No comments needed
Some time ago I submitted a letter calling for the cessation of letters from foreign expatriates regarding the Thai government. I speculated that it was upsetting Thai readers. As it turns out, I was right, because the government has on its own done a ban
First, after last year’s coup – and as has happened after every coup I have witnessed in Thailand – taxes were raised on liquor and cigarettes. Next, approval was given to the construction of a high-speed railway, this in a country where the vast majority of roads are two-lane highways. Then, with almost as much gusto, the charter-drafting committee scuttled any chance of Thailand’s electoral procedures being changed other than adding details to improve the position of the current powers-that-be. It had to do this because most affluent citizens believe their fellow citizens are ignorant and uneducated and incapable of voting correctly. It is absolutely imperative that there are ample “appointees” to keep the power structure in place.
The Navy then sought approval to purchase three submarines while, almost at the same time, government officials began suggesting that the hospitalisation plan was costing too much. There are now moves to create a panel to dislodge governments deemed unacceptable – in other words, a legal coup system. What is really insulting is that the junta honestly believes the international community will not see through this ploy. I repeat: I believe I did the right thing by suggesting we do not comment on the Thai governmental system. Thai governments, all of them for the past five decades, have been held in awe by the remainder of the world without our comments.
John Arnone
