The Hindu : International : Sonthi promises "real democracy"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007
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Sonthi promises "real democracy"

P. S. Suryanarayana

Thailand coup leader silent on holding elections

SINGAPORE: Thailand's military ruler, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, on Tuesday pledged to introduce "real democracy." He did not, however, unveil any roadmap for that. Nor did he set a firm date for the elections that he promised to hold in about a year from the date of his coup.

At a media event in Bangkok to mark the completion of six months of his rule, Gen. Sonthi, Chairman of the junta known as the Council for National Security (CNS), said the deposed Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, had only inflicted "dictatorial capitalism" on the country. At the time Mr. Thaksin was toppled in the coup, he was accused of being corrupt and also indifferent to the national interest.

Gen. Sonthi said the delay in bringing charges against Mr. Thaksin for prosecution was caused by the care that the CNS was taking to ensure a "fair" process by following the relevant laws.

The former Prime Minister, in self-imposed exile since his ouster when he had gone to the United Nations to address the General Assembly, has said several times that he would not return to politics in Thailand.

Gen. Sonthi, who toured the violence-hit southern provinces of Thailand in the past few days, did not outline any new strategy to deal with the growing crisis there. Armed Muslim activists in those provinces have been seeking independence from the majority-Buddhist Thailand. Being himself a Muslim, Gen. Sonthi had, after the coup, raised hopes of a fresh approach to bring the alienated population of those provinces back to the national mainstream. Observers have noted that the most recent wave of violence seemed designed to cause an inter-communal flare-up.

Malaysia, which has ethnic links with the southern provinces of Thailand, had recently offered to mediate to end the crisis there. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is scheduled to visit Thailand later this week to discuss this issue as a priority.

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