Bangkok Post: : Thailand's Millionaire Generals

(BangkokPost.com) - Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, his two wives and an underage daughter have assets of more than 94 million baht, according to National Counter Corruption Commission.

Gen Sonthi, former army chief and former chairman of Council for National Security, has assets of 38.79 million baht while his first wife Sukalaya has assets of 14.04 million baht. His second wife Piyada has assets of 42.07 million baht.

Their daughter Sasipa has assets of more than 300,000 baht.

Gen Sonthi declared the assets when he took the position of deputy prime minister on Oct 5.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont also declared his assets when he took the interior minister post on the same day.

According to the NCCC, Gen Surayud has assets of 24 million baht, which is 1.2 million baht lower than the time he declared his assets when he took the office shortly after the Sept 19 coup.

His wife Thanpuying Chitravadee has assets of 67 million baht, which is 1.9 million baht higher than last year.

Both the premier and wife have assets of more than 91 million baht.


Oh, Thailand's millionaire generals.

Fascinating how the generals of Thailand, a middle income country with a small defense budget($3-$4 billion), make more money than US generals, who are responsible for a 2 million plus man force and have an annual defense budget of $400 billion.

According to CNN, a US general who has been active for over 26 years makes roughly $156,000 a year. This info is a bit dated, so it is probably around $165,000.

Now, I am curious, why is it that the Bangkok Post and The Nation are afraid of posting the pay scale for Thai military officers?

Why is the Bangkok Post and The Nation afraid to do an analysis of their assets?

Some may say that Surayud and Sonthi have very productive wives, who bring home the bacon.

Well, Surayud's wife is an army officer, so she doesn't make any money from legitimate sources. Interesting that she lower in rank than Surayud, but has almost triple the assets.

The Nation: The Plot Against PPP and Surayud's Confirmation (Bangkok Post)

PPP exposes the junta's propaganda warfare

The Nation

The two documents, claimed by the People Power Party as aiming at its destruction, are actually the junta's action plan to disseminate information during the leadup to the December 23 general election.

The party released the documents on Wednesday via the Website, HiThaksin.net.

The documents comprise two parts - the classified report prepared by the Army Operations Department in its capacity as an ad hoc unit in the Council for National Security and the attached work schedule for information dissemination.

The action plan has been put into action since September 14 when Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratglin was the junta chief. He resigned his office on September 30 to join the interim government.

The plan for information dissemination has two major goals - foster national unity and discredit the opposition forces against the junta and the interim government.

On the discredit of the opposition forces, the junta plans to achieve five targets:

1. Prevent the middle class from leaning toward the opposition.

2. Expose the flaws of populist policies to grassroots people.

3. Deter and discourage grassroots people from rallying in Bangkok.

4. Circumvent opposition activities.

5. Deter civil servants from supporting the opposition.

For information dissemination between September and the general election, the junta will strive for the following five objectives:

1. Inform the middle class about the facts relating to various political parties and their activities.

2. Point out the similarities between policies of disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party and those of People Power Party.

3. Encourage grassroots people to see the harms if ousted politicians were to return to power.

4. Warn about the repeat of corruption and illegitimacy should the People Power Party were to grab power.

5. Build up the public sentiment to oppose the return of the ousted leaders via the People Power Party.

In discrediting the People Power Party, the junta has assigned all military units under its jurisdiction and military controlled media outlets, including Channel 5.

Update: Surayud confirms Samak documents


Bangkok Post


Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Wednesday classified documents uncovered by People Power party (PPP) leader Samak Sundaravej outlining a military plot to prevent his party from winning the December general election are authentic.

Gen Surayud said the documents were details of a report detailing the one-year achievements of the Council for National Security (CNS).

The prime minister added that the documents contain no information that proves the CNS planned to use violence to destroy the PPP or the old power clique.

He also said that it is the job of the CNS to investigate the matter and explain the truth to the public.

Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratkalin also said he would rather leave it to the army to explain about documents - even though he was army chief and head of the CNS from its inception until last Sept 28.

Mr Samak said on Tuesday he had obtained two classified documents "of a state agency" containing plans to prevent him and his party from winning the Dec 23 election and rising to power. He said the documents were reports prepared by a high ranking military officer to a state agency. He did not name the agency but implied it was the Council for National Security (CNS),

Gen Sonthi said he had not seen the original documents. He said he will ask the army to handle the documents and leave it to explain to the public.

Asked whether he will order an investigation into this matter, the deputy prime minister said the army issues a lot of orders as a matter of course, in its work concerning national security.

Army chief-of-staff Gen Montri Chompoochan denied knowing anything about the documents, saying soldiers do not interfere in politics.

Somchai Juengprasert, an election commissioner for investigation, said he will ask for copies of the documents from Mr Samak for examination.


There seems to be an obvious discrepancy concerning what the documents reveal and Surayud and Sonthi's defense of them.

These generals want to wash their hands of this scandal, yet one is Interior Minister and the other Deputy PM for National security. Regardless if these documents were produced during the last days of Sonthi's tenure as junta chief, he is responsible for its actions. And Surayud is culpable considering he has taken responsibility for making sure the next election is free and fair as the Interior Minister. His, "well, we didn't plan on using violence to squash PPP" excuse just doesn't cut it.

And General Montri comes off as a fool and liar with his denial.


Here is the document via Hi-Thaksin.net

Here is Bangkok Pundit on the story.

Prachatai on the story. By the way, I think something is wrong with the Thai version of Prachatai, because I am unable to load it. I don't know if it is a technical problem or it has been cut off. I got this link off the Google cache.

Surayud vs. Sonthi on Burma

General Sonthi via New Mandala on the Burmese situation:

Regarding the dispersal of demonstrations, the Burmese government did not use military force. Police was deployed. That was the right approach. It has been used by every country—that the military must step back to let police take charge. But the actual tactics may vary from country to country. However, I think there is no violence in the current situation. Everything is under control. The Burmese government is still in control of the situation. On the reports that Buddhist monks were assaulted [during the dispersal of demonstrations], that cannot be concluded just from looking at the photos. As it happened in Thailand, sometimes people used violence against officials. So officials may have to defend themselves. There has been no political suppression. Burmese authorities should understand that it—getting Buddhist monks involved in the demonstrations—is a tactic used by demonstrators. So Burmese authorities understand that they cannot use violence against Buddhist monks. They must use soft approach. I was informed that Burma uses dialogue to solve the problem, and senior Buddhist monks have helped negotiate to end the problem. I do not think Burma will care [about international pressure], because it does not really depend on anyone. Burma has been taking care of itself all along. It does not accept interference from outside. Moreover, there are many countries that have discretely helped protect Burma—such as China and Korea. That is because Burma has plenty natural resources that many major powers want to have their hand on. We are neighbor [of Burma]. If we get involved, that will undermine our relationship.


Bangkok Post's Editorial on General Sonthi's analysis of the Burmese situation:

Gen Sonthi is in grave error

Recent comments by Council for National Security chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin condoning the violent suppression of largely peaceful demonstrations across Burma are despicable, and the outgoing army chief should be held accountable for his seriously irresponsible remarks.

Continued

Thai PM Surayud in Hospital for 3 Days, Gov't Issues Soviet Style Announcement Concerning his Return

Premier enters hospital as resignation rumours swirl

By BangkokPost.com

Amidst unsubstantiated rumours that he was considering stepping down within a month, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has suddenly checked into a hospital for a few days.The premier was admitted to the Bangkok General Hospital on Monday and was planning to stay for a while in order to receive a thorough medical check-up.

Khunying Chitravadee Chulanont, the premier's wife, told reporters that there was nothing about Gen Surayud's health to be worried about, and that the visit to the hospital was "a normal check-up."

