Army chief walking a tight rope

The People's Alliance for Democracy turned against Army chief Anupong Paochinda Friday night following his pledge not to intervene in the political crisis. This, ironically, followed Anupong's harshest criticism against the Somchai administration.

Anupong earlier Friday rejected former deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's call for military intervention to break the political impasse.  Anupong's bold criticism against the Somchai government, which he suggested should take reponsibility for last Tuesday's political bloodshed made newspaper headlines on Saturday but he immediately found himself caught in between the two warring parties which may be heading for a new collision.

Anupong said Chavalit should instead deal with the consequences of his command to crack down on protesters on Tuesday.

Chavalit told Anupong via a newspaper not to be afraid of staging a coup as the Army chief could pull out after a non-partisan government was set up.

"I'm not afraid of anything - he should know my background - but may I ask him to take responsibility for the wrong decision he made on the night of October 6-7?" Anupong said on TV Channel 3.

Chavalit quickly resigned after the government's order to police to disperse the rally in front of Parliament House resulted in deaths and dismemberment.

In a newspaper interview published on Friday, Chavalit urged the Army chief to launch a military coup and immediately return power to the people.

The monarchy is not in a position to solve the problem, and a government dissolution of the House would not end the crisis either, Chavalit said.

Anupong said a military overthrow was not an absolute solution to political conflicts. The previous putsch by his predecessor General Sonthi Boonyaratglin has taught the military a lesson, he said.

If there was another takeover, there would also be another group of people protesting against the coup-makers, as with the former junta, he said.

The same old political faces would return after power was handed over to the people, he said.

The government should also take responsibility for the bloodshed, he said, without describing exactly how.

The Army chief gave a rare television interview after pressure mounted on him to take action to stop the political turmoil. The People's Alliance for Democracy had called on him to join with them in fighting the police and the government.

"We are a people's army, but it is impossible in one country to have the military fight the police in league with a certain group of people," Anupong said. "Taking any side will not end the story."

Some observers believe the failure of  the 2006 coup is the main reason for Anupong's reluctance to intervene. The PAD, however, refuses to buy this.

Following Anupong's TV interview , he is accused by the PAD leaders of not taking the people's side. His strong criticism of the Somchai government, obviously, was seen as an attempt to "soften the blow" expected from the PAD.

PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul told the protesters inside Government House on Friday night that Anupong was "no longer staying with people".

In a rare public statement showing his deperate desire for a coup, Sondhi insisted that there was such a thing as a good coup.

"How can he say that coup is not good? How can he put up with people being killed by police. Of course, the coup is not good if the military just does it for the sake of someone else's benefits," said Sondhi. His emotional speech responded to Anupong's comment that it is impossible to have the military fight the police.

"Taking a side will not end the story," said Anupong in the TV interview. It was a remarkable statement from one of the coup leaders who overthrew the Thaksin government by force in 2006.

The PAD, as expected, was enraged. Sondhi and a number of PAD leaders on Friday night hinted that Anupong might have interests as his son is studying in London and is possibly taken care of by a millionaire in London. "Isn't your son studying in England? Before you still pay a mortgage but now you're damn rich," Sondhi said.

Since the 2006 coup, the PAD which has switched its backing from one coup leader to another after being either disillusioned or exasperated by failures to uproot political influences of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The movement's increasingly sour relations with Anupong were all but severed on Friday night, as its leaders threw various charges against him and made some vague accusations that certain military leaders earned a lot of money from weapon procurements. It did not elaborate.

The movement will start distributing its books on the Tuesday bloodbath to the public on Sunday. The public can receive the books at major points like Chatuchak Park. They will come with CDs, featuring information from the protesters' side. The anti-government group plans to distribute five million copies in total.

In the wake of the bloodiest days of the current political crisis, all key players seem isolated _ the PAD, the government, and the military.  Where Anupong actually stands will determine the immediate course for the future. This makes the next few days the most intriguing.