Thai military resists political pressure – atimes.com, October 13, 2012
[Thanks to Tom for pointing this out.]
…The Angel Descendent group clearly hoped that Peua Thai’s electoral victory in 2011 would translate into more promotions and key assignments for its members. While this has not transpired, Prayuth’s balanced handling of key promotions and assignments at this year’s reshuffle likely helped to defuse tensions. It has also reportedly earned him a new measure of respect from the Angel Descendants, despite Prayuth’s personal background as an Eastern Tiger. This will have left little opening for Thaksin and Peua Thai politicians to exploit the rivalry and play divide-and-rule politics inside the armed forces….
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more anti-democratic crap in Thailand….
in Australia and any actual democracy the military (and monarchy!) are firmly and exclusively under ELECTED civilian rule,
all this crap about being free of political rule is typical ye olde feudal rule by elites stuff
It helps to entertain the notion that Thailand may never be capable of being anything other than a kleptocracy. It isn’t at all necessary for us outsiders to believe/trust/invest in ANY current Thai politician, if we wish to achieve something concrete for the vast majority. When I see politically-active people supporting Thaksin, I always ask myself what they personally stand to gain from him. It’s either that or they enjoy the cut and thrust of political gamesmanship so much that they have lost sight of the fact that it has yet to deliver much than increasing household debt for most citizens. The elite continues to believe in the sort of top-down charity that continually demands subservience. Try asserting yourself around any Thaksinite if you really want to test their democratic credentials. Their answer will always be exactly the same bullet in the back that the local elite has always delivered to those who they think are trying to overreach their humble status. Nothing has really changed. Thaksin never was and never will be a game-changer.