Why we are not surprised II
The Nation has a brief report that states: “His Majesty the King has appointed former Air Force chief ACM Chalit Pukphasuk [ชลิต พุกผาสุข] a new privy councillor. His Majesty issued a command to appoint Chalit a member of the Privy Council on Wedne[s]day. Chalit used to be caretaker chairman of the Council for National Security.”
Translation? The king has appointed one of the former leaders of the 2006 military coup to be one of his trusted personal advisers. Readers probably don’t need to be reminded that that coup was illegal. That it threw out the 1997 Constitution. That it established bodies that applied new “laws” retrospectively. The appointment makes a mockery of idea about rule of law and challenges notions of probity.
Why are we not surprised? The coup was planned and implemented with palace knowledge, including the active participation of Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda. This is hardly a novel claim as several newspapers noted this at the time of the coup, several others involved have made the point.
This “elevation” of a coup maker suggests reward for loyal service. And, having a coup practitioner in the Privy Council will further strengthen the symbiotic relationship between the palace and military. It will also be functional as the elite squares up for another struggle with a subaltern class that seems intent on rising up each time it is beaten down.
Chalit’s Wikipedia page has this information: “Chalit was appointed a deputy chairman in the Council for National Security under coup leader, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin. Chalit was paid nearly 114,000 baht per month as an additional salary to his air force pay while he was deputy chairman.Chalit was named as acting chairman of the Council for National Security on 1 October 2007, succeeding Sonthi, who retired from military duty to enter politics.”
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