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| Prime Minister Surayud (l.), and General Sondhi (r.), are pushing for a law that would expand the military's power. Sukree Sukplang/Reuters |
Thai generals' security bill a power play before vote
A year after their coup and ahead of a December election, the military pushes for expanded powers.
By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the September 19, 2007 edition
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Bangkok, Thailand - One year after seizing power in a bloodless coup, Thailand's military rulers appear to be paving the way for a return to an elected civilian government. Elections have been promised for Dec. 23 under a new constitution approved last month in a national referendum.
But the power-sharing arrangements in that charter, coupled with a controversial new security act, suggest that the generals aren't ready to return to the barracks. Instead, say political analysts, foreign diplomats, and human rights advocates, Army commanders are determined to stick around to prevent a political comeback by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is living in London.
This tactic could backfire, though, if the junta overplays its hand in shaping the post-election scenario. Politicians are itching to get back to work and take control of an economy that is listing after a series of policy missteps. Any efforts to cling to power, such as a draconian security law or postponing elections, could undo the military's claim to be a stable force that is leading Thailand out of its crisis.
"If the performance of the military in the last year is anything to go by, it's not up to the job of managing Thailand. The more active they are, the worse they look," says Michael Montesano, assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.
Among other measures, the proposed security bill empowers the Army commander to detain suspects, ban meetings, freeze assets, and search homes. State agencies would come under Army control during an emergency, and officials would be immune to prosecutions for any human rights abuses committed during this period. Many clauses are similar to a 2005 emergency decree imposed in southern Thailand to curb a separatist insurgency there.
"The Army is in a quandary ... because it needs legal channels and constitutional channels to maintain control after the election," says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Thailand's new constitution permits the military and other unelected officials to check the powers of elected representatives via the appointment of half of the Senate and other independent bodies. It also requires the government to provide adequate military weapons and equipment in order "to protect and maintain national independence."
But politicians have already vowed to amend the charter after the election and tinker with its restrictive clauses. And former lawmakers from Thai Rak Thai – who were banned from holding public office for five years when their party, which was funded and founded by Mr. Thaksin, was dissolved by court order in May – want their proxies to overturn the dissolution decision.
