Minichan

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Glug. No ? it's ? not. ? You've ? been ? reading ? too ? much ? output from ? the ? Robert Amsterdam propaganda mill. Robert Amsterdam is ? a ? paid ? political ? lobbyist who ? specializes ? in ? character ? assassination of ? politicians and ? movements opposed to ? his ? client. He ? likes ? to ? pitch himself ? as ? a ? "human rights activist" but ? he ? simply ? uses human ? rights as ? one ? tool ? in ? his ? portfolio for ? harassing his ? client's rivals. At ? the ? moment, ? Robert Amsterdam is ? being ? paid ? by ? Thaksin Shinawatra so ? everything ? he ? says ? and ? does ? is ? determined by ? the ? need ? to ? promote the ? interests ? of ? his ? client. Since ? both ? the ? client and ? the ? interests ? are ? very ? unsavory, this ? requires substantial prevarication and ? obfuscation. Before going ? into ? what's ? been ? happening ? in ? Bangkok this ? year, ? some ? background is ? essential. ? Not ? just ? on ? Thaksin Shinawatra himself ? but ? also ? on ? Thai politics ? in ? general. ? Let's ? start ? with ? Thaksin. The ? man ? is ? a ? billionaire who ? made ? his ? pile getting ? sweetheart deal ? contracts from ? the ? Thai Government ? for ? work ? in ? modernizing Thai telecommunications infrastructure. He ? was ? also ? a ? Lieutenant Colonel ? in ? the ? Thai Police. ? When ? he ? first ? entered ? politics, ? his ? act ? was ? quite ? revolutionary. Normally a ? Thai political ? campaign consists ? of ? the ? candidate publishing lists of ? worthy people ? who ? support ? him. ? In ? effect, they ? provide lists of ? references that ? more ? or ? less state ? "I ? am ? a ? good ? person ? and ? can ? be ? trusted to ? work ? in ? your ? interests." People ? then ? voted for ? whoever ? paid ? them ? the ? most. ? In ? Thailand, it's ? quite ? possible ? to ? have ? a ? worthwhile debate on ? whether ? vote ? buying ? is ? wrong ? or ? not. ? Thaksin changed ? that. ? He ? conducted a ? western-style campaign that ? put ? a ? portfolio of ? promised ? policies out ? and ? invited ? people ? to ? judge ? his ? party ? on ? the ? basis ? of ? those ? policies. This ? was ? so ? different ? that ? it ? worked ? rather ? well. ? His ? Party ? became the ? largest in ? the ? Thai Parliament ? and ? he ? pushed through ? the ? items ? on ? his ? agenda (low ? cost medical ? care, ? low-interest loans for ? farmers and ? a ? few ? other ? things, ? all ? calculated to ? endear himself ? to ? the ? rural population – note ? still ? buying ? votes ? but ? wholesale rather ? than ? retail ? and ? using ? Government ? money ? to ? do ? it). ? When ? the ? next ? election ? came ? up, ? his ? party ? wasn't ? just ? the ? largest one, ? it ? actually ? had ? an ? overall majority. This made ? Thaksin's real ? objectives critical. Thaksin is ? (or ? was) ? a ? great ? admirer of ? the ? Singaporean model ? of ? government ? and ? industry. ? He ? wanted ? to ? create ? a ? new ? Thai state ? in ? which ? there ? was ? a ? single ? party ? (controlled by ? him) ? and ? a ? single ? corporate entity (controlled by ? him). ? The ? fact ? that ? Singapore doesn't ? really ? work ? that ? way ? is ? neither here ? nor ? there. ? Thaksin wanted ? a ? state ? where ? there ? was ? no ? center of ? government ? or ? economic power ? that ? was ? outside ? his ? control. ? With ? a ? majority in ? Parliament, ? he ? set ? about ? achieving just ? that. ? Hold ? that ? thought. Now, let's ? look ? at ? Thai politics. ? Thailand is ? an ? odd