Who is the beneficiary of the coup?

Motive and the question of who benefits are major factors in any crime. The unsolved crime in 2006 had as its perpetrator Sonthi Boonyaratglin, but he was not the beneficiary. He alleges that someone gave him the incentive to commit the crime. He refuses to name this person. Since Sonthi was never charged with anything, we can assume that the military and the retired generals were happy with the outcome.

The alleged crimes for which Thaksin was deposed never came to court. One fly in the ointment was the land-scandal trial, but even that has worked to his benefit, being billed more as a clerical error than a real crime. On the other hand, apart from his having to live abroad, there has been no consequence.

Now we have the phone-snip saga, a conversation allegedly between Thaksin and a senior retired general. There is a clear reference by the “general” to “my prime minister”. If Thaksin has that much influence on the military now, how much did he have at the time of the coup? And Thaksin’s influence with the police is a “given”.

The phone clip refers to amnesty for Thaksin. Sonthi has been a leading light in the reconciliation debate. This “general” and others would have been senior to Sonthi in the Army hierarchy. If Sonthi wants reconciliation, he should now come clean about the coup.

Richard Bowler

Bangkok