Headlines like “(Ousted former Prime Minister) Thaksin Shinawatra slams junta over ‘victimisation’” and “Govt mulls state of emergency” aren’t exactly what I was expecting to see this morning as I pumped quarts of life-sustaining coffee into my jet-lagged body.
Apparently, that’s how out of touch we’ve been with the Thais since their military overthrew Thaksin in September. From the perspective of U.S. media, it was a simple affair: the military junta waited until unsuspecting old Thaksin took off to represent the kingdom at the United Nations, and rolled in with a few tanks to seize control bloodlessly over a few days’ time. Game over.
Au contraire,
says the (seemingly) anti-Thaksin Nation. More than 10,000 people, mostly supporters, showed up at a public video conference last night to hear what Thaksin had to say from his exile in London. Today, they’re all planning a big protest - something the papers seem to indicate isn’t a rare occurrence - and the sitting Thai government is talking state of emergency.Lesson learned: CNN doesn’t have all the answers, and English-language expatriate newspapers are printed worldwide. I’m going to start reading more of them, and so should you.
But back to coups d’etat and states of emergency. Despite the grandstanding, nothing seems out of whack at all from a sidestreet youth hostel near the center of the city. Granted, threats of martial law are enough to get the old blood pumping again if you’ve just stepped off of a 27-hour pan-Pacific air odyssey, but what I’ve seen so far is nothing short of replete calm and smiling faces
Life is going on, junta or not, and no one seems especially worried. The airport was still filled to the brim with backpackers and package tourists, soldiers are still wearing the look of ambivalence that you see on any soldier whose only job is to stand watch, and I can still walk down the street and buy close to anything from the vendors who line Sikhumvit Soi 38 in Bangkok almost 24 hours a day.
Closing thoughts:
- “Jet lag” is way overrated. As an international studies major whose focus is Latin America, I’ve never had the acute pleasure of jet lag as I’ve never flown long east-west journeys. From what I’d read, I was expecting something that could at least rival a mild hangover. In a certain way, it’s disappointing.
- I speak almost no Thai, a fact that I’d conveniently forgotten until landing yesterday. By “almost no” Thai, I mean that I can say “hello” and “three” (but no other numbers). This is disconcerting. The goal for the day is to learn “yes,” “no,” and the numbers 1-2 and 4-10.
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Chuck - Sounds like you are off to a productive and interesting trip.
Thaksin is a very disliked character and many of the corruption allegations are, in my opinion, valid. Worse, many of his machinations had little to do with corruption in the financial sense, but more to do with the way in which he was consolidating power that was undermining the nation’s fragile democracy. One of the most blatant manifestations of his rule without law was a bloody crackdown on drug dealers he initiated years ago that basically amounted to street-style assassinations. I don’t think anyone really approves - in theory - of a military coup however. I’m hopeful that the country can get back on its feet shortly. Thailand was once the only “democracy” in southeast asia (discounting Indonesia). Hopefully it will return to the rule of civilian law soon.
You may also be keeping track of the fighting in the south. I lived in that part of the country for a few years prior to moving to Bangkok and I find the violence there to be absolutely horrible. It was once a very peaceful region and unfortunately has become a battle ground. Case study in how tit-for-tat and out of control soldiers can lead to bloodshed and impunity. I wonder if the state of emergency you are referring to is in regards to the Thaksin situation or the fighting in the south?
I haven’t been back to Thailand in some time, so I am curious to read about your experiences there. I am also wondering how you are managing to blog from there. Also wondering what other places in the region you are planning to visit. Take it easy.
Wagenhome…
I do think you right on the spot with this post, i could use a lot a struff for my new study thank you very much.
Greets …
thailand travel package…
Good comment. It is a pitty that many people does not think like that. Thanks….
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