Take your pick of dictators
Recent weeks have seen an increase in attacks on PM Prayut in newspaper Letters columns and Opinion pages. It seems like Robert Amsterdam has finally hit the big time in Thailand.
Despite reports that he is no longer representing former PM Thaksin, the Washington lawyer never loses an opportunity to join others in bashing Prayut and his staff.
Notably, these very same people stayed silent when political rallies came under grenade attack last year and the attackers went free while Yingluck Shinawatra was leader. It is only now, as Prayut starts to haul in the grenade throwers, that they are stepping forward.
One journalist responded to the recent arrest of a suspected grenade-thrower by insinuating that Prayut had used it as an excuse to tighten his grip on power, and she spread more poison by hinting who was “really” behind the attack. Her credibility was ruined when authorities traced not only the purchase of the grenade but probably also the mastermind and financier of the attack.
Too many people are creating obstacles, without coming with any realistic alternatives. Instead they are spewing destructive and defaming criticism that makes them look like paid Shinawatra apologists.
Yes, Prayut might be a dictator. But he is a dictator in a transitional regime that will be leaving soon. In contrast, Thaksin was a self-enriching, tax-avoiding dictator set to last forever, as long as nobody else could outmanoeuvre him in terms of capacity for purchasing votes. So which is the best option for a democratic future?
Worried Farang
