Is it really a serious situation in Thailand these days? The answer is yes and no. It is “yes” for those who anti the coup and want to remain democracy in the way they understand, and it is “no” for those who want to see Thailand in peace again after the reformation.
As you may know that the Thais have been discriminated into two sides for more than 10 years. One is the anti-government, those who disagreed with the government’s policy. Another is the pro-government, those who support Mr. Taksin Shinnawat, the ousted prime minister, who have been in exile.
In fact, the Thais did not expect to have the coup. It was the sudden decision of the military to take control the power when there was no solution from the two sides, and could not be compromised any more.
Once the coup happened, it also chocked people all over the country. Then, when the coup announce martial law, Thailand became a dangerous country to visit.
However, if you ask me, who gain the benefit from this coup? I can’t tell you the right answer, but I can tell you from what I have seen.
First and foremost, after the military took power, they asked the cooperation from the state and commercial banks to grant the loan so that the coup could return the money back to the farmers. All farmers have been waiting for the money from the government for 6 years. The money from the “Rice pledging scheme” that the government had to pay back to the farmers. From 23 May until today, about 80% of the farmers have got the money. All the farmers are very happy today. They have money to buy fertilizers, rent the tractor and hire the villagers to help them for the incoming next crops.
Secondly, there is no demonstration on the street anymore. From the past until May, every time people did not like the government, they came out onto the streets and other important places in Bangkok. There were demonstrations, protestors. Of course, the street blockages. These situations caused the discomfort to the residents in the involved areas. Since the coup took power and launched the martial law, no one was allowed to protest against the coup, all bars and pubs had to close down before midnight. Life of people is back to normalcy.
Thirdly, the military have tried very hard to break apart the two groups of people in Thailand, red and yellow, by sending a lot of soldiers to different targeted villages in the north and northeast of Thailand. This is in order to unite people into just the Thais without the colors. The campaign is a so called “social reconciliation”. This campaign is working very well as today the villagers understand the intention of the military why they take control the country.
Of course, there are still a lot of people who don’t like the military actions and require the military to return the power back to the Thais as soon as possible. What they need is the new election in the democratic way.
These are just three examples of what the military coup have done in order to return the happiness to people of Thailand. I do believe that you may not agree with the coup too.
However, there is a fact that we should not forget. Most of the developed countries in this world have passed both military coups and revolutions many times before they are here today.
At the moment, many countries are forcing Thailand to have the election as soon as possible to get back to what people call "Democracy".
People in each country know best what they want the most for the time being. The situation in Thailand may be bad to the foreigners but it may be good for the Thais. What is the point if the election is not from the real democratic system?
