(Thai) Government must be held to democratic aims
Surayud and the CNS must restore calm and rebuild credibility in order to return the country to democracy
The Surayud administration and its military guardian, the Council for National Security (CNS), have solemnly promised to restore full democracy under constitutional monarchy after a new constitution is drawn up and promulgated so that a civilian government - elected through a free and fair election - can take over from the interim government. The government and the military junta, which now wield absolute power unrestrained by any system of checks and balances, want the public to believe that they will do their utmost to implement needed reforms and rid politics of corruption before returning sovereign power to the people. That is to say, they have taken it upon themselves to carry out these difficult tasks and then make a graceful exit so that Thailand, as a democratic society, will be able to determine its own destiny.
That was the pledge made by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and the CNS, led by coup-maker Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, and many Thai people are prepared to take them at their word that they have nothing but the best interests of the country at heart. Since it was installed in power in the aftermath of the September 19 coup, the Surayud government has been given a passing grade in its attempts to clean up the mess left behind by the corruption-prone Thaksin regime, but has been roundly panned for its erratic economic management. However, members of the military junta have yet to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are not seeking personal gain from the absolute power they now hold, or that they do not intend to retain indirect control of the next democratically elected government.
To many, including this newspaper, the power-sharing arrangement between the CNS and the Surayud government has been a cause for concern from the very beginning. Under the current scheme of things, military leaders who overthrew the Thaksin government have the power to appoint and dismiss the interim government. The military junta does not submit to the authority of the Surayud administration, citing its self-appointed duties to protect the country and the government against "ill-intentioned elements connected to the ousted regime", and to oversee the creation of a constitution drafting assembly to draw up a new constitution.
The CNS has failed miserably to live up to the public's expectations in both of these respects. The series of bombing attacks in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, which killed three and injured scores of other people, including foreign tourists, was a big blow to the credibility of the military junta. It also suggested that the political crisis in Thailand is not only far from over, but that it also has the potential to take a turn for the worse.
The CNS's handling of the process used to select members for the constitution drafting assembly left a lot to be desired in terms of transparency. As such, it has given rise to speculation about a possible "hidden agenda" to manipulate the process to enable the military junta to extend its mandate beyond the one-year timeframe.
The military has denied that it has made any attempt to meddle with the drafting of the constitution. However, the broaching of a proposal by some constitution drafters - including those who have been newly appointed - to include a provision to allow a "non-elected MP" to serve as prime minister is causing unease among democracy-loving people.
Even more disturbing are the rumours that have grown louder in recent days concerning CNS infighting over how to divide up the spoils, which could lead to a possible counter-coup by some disaffected military factions against the Surayud government and the junta. Amid what looks increasingly like a dangerous political game with high stakes, members of the Thai public must remain vigilant and make their voices heard to ensure that nothing but full, unfettered democracy is acceptable.
And it must be made clear that it is the job of the Surayud government and the junta to restore a sense of calm and normalcy so that democracy, once restored, can thrive and take root. In other words, the interim government and the military are supposed to work themselves out of their current jobs - not create a dependency, real or imagined, on the "indispensable" role of the military in politics.
