Political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak — whose recent story about the national police chief saga I mentioned yesterday — has another Bangkok Post opinion piece worth reading. It’s about the role of the military in Thai politics. You can find it here. Timely reading, as tomorrow (Sat., Sept. 19th) is the three year anniversary of the military coup that toppled exiled former PM Thaksin.
Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva
An important political story in Thailand at the moment is the ongoing tussle over appointing a new national police chief. Here’s a summary of what’s happening — and why it matters.
First, some background: Thailand’s police force became a highly politicized body during exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s 2001-2006 tenure. Thaksin himself was once a cop, and many high-ranking police officials are still loyal to the billionaire.
PM Abhisit came to office in December, 2008, of course, after prolonged anti-Thaksin protests, which culminated in the seizure of Bangkok’s airports by anti-Thaksin yellow shirt protesters.
Abhisit is now attempting to replace the current police chief, who is seen as a Thaksin ally and is due to retire at the end of Sept. Abhisit has selected his own man in the job.
But there’s the rub.
Various parties in the police force and elsewhere are blocking Abhisit’s move, part of a power play to bring another man — also Thaksin-linked — to power as the new chief. We’re currently at a deadlock: The naming of a new chief has been postponed indefinitely.
Here’s an AFP story about the current state of affairs. And here’s an article from the Bangkok Post with more details.
For a more in-depth look at the issue, I suggest reading political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak’s Sept. 9 Bangkok Post opinion piece, “Public played for fools in police power plays.” And Bangkok Pundit has some recentl analysis here.
Why is this saga important? And what does it mean for Thailand’s political future?
The wrangling is important because it reflects the government’s general disunity and PM Abhisit’s inability to impose his will on Thailand’s own national police force.
In addition, the in-fighting comes at a time of nervousness about a pro-Thaksin red shirt rally scheduled for Sat., Sept. 19 — the third anniversary of the coup that toppled Thaksin.
In order to curb potential unrest, the government has imposed an Internal Security Act that allows the military — in addition to the national police — to patrol the Bangkok district where the demonstration will take place. Red shirt leaders say they expect 20,000-30,000 protesters to take part. Here’s an AFP story with more info.
Abhisit’s perceived weakness, and worries about violent protests or a military crackdown, has led to rumors that a military coup could take place. PM Abhisit is due to leave on Sunday, Sept. 20 — the day after the planned rally — to attend the UN general assembly and G20 meeting in the New York. Thaksin was overthrown in 2006 while he was in New York for a UN meeting. But in this story from the Bangkok Post, Abhisit says he thinks “there’s no reason for a coup.”
This Reuters analysis piece provides some perspective: “Rumours are swirling about a military power grab, but in a country that has undergone 18 actual or attempted coups in 77 years of on-off democracy, this is nothing new.”
Stay tuned…
UPDATE (Sept. 17) — The Bangkok Post has a new opinion piece on the affair (“New twist in police drama”) that concludes with this interesting line: “Thai-style poltics is not only unique but also always ”simply amazing”.”
Indeed.
I wanted to point out, quickly, this intriguing AP story from Monday about a plan to revamp Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International airport:
Baggage handlers at Thailand’s main airport now wear uniforms with pockets sewn shut to prevent pilfering. Police are hauling away illegal taxi touts. And cushions are being added to metal seats at departure gates derided as a “pain in the rear.”
An overhaul is under way at Bangkok’s $3.8 billion Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is virtually brand new but trying to put a scandal-plagued past behind and become one of the world’s top 10 airports — a goal senior officials concede might be a long shot for this year.
The campaign is partly aimed at addressing passenger complaints logged since Suvarnabhumi opened in 2006.
Free Wi-Fi will be in place by the end of the month and 126 Internet terminals have been installed for travelers without laptops, according to Airports of Thailand, the airport’s operator. Other upgrades include more restrooms, improved signs and the upholstery of all 19,000 cold metallic seats with turquoise, peach, green and purple cushions that brighten Suvarnabhumi’s concrete-and-steel design, panned by some critics as too monotone.
(Emphasis mine.)
For reference, here’s some context regarding past problems with the airport.
Some links that have caught my eye of late:
Last Peter Reid post, I promise, but I wanted to put the matter to rest, given my obsession with ongoing interest in the situation: Peter Reid is officially off to Stoke City. Steve Darby, who was Reid’s assistant, is now acting national team coach.
BBC story is here, AFP story is here, and Bangkok Post story is here.
Bangkok Post: “Nation marks 09/09/09 for King”
The government joined Thais nationwide in paying respect to His Majesty the King, the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty, at 9.09am on the auspicious date of the ninth day of the ninth month of 2009.
There’s also this earlier item, which provides more details.
Has Peter Reid, the Thailand national soccer team coach, left to join English Premier League outfit Stoke City as an assistant? Or is Reid still managing Thailand? Or is he doing both?
BBC Sport had this item yesterday, written as if Reid officially joined Stoke City last month, which may well be the case:
Stoke City’s Mark O’Connor believes the experience of his colleagues, Peter Reid and Gerry Francis, can help him improve as a first-team coach.
Francis have been coaching at Stoke since October, while Reid joined the Potters as assistant manager in August.
Meanwhile, the president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Worawi Makudi, has told the Bangkok Post (see below) that Reid will continue at Stoke City for two more weeks. But it’s unclear whether Reid will resume coaching Thailand full-time after that.
For context, previous posts on the matter are here (Aug. 31) and here (Aug. 28).
The Bangkok Post‘s soccer expert, Tor Chittinand, has this piece in today’s paper:
“Worawi Makudi, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), met Peter Reid in Manchester to discuss whether he wanted to remain as Thailand’s national team coach.
English Premier League chairman Sir David Richards was also there and Worawi said Reid wanted to continue as Thailand’s coach.
The meeting was called after it was apparent that Reid was working at Stoke as assistant to club manager Tony Pulis.
I thought the matter was over but the saga is far from at an end.
Worawi said after returning from England yesterday that Reid had asked for permission to help Pulis for another two weeks.
Regardless of whether the former Sunderland coach comes back or not, he has lost several friends and made a number of enemies in Thailand.
A strange affair indeed.
UPDATE: The Nation is reporting that the FAT have fired Reid. Story — though the wording is unclear — is here.
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about the legendary Minsk motorcycles ((Long-time newley.com readers may recall that I’ve undertaken three Minsk journeys in northern Vietnam, the first of which was in 2002. My most recent sojourn was for a Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia story that was published in April, 2008. Here’s an image from that trip of me, a Minsk and…a special friend. I can personally attest that the Minsk in an alluring, alluring machine.)) — and the expats in Vietnam who love the Soviet-era bikes. The piece focuses on the Minsk Olympics, an event in which devotees gather outside Hanoi to perform Minsk-releated feats. There’s a slideshow, too. I love the fourth image.
Don’t miss award-winning journalist and author — not to mention uber-blogger — James Fallows discussing all things China and technology-related on the Sept. 2 installment of the Motley Fool podcast. You can find the 25-minute episode here. Fallows, a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, recently returned to the US after living in China for several years.
Today’s NYT/IHT has a story about Thailand’s southern insurgency (“Muslim Insurgents Confound Military in Thailand”). There’s also a map and a video on the left side of the page.
For more on the current state of affairs in the south — where 3500 people have died since 2004 — here are some additional news stories and analysis: