US Secretary of State John Kerry told AFP at the time: “A democracy is not defined solely by an election. You can have a democratically elected government, but you don’t have democratically instituted reforms that actually give you a democracy.”
He did not mention Thailand at the time so maybe now he thinks that our democratically elected government was, indeed, up to his standards and did not warrant a coup.
In any event, military juntas do not command respect. Thais react to shame and shame is what it is.
Frank Lombard
Bangkok