The warrior class that leads from the rear

7/02/2011
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post

For some reason, one interesting - albeit sarcastic - remark made by army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday night and believed to be directed at the war mongers among the People's Alliance for Democracy did not make it into print in this newspaper or our chief rival.

Wearing a cap and attired in his five-star army uniform, Gen Prayuth gave a press conference in the aftermath of the deadly exchange of artillery and small arms fire, the worst in many years, across the border near the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear (or Khao Phra Viharn). Without naming names, but appearing to be a little emotional, he challenged these leading war mongers to offer themselves to go to the frontline to join the combat against the Cambodians.

This remark was ignored by most of the media, including this newspaper, because many might have thought the army chief did not seriously mean what he said. That was probably true as no one appeared to be interested in the remark, even the war mongers within the ranks of the PAD who have, in the past several days, been rattling the sabres and urging the Abhisit government to use force to evict Cambodian troops and civilians from what they claim to be Thai territory.

As for the war mongers, they might have thought why risk being killed or maimed on the frontline since there are fine and brave young men already there to perform the duty of protecting their motherland.

In all likelihood, this could be the same attitude held by their Cambodian counterparts, especially among the top men within the ruling Cambodian People's Party who see the armed conflict as a good opportunity to rally popular support among the Cambodian population and to use the issue as a pretext to press their case in the international arena, such as the Unesco World Heritage Committee which is due to meet in June to reconsider the Preah Vihear issue.

The fact that the brave young warriors have always been the ones to take the brunt of battle and risk their lives by the decisions, right or flawed, made by their commanders while those who make the loudest war cries sit comfortably and safely at home reminds me of the anti-war song of some 30 plus years ago _ "Where have all the flowers gone?" by Pete Seeger.

Back to the PAD's demands, of which I have almost lost count. Their latest, which was probably thought out from the start of their protest but only put forward to their supporters for a consensus last night, calls for the resignation of the entire cabinet of the Abhisit government. The reason is that the government has failed in its administration of the country, failed to protect Thai territorial sovereignty and allowed corruption to become rampant. They said they wanted someone who is more decisive to replace Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjjajiva.

Like the demands they made earlier which are unreasonable and rejected by the government, the PAD leaders should know well that their fresh demand will be turned down anyway. Although Mr Abhisit has hinted that the House will be dissolved in April to allow for a fresh election, he is not about to call it quits now with the constitutional amendments bill still waiting to be endorsed in the final reading and approval of the mid-year budget still pending being among the key unresolved issues.

The PAD leaders have said they do not intend to seek to overthrow the government. So what's next for the PAD now that all their demands have been rejected? Mr Abhisit will not simply walk away because of their threats. What are the PAD's options which are yet to be disclosed?

If the PAD really wants a decisive man to take the helm of the government, then they should nominate one who will head the New Politics Party to contest the election with a powerful policy platform regarding the border issue with Cambodia. In fact, there are several candidates within the group who match the required qualifications. Among them are Sondhi Limthongkul, Phipob Thongchai, Chamlong Srimuang and Praphan Koonmee. They should join the contest and let the people decide whether they want a nationalistic strongman to lead the country.

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Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.

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