National security, monarchy and the failure of the military
The military leadership has long sounded like a stuck record, moaning, whining, threatening and demanding that the monarchy is essential to national security.
Recently, former secretary-general of the National Security Council General Charan Kullavanijaya has again made this point, when he said that “[s]ocial unity and the need to keep the institution of the monarchy from being tarnished are key to the nation’s security…”.
Nothing new in that except that General Charan “made his comments during a speech delivered at a seminar to vet public opinion on drafting the 2012-2016 national security plan.” In other word’s, Charan wants the basis of Thailand’s national security plan to focus on domestic issues related to propping up a declining institution and forcing “unity.”
Charan explains this: “In the past, national security was all about military and defence affairs. But the situation has changed…”. He explained that the “monarchy is part of the country’s prestige, but the institution has come under attack from political players during the past few years…. The public must return security to the institution…”.
His proposal is for more royalist propaganda: “The NSC and the government must draw up a public relations campaign to counter anti-monarchy propaganda and internet smear campaigns.” Presumably, he’ll also be supporting the hunting down and imprisonment of those who think the monarchy should be reformed or abolished.
The bottom line seems to be that the military will continue to repress. There is no capacity to think outside the box the military built for itself in the 1960s (with U.S. support).
Repression, torture, impunity, corruption and blind royalism will remain the norm. The military is a failed institution. It needs to be subject to the law, leaders who have run coups need to be punished and the institution needs radical reform.
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