Junta deserves top marks for land reform

There is a parallel in the Philippines, where Ferdinand Marcos also had the power to pass legislation by executive order – the notorious “clause six” of his military-style Constitution. When he fled into exile in 1986, his presidential successor Corazon Aquino temporarily inherited all Marcos’ powers and was pressurised by her supporters to undertake modest land redistribution. She refused to do so because her family was, and still is, part of the Philippines’ landed aristocracy. Full marks to the Thai junta for once.