place; ? it's ? one ? of ? the ? few ? countries in ? the ? world ? where ? the ? political ? establishment ? openly says ? "we're politicians, don’t ? trust ? us." There ? is ? an ? ongoing presumption in ? the ? country ? that ? political ? shakeups should ? never ? be ? seen ? in ? terms of ? black ? and ? white. ? The ? message ? is ? to ? look ? with ? skepticism on ? political ? changes ? and ? to ? assume ? that ? all ? political ? movements are ? corrupt and ? tainted by ? greed and ? ambition. There ? is ? an ? assumption that ? all ? are ? backed by ? a ? hidden hand ? that ? is ? pushing a ? secret ? agenda. This ? is ? an ? intensely cynical view ? of ? course, ? and ? one ? that ? leaves ? no ? room ? to ? suppose that ? a ? protest is ? both ? genuine ? and ? sincere. It ? also ? presumes that ? idealistic people ? can ? be ? too ? easily-fooled (there ? is ? a ? Thai joke ? that ? the ? only ? difference ? between ? the ? words ? idealist and ? idiot ? is ? the ? way ? somebody ? says ? them), ? a ? belief that ? results in ? the ? fear ? that ? legions of ? gullible farmers might ? be ? turned ? on ? the ? capital by ? calculating politicians. The ? only ? defense ? against ? that ? eventuality, it ? is ? held, ? is ? that ? people ? must ? be ? constantly made ? aware ? that ? the ? motives of ? all ? political ? leaders ? are ? suspect. There ? is ? only ? one ? person ? in ? Thailand whose ? integrity is ? not ? questionable and ? that ? is ? the ? King ? (and ? by ? extension the ? institution of ? the ? Monarchy – and, ? by ? the ? way, ? that ? trust ? is ? earned, ? not ? demanded). Back to ? Thaksin. In ? his ? second ? period ? as ? Prime Minister, he ? began ? his ? real ? agenda. There ? are ? checks ? and ? balances in ? Thailand; there ? are ? parts of ? the ? court ? system ? that ? are ? there ? to ? prevent ? political ? corruption (by ? which ? the ? Thais mean ? something ? a ? bit ? different ? from ? everybody ? else). ? There ? are ? parts of ? the ? government ? that ? are ? designed ? to ? stop ? things ? happening ? too ? fast ? or ? in ? ways ? that ? are ? disallowed by ? the ? constitution. Above ? all, ? there ? is ? the ? Army. More background. If ? a ? Thai officer ? is ? asked ? to ? define the ? role of ? the ? Thai armed ? forces ? in ? general, ? and ? the ? Royal Thai Army ? in ? particular, the ? reply ? is ? likely to ? be ? some ? variant of ? "a political ? instrument aimed at ? maintaining the ? internal and ? external security of ? the ? kingdom." The ? emphasis on ? political ? considerations inside ? the ? Thai armed ? forces ? rings ? strangely and ? uncomfortably on ? British and ? American ? ears, ? which ? are ? used ? to ? the ? concept of ? an ? apolitical ? military. Yet ? our ? hypothetical Thai officer ? may ? well ? reply ? to ? such ? concerns by ? pointing out ? that ? war ? is ? an ? extension of ? politics ? by ? any ? means ? and ? that ? war ? fought without ? regard to ? political ? objectives is ? just ? mindless butchery. One ? of ? the ? awkward ? questions always ? asked ? about ? democracy ? is ? the ? possibility that ? 51 percent ? of ? the ? population may ? vote ? to ? exterminate the ? other ? 