Analysis: Is Thailand’s military compromising for the sake of reconciliation?

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinatwatra (center) and army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha (right). (Picture via Flickr, licensed under CC)

May 18, 2012
By Saksith Saiyasombut
AsianCorrespondent.com

The East Asia Forum recently published a column on the current political role of Thailand’s military written by John Blaxland, Senior Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University with 30 years of service experience with the Australian Military and also a graduate of the Royal Thai Army Command and Staff College. In short: Dr. Blaxland has lots of military experience.

In the column, also republished in The Australian, he criticizes “the classic Western liberal tendency of painting complex situations in black-and-white terms” where the Thai military is being portrayed power-hungry, coup-happy force. Blaxland takes the 2006 military coup and its consequences as precedence for the Thai armed forces to be hesitant to stage another one, despite repeated cycles of rampant rumors.

Blaxland assumes that the military acted on their own in September 2006, although many heavily disagree with this notion. He also notes that the 2008 change of government was merely an act among political parties, not mentioning the fact that the Democrat-Bhum Jai Thai coalition was reportedly brokered in the residence of then-army chief General Anupong Paochinda and in presence of his successor and then-chief-of-staff General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

[Thai] Army chief, [Thai] defence minister visit Thai-Cambodian border

BANGKOK, Aug 19 (MCOT online news) – The army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha accompanied Defence Minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa to visit troops stationed at the Thai-Cambodian border and to get firsthand information on the current situation in preparation for the coming General Border Committee (GBC) meeting.

Gen Prayuth gave an interview before leaving for the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket to boost morale of the soldiers assigned to the area.

He said the Regional Border Committee (RBC) Secretariat will meet Aug 23-25 and the regional meeting will be held Aug 26-27.

5 police officers replace [Thai] soldiers at DMZ

3/08/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post
BORDER DISPUTE

Five policemen will be assigned to the demilitarised zone imposed by the International Court of Justice near the Preah Vihear temple to replace soldiers and paramilitary rangers.

A commissioned police officer and four subordinates will be deployed at a new police sub-station named Phum Srol Pha Mor I Dang, said Pol Maj Gen Sermsuk Weerawong, chief of police in Si Sa Ket province.

The sub-station will be located in front of Pha Mor I Dang cliff in the Khao Phra Viharn National Park and will be about two kilometres from Preah Vihear temple.

Pol Maj Gen Sermsuk said the officers will take over duties from the 23rd Ad Hoc Paramilitary Unit of the Suranaree Task Force and the 6th Infantry Regiment.

Politiktoons No. 167: The Drivers

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.com and also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Post-election Thailand: Reform or Revolution?

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Thursday, July 07, 2011
Op-Ed by MP

Observers of Cambodia's UN supervised election of 1993 were stating the same truth about the defeated party being more powerful than the victorious one. And we learned what the outcome of that was in 1997, didn't we?

I'm sure the conservative elements in Thailand, backed by their military will wait for the euphoria of this election to die down before muscling their way into power once more, just as they had always done in the past. Once again, the election is a slap in the face for those elements, including the Royal House. To keep their peace with them, the Pheu Thai-Thaksin camp will be expected to cede some ground. Whether that will be enough, remains to be seen.

Thaksin will be anxious to deliver on his/her promises to carry on improving rural services in tangible terms, which inevitably means transferring much economic/financial resources from the middle classes (Yellow) to rural areas. If the reforms are successful, these areas (Red) will then strengthen the Thaksin camp, leading to a sense of fear and unease among traditional power segments that a new economic and electoral base is opening up outside of their sphere of influence and reach; a shift in the balance in power relations that they will likely be ill-prepared to accept.

Indonesian survey group here

7/07/2011
Wassana Nanuam and Nopparat Kingkaew
Bangkok Post

Foreign Ministry staff yesterday led Indonesian officials to survey the Thai-Cambodia border presumably in preparation for the arrival of 15 Indonesian observers, an army source said.

Earlier the Foreign Ministry had asked the army to have its Suranaree Task Force accompany the survey group, which arrived in the area yesterday.

