Junta’s legacy hinges on applying the law equally

Junta’s legacy hinges on applying the law equally

It is easy to imagine a coup d’etat being a terrible bloody affair in countries without a history of coups because the populace would panic, over-react, or misread the signals. But in Thailand there is, oddly enough, a sense of continuity with the interplay of familiar archetypes in such abrupt political change.

Thailand’s coup-inured populace recognises the signals; the shutdown of TV, the sight of rifle-toting soldiers, the sand-bagged intersections, the predictable martial music. It’s a time to re-organise and retreat, a time to watch and wait. It’s like a periodic holiday in which the impossible traffic slows momentarily and the frenetic pace of hard work and hedonistic play comes to an almost-welcome halt, like a mandatory timeout in an exhausting game, or less brightly, a mandatory period of mourning.

As such, the step-up in security and martial order is a time to reflect on all victims of random attacks and bitter partisan violence that has plagued the country for months. If the violence stops, the dark silent thunder of the coup may show a silver lining after all.

It’s a time to reflect on the nature of imperfect governance and the pitfalls of outsized desire and greed, a time to reflect on basic Buddhist wisdom and the nonpartisan karmic wheel of human folly.

It’s a time to talk, to think, to ponder; a time for temperate debate and constructive dialogue. All parties in the political impasse, the military no less than others, need to employ restraint, caution and consideration of how their actions redound on brother and sister citizens and foreign guests alike.

It would be a pity if the coup dislocates without resetting, without the necessary follow-up of reform and redress for past injustice.

With the formal declaration of a coup by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, the repercussions of making mistakes will be high. With great power comes great responsibility. It is hoped that the military will rise to the occasion to bring together good minds to institute much-needed reform that will lead to a peaceful and promising return to civilian governance.

The tendency for power to beget a thirst for more power is as universal and uncannily human as the tendency for the accumulation of wealth to beget greed; it is the uncommon soldier who can risk all in a coup and then voluntarily cede power to others. But the interesting case of Gen Surayud Chulanont, who served as prime minister after the bloodless coup of Sept 19, 2006, suggests that self-restraint and humility do not suffice in the volatile vacuum created in the aftermath of a coup.

The task facing a conscientious coup-maker is as thankless as it is difficult. The new power-holder needs to redress accumulated injustice, and be as fair as possible with rivals and allies alike; transformative change is called for. The risk otherwise being that the same old actors with the same old addictions to power and material greed will again rise to the fore.

Corruption means different things to different people, but it is commonly viewed through the bifocals of a double standard; the tendency is to look the other way if close friends and allies engage in it, while chastising distant enemies and rivals for the same.

What is important is equal application of the law, with no one lording over anyone else. Non-violence should be the guiding principle, with universally acknowledged legal protections for those accused of corruption. A fair, thorough-going overhaul is called for.

For better or worse, the reset button has been hit and a rebooting of the operating system must follow. The bugs, glitches and malware that infected and vexed the state apparatus would be best identified, boxed off and isolated so as not to infect the system over and over again.


Philip J Cunningham is a media researcher covering Asian politics.

Philip J Cunningham

Media researcher

Philip J Cunningham is a media researcher covering Asian politics. He is the author of Tiananmen Moon.

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