The Economist worries;
“But the bigger danger lies farther south. Indonesia and Thailand were partners in the democratic experiment of the late 1990s. Thailand's democracy constitution of 1997 preceded by a year the downfall of Suharto. And Thailand's apparent success in taming its soldiers has been a model for Indonesia in transforming a deeply repressive society into one of Asia's most vibrant and open. So far, Indonesia's generals have behaved pretty impeccably, despite the many problems of that vast archipelago. It would be a tragedy if the dangerous events in Thailand gave them other ideas.”
“Mr Thaksin graduated from Class 10 (a sort of fraternity) of the Armed Forces Academies' Preparatory School and went on to become a police colonel, and then a hugely rich businessman, before entering politics. He has continued to foster links with his former Class 10 comrades and, in recent months, has been accused of trying to land them top military jobs. In this he was pitted against the alumni of Class 6, principally General Sonthi and the commanding officers of the navy, air force and national police. All four of these men are members of the junta that has removed Mr Thaksin from office.”
Barry Bosworth, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, talks with Bloomberg's Tom Keene from Washington about the characteristics of Thailand's economy, the outlook for economies in Southeast Asia and trade relations between the U.S. and Asia. Listen to the podcast.
From Harry Clarke;
"On a nostalgic note, I was living in Bangkok when the 1985 coup happened and was most surprised at how unruffled the local population were by it. My housemaid just laughed when I expressed my concern. ‘Oh Mister, This always happen’. So the next day I got the bus from my home on the Superhighway out to my workplace about 40 km north of the city. We got stopped by army officers holding automatic weapons somewhere around the airport. When the officers got on the bus the young Thai girls on the bus giggled at the soldiers loudly. I remember being petrified with fear but the soldiers just got off the bus and we were on our way – the girls still giggling and me remaining very, very quiet. Later I was told that the giggling was an Asian way of handling a tense situation – maybe."
Thanks for linking to us. Consider joing our blogger advance team by emailing us. Regards.