The group was expected to inspect damage from the latest clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers near Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district.

According to the source, the Foreign Ministry had said the survey team would not enter the 4.6-square-kilometre border area around the Phrea Vihear temple which is in dispute.

Indonesian survey team taken to [Thai-Cambodian] border

6/07/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

A survey team from Indonesia was quietly led to the Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district on Wednesday morning by foreign affairs officials to examine the area ahead of thee arrival of an Indonesian Observers Team (IOT) expected to follow soon, an army source.

The source said the army was puzzled and surprised by the move, which was taken before the new government is in place.

The team, with an unknown number of members, were led by officials from the Foreign Ministry to examine areas where cross-border clashes occurred between Thai and Cambodian soldiers from February to April in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province and Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin province.

They did not enter the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area around Preah Vihear temple, the source said.

Political mutiny in the [Thai army] barracks

This is what the Thai generals want:

This is what the Thai generals got:

6/07/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Army leaders may be questioning the power of their political influence after the sweeping defeat of the Democrat Party extended even to the military vote.

The Royal Thai Army is known as a staunch Democrat ally, but the results of Sunday's election reflected that while its top brass can mould their subordinates on the battlefield, it failed to shape their political ideologies.

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha is a vocal Democrat supporter and while he stopped short of outright ordering his soldiers to vote for his party of choice, he made his preference clearly known.

Despite this, army votes for Pheu Thai point to the high number of "watermelons" in the military. This nickname refers to their uniform marking them as green on the outside, but their personal beliefs making them "red" within.

Thai leader accused of using Cambodia temple row for election gain

Abhisit Vejjajiva attempting to rally nationalist sympathy with Preah Vihear temple dispute before Sunday's polls, say analysts

Friday 1 July 2011

Tania Branigan in Srisaket, Thailand

guardian.co.uk

The corrugated roof gleams, the paintwork is bright and pink-flowered curtains float at the windows. Somrith Sanbradap's house was completed just two days ago, but she shows no sign of pleasure in the achievement.

The Thai farmer's last home went up in flames in February, destroyed by Cambodian shelling as a long dispute over Preah Vihear – the 11th-century temple a few kilometres away – flared up again. At least seven people died and thousands fled homes on both sides of the border. Now residents fear another clash is imminent.

"I lost everything … I don't want this to happen again and the way things are going now, watching the news brings back very bad memories," Somrith said tearfully.

This week, the Thai military said Cambodia was moving in reinforcements – a claim denied by Phnom Penh – after Bangkok announced it was leaving the World Heritage Convention over the dispute.

But analysts believe the row is driven by Sunday's general election in Thailand. "In this very critical week for Thai politics, [the temple dispute] has appeared again as a political weapon," said Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun of the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore.

Border troops reinforced - Prayuth warns clashes becoming more likely

28/06/2011
Bangkok Post

Troop build-ups on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border have heightened fears of clashes following Thailand's withdrawal from Unesco's World Heritage Convention.

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had ordered troops stationed along the border to be prepared as the chance of clashes was high.

His comments came after the Second Army reported Cambodia was bringing in more troops to the border yesterday.

Gen Prayuth said he had decided to boost Thailand's troops and reinforce bunkers as a precaution. The moves were purely defensive and not intended to indicate military aggression.

Thailand army accuses Cambodia of reinforcing troops at Surin border

Cambodia reinforces troops at Surin border: Army

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, June 27 (MCOT online news) - Cambodia has reinforced its troops at the border of Surin province following Thailand’s exit from the UN world heritage site body, but the Thai army is on high alert to protect sovereignty, Thailand’s army region 2 spokesman said on Monday.

Col Prawit Hookaew described the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border after Thailand withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention over the weekend as the agency’s secretariat decided to push ahead with consideration of Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple despite the unresolved border dispute.

The spokesman said that the withdrawal will benefit Thailand and any resolution made by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) will not be binding on the kingdom.

Prayuth geared to go to war with Cambodia over Thailand's loss at the WHC?

Army geared up on border

27/06/2011
Bangkok Post

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha praised Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti's decison to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention and said he has ordered soldiers along the Thai-Cambodian border to be prepared.

