A last-resort check on those in power

Somsak Pola was disappointed that I spoke in favour of coups. I owe him an explanation.
Many times coups were welcomed to change what was intolerable and a stopgap premier like Anand Panyarachun is ideal. In the US, they don’t need a coup to unseat a president. Their democracy has been well entrenched since 1787, while ours has still been in a testing stage since 1932. Any US president can be “sacked” through the democratic process without having to resort to impeachment. Nixon was “sacked” by public opinion for intolerable conduct because the pressure was so great that the Senate would have sacked him anyway if he didn’t resign.
Coups in Thailand have now become a last-resort check on those in power and a means to make them accountable. It is a temporary relief when the country’s rule of law is trampled upon and ridiculed by the majority. In my humble view, the thought of introducing an amnesty law exonerating any criminal who has not served his jail term is intolerable for the good order of our democratic and judiciary process.
Songdej Praditsmanont
Bangkok