefully this will be a turning point to eliminate corruption and cronyism and to introduce a decent democracy based on morals, ethics and merit. Egon Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouster only option given former PM's massive wealth
I am disheartened, but I grudgingly support the coup. Thaksin should have been impeached and jailed instead. That was the correct, democratic solution to the problem. His vast wealth made that impossible however, so I guess this is the next best thing. If violence is averted, and if they can make a new constitution which fixes some of the more glaring problems of the current one, and if things quickly return to stability, then this will be good for Thailand in the end. Worried Bangkok
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