“…a harsher, incumbency coup may be in the offing. It would be a coup staged in the same direction with similar objectives, but with a new leadership and tougher methods and means. Another coup in 2007 would almost certainly delay the already contentious and problematic constitution-drafting and election timetables, and could become a source of street protests, with enabling conditions for Thaksin to make his political comeback…
…Whichever side comes out on top in this grand struggle, Thailand as we know it is coming to an end. A new Thailand will emerge in an arduous and contested process during which its denizens and foreign friends from near and far should lend a helping hand as much as they can for as smooth a transition as possible”.
Excerpted from: Thitinan Pongsudhirak, “Thailand’s Titanic Struggle“, The Irrawaddy, February 2007. The full text of the article is available here.
1 response so far ↓
1 Srithanonchai // Feb 5, 2007 at 2:41 am
“Thailand as we know it is coming to an end. A new Thailand will emerge.” > Isn’t this a journalistic exaggeration? I don’t see any substantial structural changes that would justify such an assessment. If anything, the changes since 1958 have truly fundamentally transformed Thailand “as we knew it” (well, not me, since I wasn’t around at that time). Any changes in the near future will be veryl small compared with that transformation, I guess.
Leave a Comment
Please note: New Mandala encourages vigorous debate. However, for the moment we will only be publishing high-quality comments that make original contributions to discussion. There will, of course, still be space for pithy, humorous, eccentric and cheeky input. Short and sweet will usually trump long and involved. Repetitive ranting, unimaginative point-scoring and idle abuse will not be entertained. Comments which carry a real name are also more likely to be approved. Thank you for your ongoing interest and contributions.