Who benefited from the coup?
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Somebody is guilty of something.
In looking for the guilty party the first line of thought is “Who benefited from the crime?”
Was the 2006 coup a crime? If so, General Sonthi should be held to account.
If the coup was “justified” then General Sonthi must know why he did it and speak up about it now, so that he can be exonerated, and the crimes of the regime under pre-2006 rules can be considered.
The military regime set up new courts to try cases, which will now be trashed and the verdicts annulled. That rings a bell with the 2001 assets trial where four judges ruled in favour of Thaksin because he was being tried on the wrong court.
Who stands to benefit from the coup? Both the gamekeeper and the poacher by the look of it. The old regime looks set to get a whitewash administered by coup leader. What a convenient result for both parties.
Richard Bowler
Bangkok
