The message from the Thai military was remarkably vague but remarkably clear. The message to politicians was don’t even think about re-creating the conditions that lead to the last coup.
Although the message from the military was directed at the voters of Thailand, it does not take a rocket scientist to see it was really directed at Thaksin and his cronies. Even in the most vague ways, it says move forward and not backwards or suffer the consequences.
It is understandable that Thaksin has not relented in his efforts to reclaim the seat of Prime Minister, reset the clock to the day before the 2006 coup, and reclaim the money the courts took from him. The Pheu Thai party (PTP) that could be better named the Puppet Thai Party is simply and mindlessly doing exactly what Thaksin orders.
Considering Thailand’s history of coup after coup, a person could get the feeling Thailand is like a car stuck in a rut rocking back and forth trying to get out but never getting enough speed up to pull clear. It also means there is something holding Thailand back and the most likely reason is the state of the education system. Corrupt and otherwise criminal politicians manage to trick or buy undereducated Thais into voting for them.
In this case it seems like a catch 22. The upper class Thais look to keep the bulk of the population undereducated so they can be controlled and manipulated come election time and whenever else they need to be used. Unless that changes it seems Thailand will forever be rocking to get out of that rut inviting coup after coup as corrupt politicians find their way to power time and time again.