There was no warning to the public that Gen Surayud intended to go to the hospital. When asked if the premier would stay at the Bangkok Hospital overnight on Monday, his wife replied, "Yes."

The reports on the planned resignation of the premier intensified after he cancelled his official duties for Monday, including an opening of a seminar on "Prevailing Justice and Public Participation", meeting of a team of senior executives from Macao, and an exclusive interview with political and military news editors of TV Channel 7.

Doctors at the hospital held a press conference on Monday afternoon, saying that Gen Surayud would be able to go back to work on Thursday - the beginning of a five-day Songkran (Thai New Year) long weekend.

They said his condition was normal and that they would spend two to three days to do a thorough check-up on him.

On Monday morning, the official government spokesman said Gen Surayud would visit the South this week, following the Tuesday cabinet meeting. His statement indicated that the spokesman was taken by surprise by the hospital announcement.

Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said he had no comment on the rumours that Gen Surayud intended to step down. But he said the premier was under heavy political pressure.

Continued

International Herald Tribune with the same story here


This is an interesting development. I could sense that there was a lot of plotting going on while Surayud was in Japan.

The CNS and Surayud government are probably negotiating on a face saving exit strategy right now.

What can Surayud do? He has no power. If Prem and the king don't back him, he is gone.

Surayud's Speech in Japan: Analyzing the lies and distortions

Lie and Distortion 1

"Prior to the peaceful military intervention on 19 September last year, most independent political analysts would have said that Thailand was the most democratically developed country in ASEAN or Southeast Asia. Over the next few minutes I will explain why I believe that by the end of this year, following free and fair elections, Thailand will again emerge with enhanced democratic credentials and with stronger institutional foundations capable of delivering a better, more sustainable future for the majority of its citizens. But first a little historical perspective will be useful."


I think that it is disputable that Thailand was the most democratic country in Southeast Asia.
The neighborhood is not a good one, but I don't think Thailand was the best neighbor on the block. I seriously doubt that Thailand will be better off, at least constitutionally, than it was before the coup. So far, it looks like a lot of democratic rights will be stripped from the new charter.


Lie and Distortion 2

Such a rapid rate of change would test the cohesiveness of any society. But Thailand has been remarkably fortunate in that it has deep cultural roots, never violated by colonization. It has existed as a sovereign nation for some 800 years, and for the last 60 years it has had the same remarkable monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is the world's current longest-reigning monarch.


Thailand was violated by colonization; it just wasn't directly colonized. Sovereign nation for 800 years? It was destroyed by the Burmese twice, and it was an unwilling ally of Japan during World War Two. Also, parts of the North and South were not always part of a Thai kingdom.

Lie and Distortion 3

"In terms of Thailand's modern democratic development, two watershed moments stand out - October, 1973 and May, 1992. Both times the Kingdom emerged with strengthened democratic credentials, although we did not follow traditional democratic norms."


Whatever democratic progress was made in '73, it was destroyed in '76. Whatever progress was made in 1992, it was destroyed in the recent coup.

Lie and Distortion 4

In a nutshell, the triggers for the military's intervention were the unprecedented consolidation of political and financial power by Mr. Thaksin during his five years as prime minister, his alleged abuse of state power, widespread corruption, curtailment of media freedom and a disastrous human rights record.

Everything that he accuses Thaksin of, he is guilty of. The coup was an abuse of state power. Corruption has gotten worse under his regime. He has censored websites, TV channels, and PTV. The jury is still out on human rights, but preventing people from peacefully protesting is a violation of human rights in my book.

Lie and Distortion 5

For the first nine months of last year Thailand was without an effective government. A general election was boycotted by the opposition, and later ruled invalid by the courts. Bangkok witnessed almost daily demonstrations against Mr. Thaksin. The system of checks and balances had been subverted and we seemed to have exhausted all constitutional means to end the political impasse.

