Word: suchinda
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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True enough, the democrats have not yet prevailed. Suchinda Kraprayoon, the general who made himself Prime Minister in April, stepped down Sunday after his coalition withdrew its support. But the generals in the past have proved adept at ruling through civilian figureheads. After 60 years holding the real power in the country, the military is deeply entrenched throughout society; these "businessmen in uniforms" own or control hundreds of enterprises, including two nationwide TV channels, 200 radio stations and their own bank. The army remains popular among peasants, who are still a majority of the population and provide most...
...revered King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, has tried to guide the country toward stability, but he has no legal power over political affairs. Belatedly, he did mediate a compromise last week to stop the bloodshed by getting the Suchinda government's promise not to block amendments to the Thai constitution that would trim the soldiers' authority. And he appointed an emissary, former Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, to negotiate with Suchinda an amnesty agreement for those responsible for the crackdown. This apparently eased military objections to Suchinda's ouster...
Several sparks finally ignited this mixture. As the civil war in neighboring Cambodia simmered down, the threat to Thailand from communist Vietnam, which long occupied Cambodia, also diminished. The army's aura as protector of the nation dimmed accordingly; Suchinda provoked only sardonic laughter last week by declaring that soldiers had fired into crowds in order to stop a threatened takeover by communist agitators. Despite their lessening prestige, however, the generals behaved in especially ham-handed fashion, flouting earlier pledges to restore democracy by ramming through a constitution that virtually institutionalized military control of the government -- and then having their...
LOOKING FOR ALL THE WORLD LIKE TWO NAUGHTY schoolboys, the opposing leaders in Thailand's civil carnage knelt humbly before King Bhumibol Adulyadej to receive a stern lecture. The essence: cut it out. In effect the King ordered Suchinda Kraprayoon, the general who had accepted the post of Prime Minister despite his vow not to do so, and Chamlong Srimuang, the ascetic former governor of Bangkok and leader of the move to depose Suchinda, to work out some compromise. Said the monarch: "I would like both of you to talk face-to- face, not to confront each other, because this...
Within hours Suchinda and Chamlong did announce an agreement. Suchinda promised that his military-dominated government would go along with some amendments to the Thai constitution aimed at reducing the soldiers' authority; parliament is to begin considering them this week. He also pledged to release thousands of arrested protesters (including Chamlong, who had been ushered from a jail cell to the King's chambers) and to consider lifting a state of emergency. Chamlong, for his part, appealed for an end to protest demonstrations that had turned into riots...