49 percent ? – and ? what ? should ? be ? done ? about ? that ? extremity? Some ? countries answer ? the ? question ? by ? denying its ? possibility; in ? the ? U.S., ? the ? Supreme ? Court ? would ? not, ? in ? theory at ? least, ? uphold such ? a ? position. ? Returning ? to ? our ? hypothetical Thai officer, ? the ? answer ? would ? be ? that ? it ? was ? the ? duty of ? the ? Army ? to ? protect ? all ? the ? citizens of ? the ? country, ? not ? just ? those ? who ? agreed ? with ? the ? government. ? After ? all, ? as ? the ? argument ? goes, ? the ? Army ? belongs to ? the ? country ? and ? the ? people. ? It ? is ? the ? people ? who ? pay ? for ? the ? Army ? with ? their ? taxes, and ? through ? conscription, it ? is ? they ? who ? provide its ? personnel. Therefore, ? the ? Army ? has ? the ? obligation to ? act ? for ? all ? the ? people, ? not ? the ? political ? party ? that ? has ? the ? majority in ? the ? government. ? There ? is ? a ? saying ? in ? Thailand "If you ? are ? in ? trouble, ? seek the ? man ? on ? the ? white ? horse." The ? "man ? on ? the ? white ? horse" is ? an ? army ? officer. ? It's ? a ? piece ? of ? good ? advice, ? if ? you ? are ? in ? serious ? trouble ? in ? Thailand, go ? to ? the ? Army, ? not ? the ? police ? for ? help. ? That ? principle is ? actually ? written ? into ? Thai law; ? if ? you ? lose ? your ? elephant, ? tell ? an ? Army ? officer ? and ? he ? is ? obliged to ? lend you ? some ? of ? his ? men ? to ? help ? you ? find ? it. Thaksin started ? to ? undermine all ? of ? the ? safeguards that ? were ? built ? into ? the ? Thai constitution. He ? had ? two ? primary ? tools to ? do ? this. ? One ? was ? pushing his ? supporters into ? the ? organizations that ? were ? supposed ? to ? prevent ? corruption and ? abuse ? of ? power. ? The ? other ? was ? to ? silence ? the ? opposition with ? libel writs. He ? actually ? said ? "Censorship? There ? is ? no ? need ? for ? censorship. If ? somebody ? opposes me ? my ? lawyers ? accuse him ? of ? libel and ? sue ? him ? for ? a ? hundred ? million ? baht. Now, ? everybody ? censors themselves." He ? also ? started ? to ? take ? on ? the ? Army ? and ? the ? Monarchy. That's ? when ? he ? made ? a ? major ? mistake. There had ? been ? rumors ? for ? years ? that ? Thaksin wanted ? the ? abolition of ? the ? Monarchy and ? during ? the ? 2004-2006 period, ? that ? became quite ? obvious. ? He ? disrespected the ? King ? on ? several ? occasions. Critically, when ? the ? 2006 military promotions and ? reshuffle list ? was ? made ? up, ? he ? took ? the ? list ? approved by ? the ? King ? and ? rewrote it ? to ? put ? his ? own ? supporters and ? family ? members ? in ? pretty ? much ? all ? of ? the ? key ? positions. ? That ? was ? a ? direct challenge ? to ? the ? King ? (not ? to ? mention a ? calculated insult to ? both ? the ? King ? and ? the ? Army) ? and ? it ? cost him ? everything. ? The ? Army ? decided ? to ? move ? and ? in ? September 2006, Thaksin was ? removed ? by ? a ? military coup. Once ? he ? had ? lost ? his ? power ? to ? issue ? libel suits at ? will, ? a ? mass of ? dirt ? started ? coming ? out. ? Basically ? the ? problem ? was ? that ? he ? couldn't ? distinguish between ? his ? own ? private financial ? dealings and ? those ? of ? the ? state ? (under ? his ? doctrine of ? course ? there ? was ? no ? such ? difference). ? He ? had ? been ? using ? his ? position ? to ? massively enrich his ? family ? and ? himself. ? With ? the ? courts purged of ? his ? supporters who ? had ? blocked any ? previous investigations, he ? was ? accused of ? corruption on ? a ? massive ? scale ? – we're ? talking ? billions. When ? his ? wife ? was ? found ? guilt ? of ? buying ? government ? assets at ? far ? below ? market price ? and ? then ? reselling them, ? he ? jumped bail and ? ran ? for ? it. ? He's ? been ? in ? exile ever ? since. ?