Hey guys, I am back from a long summer break with a new name. That's right, I am "Activist4Life" not "ShockerBlazer." Over all, my summer was great. I worked with a lot of organizations and participated in a lot of rallies and protests in
New York City.
Let's get down to the business.
First off, do you guys know what is happening
Thailand? If not, let me explain something to you. On September 19, Thai military decided to overthrow
Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. The king later supported and understood why the Thai military Chief-of- Commander Gerneral Sodthi Boonyaratglin. So that's basically what happened. Let me remind you that the king found out about the coup few hours before it took place. I just want to make it clear, the king did not push nor plan for the coup. It was all the Gerneral Sodthi and other military's commanders' decision for the good of the people of
Thailand. If you guys want to know more about it in the details, I will post the BBC News website for you guys to check it out right after I finish writing this blog.
Because the coup in Thailand took place on the very same day that the United Nation is holding the Gerneral Assembly, many world leaders including Kofi Annan reflected to what transpired in
Thailand. The majority of them said the coup or takeover was bad and a backward step towards democracy. I just want to tell these leaders that you are dead wrong. I think the military coup, takeover, invasion; whatever you want to call is a good thing for my home country,
Thailand. Why? The ousted Prime Minister Thaksin is a corrupted leader. He sold Thai's national resources to foreigners. Not only that, he killed 2000 people in the names of "fighting against drugs." Basically his policy allows cops to kill any suspected of drug dealers. Many innocent people died. The majority of them had nothing or not connection with the drug dealers. He also disrespected the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, king of
Thailand. On the other hand, I want to point that Thaksin did great things for the nation such as helped create enough revenues for
Thailand to pay off its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and inexpensive health programs.
What got me upset the most is the
United States' reaction to the coup. Tony Snow, the Press Secretary came out and announced that the United States is reconsidering its relationship and free trade agreement with
Thailand. On Monday, the
United States government announced its decision to freeze twenty-four million dollars for Thai's Military Aid. I don't mind the U.S freezes its foreign aids but what I do mind is the explanation. According to the CNN, the U.S government decides to temporarily stop giving aids to
Thailand in response to the military coup. Why? Snow, can you tell me? Do you really think that the Thai military coup is going to obliterate the value of democracy? Your government (U.S) is already degrading the value of democracy such as the policy of wire tapping, prisoner abuse in the
Guantanamo bay and other areas, and the attempt to ban gay marriage. So, Snow, the U.S degrading and destroying the democracy value is not bad thing but when
Thailand getting rid of a corrupted prime minister is a bad thing. What are your President and his fellows thinking?
Democracy is a form of government for the common people and that protects the rights of the people. It is also a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges (dictionary.com). In this case, the coup is protecting the rights of the people and doing what the majority of
Thailand had always wanted: overthrow Thaksin, the prime minister. What do you do if your nation's prime minister or president abuses his power and refuses to step down who also compares himself to the King of his nation? Thai citizens especially in the urban area had always demanded Thaksin to step down because he was disuniting the country (conflict in the South) and selling
Thailand's national resources and value assets to the country to foreigners. I think the U.S should be proud the Thai military general Sonthi who did a right thing to restore the democracy for the people. Under Thaksin's regime, Thai media was under control by the government; that's censorship by a "democratic government."
If you follow the news about
Thailand lately, the military general, Sonthi Boonyaratglin said that he will be in power for two weeks to create a Thai transitional government: new prime minister, new government and an interim Constitution. This government will draft a new constitution that will prevent the prime minister and other government officials from abusing power and doing things that are threats to the country. Overall, this coup is not bad thing. It is restoring democracy and rights of Thai people back to where it once was. So, to the United States Government: Shut up!
Here is the links to the news article about Military in Thailand:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5361512.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5361210.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5362878.stm
Hey Activist4life, welcome back (with a new screenname)!
It's good to hear your perspective on this. It certainly sounds like Thaksin was not the best person for the job. At the same time, citizens of a country shouldn't need to rely on coups to get their country on track. It just seems dangerous to let the military decide when it's time for someone to go, and what happens next.
Do you think the that revised constitution will put in place changes that make it unnecessary (and hopefully unconstitutional) to have coups as a form of government transition?
Keep us posted.
Activist4Life, I love the new name, and it completely describes how I feel about myself too. :-)
With what I read about the coup, it seemed to me to have a very calm taste to it. I remember one photo, for example, where local fashion students did poses with a tank and a couple soldiers too. Hehe.
Welcome, my friend, to the real attitude toward democracy that the United States has: you can only have democracy if that democracy favors the United States' interests.
For some nitty gritty details and insights, I really encourage you to check out the book Overthrow or another book called Confessions of an Economic Hitman or better, read both.
Citizen Press Revolution
"Overthrow" is a great book. NPR has a long excerpt from the book, along with a great interview with the author, Stephen Kinzer, here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5325069
Ramognino: Glad to see you're still around. Are you going to join the Alumni team (check your email)?