Thailand's junta shows its (heavy) hand

BANGKOK - Thailand's military coup last week nominally aimed to break the country's grinding political deadlock and usher in a new era of democracy and political reform. But the new ruling junta's handling of the transition from democratic to military rule is raising hard new questions about the country's political direction.

The military-run Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) has vowed to promulgate an interim constitution this week, hand power to a civilian-led administration of its own choosing next week, and restore full democracy through new parliamentary elections within one year.

At the same time, the junta has moved to consolidate its political power with a surprisingly heavy hand, which, if sustained under its civilian-led incarnation, threatens to erode the general goodwill the royally endorsed coup has so far received and could put the country's conservative and progressive forces on a new collision course.

The junta's anti-democratic tendencies are already raising the hackles of sections of Bangkok's intelligentsia, which favored premier Thaksin Shinawatra's removal through legal channels rather than military ones, and is peeved that at least the first phases of the CDRM's promised political-reform program have led to less democracy, not more.

... That Thaksin was so close to consolidating his power inside the military, the palace's final bulwark against a challenge to its authority, from the coupmakers' perspective, is obviously still cause for alarm. Contentious negotiations avoided a confrontation between pro-palace and pro-Thaksin military factions on the night of the coup, but it's still unclear whether military officers loyal to Thaksin will stand by idly as their power is neutralized by CDRM-led demotions.

The article does not mention the religeous component here.

Many posters are unfamiliar with the religious component here in Thailand. Thailand is, in fact, 100% Buddhist. There is no real Muslim population in Thailand proper. 100 years ago Thailand seized a very small area to the south that is ethnic Malay (as in Malaysia, same people same language, further to the south) and was 100% Muslim (now it's like 20% Buddhist).

Thailand imposed its language on the region, but other than that, has simply owned the real estate for 100 years. There are numerous groups behind the killings, and they have numerous reasons for acting (religious, criminal, ethnic, Islamist).

In fact, if Thailand wants to hold the area, then that's what will happen. Thailand's power dwarfs anything that might actually be brought up against it in that region. As a result, the ENTIRE separatist problem is restricted to the south. The north (as in 95% of the country) is 100% Buddhist.

Therefore a Muslim general being behind the coup means that he has been ACCEPTED by the Buddhist Thais, not that he is somehow dominating them. Imagine yourself being in a minority of one, surrounded by people who are 100% united. Then imagine that you are "taking over" their culture. Isn't that kind of funny? How could you, by yourself, dominate so many people who are so different from you and united as well?

Well that's the case here. The WHOLE population in the powerful part of the country (like 95% of it), are Buddhists and Thais. So there is 0% chance that anything religious will happen here, and a -0% chance that Muslims will be pushing anyone around in Thailand. That is mathematically impossible. This is pure politics, and if people understand how the populations are dispersed then maybe they can understand more clearly that this it is all about politics.

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