Gen Prayuth said on Monday the army is overseeing security, monitoring intelligence activities and observing movements along the border in order to protect the country's sovereignty.

More troops and health personnel had been sent to villages near the border area to inform residents about the situation and avet any panic.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Poll

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Red Bull

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Prayuth gives nod to target Pheu Thai [-Thai army is neutral???]

11/06/2011
Bangkok Post

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has given the green light to army officials to launch a war of words with the Pheu Thai Party's politicians who criticise the army's role.

At the same time, he has told high-ranking army officers he is ready to quit if the political pressure upon him becomes too great.

"Don't be worried. If they lambast me too much, pressure me too much, I'll just quit. I've already tried my best to do my job," an army source quoted Gen Prayuth as saying during the army's morning briefing session yesterday.

Gen Prayuth did not elaborate on which particular scenario he was talking about but army officials understood he was referring to the situation after the general election if Pheu Thai wins and becomes the ruling party.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Prayuth Chan-ocha

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

[Thai] Army chief urges Thais not to repeat past choices [-Prayuth trying to change election outcome?]

Thursday, June 16, 2011

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's powerful army chief, who helped oust former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has urged voters not to repeat the outcome of past elections in next month's balloting — an apparent warning against supporting Thaksin's allies.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha delivered his advice Tuesday night in a special broadcast on the country's two army-owned television networks, as polls indicated that pro-Thaksin forces are again headed for victory in the July 3 general elections.

Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespect to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

A sharp split between Thaksin's supporters and opponents has left Thailand in political turmoil since the coup, culminating in street protests in Bangkok last year that deteriorated into violence, leaving 91 people dead and more than 1,800 hurt.

[Thai] Army warns loose talk will hit temple bid

Prayuth: Use of force a last resort

Prawit 'misquoted' on ICJ troop order remark

9/06/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has called on all sides to stop giving their opinions on the Preah Vihear temple issue as it might put the country at a disadvantage.

Gen Prayuth said it was risky to talk about the issue at the moment as the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) proceedings should be allowed to take their course.

"Whatever the outcome, the Foreign Ministry and the government have measures to deal with it. But if we rush to act or say anything, we could be at a disadvantage," he said.

However, Gen Prayuth gave assurances that the army, the Defence Ministry and other security agencies would continue to do the best they could to protect the country's sovereignty.

He said there were political, diplomatic and military measures to solve the problem if the ICJ decided to grant an injunction to Cambodia and order Thai troops to withdraw from the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area surrounding Preah Vihear.

Gen Prayuth said the military measure, or the use of force, would be the last resort as Thailand and Cambodia were still neighbours.

[Thai] Army denies fuel export ban [-Siem Min Choal Khbuon Khoch?]

Tawatchai Samusakhon (L)

Trade show a casualty, Cambodian report says

18/05/2011
Wassana Nanuam and Nopparat Kingkaeo
Bangkok Post

The army has denied imposing a ban on the export of fuel and other strategic products to Cambodia in the wake of media reports that this influenced Phnom Penh's decision to scrap a Thai trade show in the Cambodian capital.

Second Army chief Tawatchai Samutsakhon yesterday said he was stunned by reports of such a ban published on Monday by the Phnom Penh Post and that he had never given such an order when there have been ceasefires between the two countries.

"I've really got a headache with this kind of news," said Lt Gen Tawatchai.

He admitted the army had earlier closed all border checkpoints when Thai and Cambodian troops were exchanging fire at the border in Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin late last month.

[Thai] Army bans fuel exports to Cambodia

10/05/2011
Bangkok Post

The 2nd Army command has ordered a halt to further exports of fuel and other products the Cambodian military may need to support their troops in operations against Thai forces along the disputed border.

The export ban will last until the border situation really returns to normal, according to the 2nd Army order obtained and published by the local media today.

The order is intended for the customs office at the Chong Chom immigration checkpoint in Surin’s Kap Choeng district.

It said the office must request cooperation from traders of oil, natural gas and other products needed by Cambodian troops.