This is a lie. Not all of the constitutional mechanisms were adopted. An election was scheduled right before the coup.

Lie and Distortion 6

But in addition, we are establishing institutions for on-going political reform and democratic development. They will better equip our citizens with an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and provide them with the information and analysis that they need to make more informed choices.

What institutions? More crony capitalism? More worthless committees? What kind of democratic education policies has this administration pursued? I haven't heard of one yet.


Lie and Distortion 7

The second theme - the restoration of national unity - relates to healing the political divide and bringing reconciliation and justice to our three deep South provinces which account for some 2.5 percent of Thailand's population


There is more violence in the South now than under Thaksin in the past.

Lie and Distortion 8

Our fourth major reform theme is strengthening the rule of law where we are making careful but solid progress.

In a recent interview in Time magazine, Mr. Thaksin told the world that "corruption in Thailand won't go away, it's in the system". If I thought that was true I wouldn't be here today. Without the rule of law nothing else matters. There can be no justice, no equality and certainly no democracy.

Rule of law? Yeah, right. In Thailand, there is no rule of law and corruption has gotten worse. The coup itself is a major breach of the rule of law, and being a military installed prime minister, he is not in the best position to make such pronouncements.


Lie and Distortion 9

My Interim Government has been criticized for the slow progress being made into the allegations of corruption and abuse of state power by members of the previous government. Some people have urged the use of executive power to short circuit the judicial process. But if we adopt that approach, how will the rule of law ever be strengthened?

Concrete results are being produced from the investigations and I will continue to place my confidence in the integrity of our judicial system. At the same time, we are working hard to overhaul this system as it relates to transparency and good governance in the public sector, and embarking on the most radical reform of the police for many decades.

What concrete results? Tax evasion from over ten years ago? The criminal justice system is just as corrupt and as worthless as during the Thaksin years. What police reform? Chasing young girls on motorbikes and chopping off their arms? More efficiency in collecting bribes? Catching and then letting go numerous suspects responsible for the New Year's bombings?


Lie and Distortion 10

But such concerns do not impact on the market mechanism, nor do they influence the openness of the Thai economy. In fact, the "sufficiency economy philosophy" is a Thai model for sustainability, the importance of which is only now becoming recognized around the world.

As an early adopter of a sustainable approach to development, Thailand should, I believe, be praised for it is a path down which every country will have to travel sooner rather than later.

Surayud and his worthless cabinet have bungled economic policy in every way imaginable the last six months. And, on top of that, they haven't instituted one policy that could be considered related to sufficiency economics or sustainable development.

Extracts from Surayud's speech came from a transcript at The Nation.

General Surayud: Lectures On Wealth Inequality While Living A Life Of Luxury For A Public Servant

PM urges action on inequality

Unfair distribution of wealth is main enemy

ANUCHA CHAROENPO & WASSANA NANUAM

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday identified an unequal distribution of wealth as the main enemy the government and its successor must tackle to bring about national unity. Some critics feel the departure of M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula from the cabinet has rocked public confidence in the five-month-old government, but the prime minister pointed instead to the unfair distribution of income as a problem he was encountering.

''If we have a political crisis in our country today, this is it,'' he said in his speech entitled Think for Thailand delivered at a Thai Journalists Association (TJA) forum.

''This is the great challenge we all face today. No government can avoid addressing, in very concrete terms, the great income inequality that has afflicted our nation,'' he said. ''Our brothers and sisters who constitute the rural majority will not accept, I believe, being ignored anymore.'

Continued


What do we know about General Surayud's own wealth?

He is a multi-millionaire.

He has expensive hobbies.

He has expensive tastes.

He lives in one of the most exclusive housing estates in Bangkok.

He sends his children to study at expensive private schools in the US that even most Americans can't afford.

Also, I wonder if he has servants and minor officers, those poor people he loves so much, come crawling on their hands and feet when serving him at home and at the office.