• 
• 

Published on October 2, 2007

General Sonthi Boonyaratglin resigned as chairman of the all-powerful Council for National Security (CNS) at the same time he retired as Army commander-in-chief on Sunday. He reasoned that he had accomplished what he set out to do by leading the coup to overthrow the Thaksin administration, implementing constitutional reforms and putting the country back on the road to democracy. As expected, he will join the Surayud government as a deputy prime minister in charge of national security.

The move did not exactly end months of wild speculation about Sonthi's political ambition and the role the military will play in Thai politics after a civilian government takes power following the general election, scheduled to be held in late December.

It confirms that despite his claims to the contrary, Sonthi does harbour some grand political designs, with either himself in the driver's seat or as a puppet-master pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

What his actions do not immediately reveal is whether the former Army chief continues to be a reluctant military man pushed onto the political stage against his will, as he has portrayed himself over the past year, or whether he is now actively pursuing power to enhance his own vainglorious self-image and political legacy.

Obviously it is too early to tell at this time. But from now on, politician Sonthi's every move will be closely monitored by all players in Thai politics and members of the public as one of the movers and shakers who will influence the course and direction that Thailand's democracy takes in the foreseeable future.

His resignation from the CNS at this juncture is also preferable to him deciding to cling to power as CNS chairman while also volunteering his services to the Surayud government, because that would have been too confusing. Sonthi could not possibly be both Surayud's boss and his subordinate.

The question to ask is exactly what Sonthi wants to accomplish from his short stint in the Surayud government, which has only about three months to go before its tenure ends.

That Sonthi resigned as the head of the military junta before he takes up a Cabinet position under Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's leadership indicates he wants to be seen as a legitimate contender for political power, just like any civilian.

But he must realise that members of the public, particularly lovers of genuine democracy, are more than a little disappointed by his course of action. Most of the people who acquiesced to the coup and who saw it as necessary evil, expected Sonthi and members of his military junta to completely leave politics.

With Sonthi having chosen to partake in politics as a player, people's aspirations to rebuild a full and unfettered democracy is now compromised. Sonthi cannot convincingly fashion himself as just an ordinary player competing on a level playing field, because, despite his resignation from the CNS and retirement from the Army, he continues to wield an inordinate amount of power from patronage at least in the Army, the current leader of which he helped promote.

Now that Sonthi has entered the political arena, the least he can do is to make a public statement to ensure the people and his would-be competitors once and for all that he expects to be treated no differently than any other civilian politician.

The former Army chief should make it clear beyond any doubt that he seeks no privilege and that he will not exercise his influence within the Army to shield himself from public scrutiny or to seek an unfair advantage over his opponents.

Let's hope Sonthi's learning curve helps him transform himself from an Army strongman to civilian politician soon enough, as people expect their democratic aspirations to be fulfilled in form and in substance in the coming months. A failure by Sonthi to do that would be especially bad not only for himself but also the country's democracy.

In other words, Sonthi should be worried about his political survival in the coming months because, despite many setbacks, democracy in this country will eventually be able to take care of itself. Sonthi still has the chance to do the right thing and bow out along with the Surayud government. The shortcut to political glory is littered with the broken egos of many military men.

The Nation