[Tlc] AP story

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Volker Grabowsky has sent out this article on Taksin and the King.
Best,
justin


>>       Thailand's Thaksin Had Clashed With King
>>       By JOCELYN GECKER
>>       Associated Press Writer
>>
>>       September 20, 2006, 2:53 PM EDT
>>       BANGKOK, Thailand -- For many in Thailand, it
>>       was a clash between two images: an arrogant
>>       prime minister who hates to lose, and a humble
>>       king who always wins.
>>
>>       Simply by endorsing the general who has seized
>>       power, revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej has
>>       essentially given his blessing to the bloodless
>>       Tuesday night coup that ousted Prime Minister
>>       Thaksin Shinawatra. The 78-year-old monarch has
>>       shown that despite age, frailty and
>>       constitutional powerlessness, he remains the
>>       most powerful man in Thailand.
>>       The coup is also a response to the Islamic
>>       insurgency raging in southern Thailand, and
>>       public displeasure with Thaksin's strong-arm
>>       tactics. Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, the army
>>       commander who led the coup, had advocated a
>>       peaceful solution. As a Muslim, he was long seen
>>       as a force for healing whose hands were tied by
>>       Thaksin's policies.
>>
>>       It remains unclear what role, if any, the king
>>       played in removing Thaksin. What is clear,
>>       however, is the chain of events that led to
>>       Thaksin's ouster -- a series of missteps that
>>       prompted accusations he was challenging the
>>       king's authority, an unpardonable act by Thai
>>       standards.
>>
>>       Thaksin had taken a defiant stance under
>>       mounting pressure from street protests and
>>       demands for him to resign amid allegations of
>>       corruption, election violations and mishandling
>>       the southern insurgency.
>>
>>       In April, the king made a rare TV appearance,
>>       prodding the courts to intervene to resolve a
>>       political deadlock that had left the kingdom
>>       with a caretaker government and no working
>>       legislature.
>>
>>       The judges duly ruled, paving the way for new
>>       elections. But Thaksin angered many by refusing
>>       to bow out.
>>
>>       "The anti-Thaksin forces in the top levels of
>>       government -- and perhaps in the palace --
>>       realized that Thaksin could still be prime
>>       minister after the new election and there was no
>>       way out, and they were fed up," said Paul
>>       Handley, author of "The King Never Smiles," a
>>       biography that portrays Bhumibol as a major
>>       player in Thai political developments over the
>>       decades.
>>
>>       Many say the palace was infuriated by Thaksin's
>>       apparent attempt to steal the spotlight during
>>       the lavish June celebrations of Bhumibol's 60
>>       years on the throne. By greeting visiting royals
>>       before they got to meet the Thai royal family,
>>       57-year-old Thaksin was seen as having committed
>>       a crowning and highly public act of insolence.
>>
>>       Then there was the insurgency, which has killed
>>       more than 1,700 people in the past two years.
>>
>>       Thaksin flooded the south, the only
>>       Muslim-dominated area of the Buddhist country,
>>       with 20,000 troops and imposed a state of
>>       emergency that empowered authorities to detain
>>       suspects without charge, tap telephones, ban
>>       public gatherings and suppress publications
>>       deemed inflammatory.
>>
>>       Thaksin was also accused of stifling Thai media,
>>       once regarded as among the freest in Asia, and
>>       of allowing his cronies to reap enormous gains
>>       from corrupt policies.
>>
>>       Chief among Thaksin's flaws, in the eyes of the
>>       palace and many Thais, was his personality.
>>       Critics called him self-centered and arrogant.
>>       The tycoon-turned-politician proved to be
>>       ambitious, conservative and strong-willed,
>>       refusing to correct himself when his policies
>>       backfired -- particularly regarding the
>>       insurgency.
>>
>>       Sondhi, who is thought to be close to the king,
>>       said the coup he led was needed to end the
>>       political crisis and restore "harmony among the
>>       people." He put Thailand under martial law and
>>       installed a provisional authority loyal to the
>>       king. He pledged elections would be held by
>>       October next year.
>>
>>       The coup was denounced by the Bush
>>       administration and the European Union as a
>>       setback for the thriving democracy that has
>>       taken root in a country once prone to violent
>>       coups. But the royal statement read on
>>       television said the king had appointed Sondhi as
>>       head of the provisional council "in order to
>>       create peace in the country."
>>
>>       While the palace insists it was not involved in
>>       the coup, many political and monarchy experts
>>       see another example of the monarch's
>>       behind-the-scenes power, which he has exercised
>>       sparingly but effectively over six decades.
>>
>>       "If the king didn't give a nod, this never would
>>       have been possible," said Sulak Siwalak, an
>>       author of books on the Thai monarchy.
>>
>>       The king is venerated for his Buddhist
>>       principles and his common touch, manifested in
>>       decades of tireless face-to-face work among the
>>       rural poor. He rarely enters the political
>>       arena, but when he does, everyone listens and
>>       obeys -- something Thaksin was seen as reluctant
>>       to do.
>>
>>       "Thaksin failed to realize that the king has
>>       been on the throne for 60 years and he's no
>>       fool," said Sulak. "The man is old and Thaksin
>>       thought he could play around with him -- and it
>>       was a dangerous game."
>>
>>       * __
>>
>>       Jocelyn Gecker is an AP correspondent based in
>>       Bangkok.
>>       Nanthapol  Charoenpakdi
>>       Manager, Communications and External Affairs
>>       Policy, Government and Public Affairs
>>       Chevron (Thailand) Limited
>>       24-26th Floor, Suntowers Building-B
>>       123 Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road
>>       Chomphon, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
>>       Tel. 662-612-7154
>>       Fax. 662-612-7013
>>       nanthapolC at chevron.com
>>

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu