Updated: Spineless politicians meet a stooge

Pardon our cynical rudeness in this post but PPT is flabbergasted by the notion that former 2006 coup leader and junta boss  Sonthi Boonyaratglin is chair of a parliamentary “reconciliation committee.” The former Army boss now heads up the barely noticeable Matuphum Party and somehow managed to get this peculiar post.

According to the Bangkok Post, the politically compromised general got leaders and representatives “of all nine political parties in the parliament” to a lunchtime meeting “to discuss ways to bring about national reconciliation…”. The meeting apparently agreed to constitution change so long as it doesn’t benefit Thaksin Shinawatra.

Sonthi stated that “all agreed that the lese majeste law should not be amended.” He said: “All party leaders are in agreement that the government should put any plan to amend the Criminal Code’s Section 112[the lese majeste law] on hold…”. Why? Apparently showing less backbone than a jellyfish, these party bosses worry that amending the draconian law is “a sensitive issue.” It seems Puea Thai Party leader  Yongyuth Wichaidit promised “no changes … to the law.”

Politicians meeting to consider not amending the lese majeste law. Sonthi is not the brightest one

On amending the constitution these brave lads agreed that “the changes must not touch on sensitive or ambiguous issues…”. We are wondering if these lads have the brains of jellyfish as well.

Perhaps not, and we are being just too judgmental. After all, Sonthi is a stooge. He showed that in the manner he was led into the coup and he continues to act in the interests of his bosses. This is seen in his claim that reconciliation talks “would not involve Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda or the judicial sector, since they were not the main parties in conflict.” That logical contortion is unlikely to be convincing for many.

Unsurprisingly, Army boss General Prayuth Chan-ocha welcomed the meeting. It was a meeting that advances the political cause of reactionaries who have never stopped fighting despite electoral defeat. That Puea Thai joins it shows how little the party understands its constituency.

Update: At the Bangkok Post it is reported that DSI-eel-in-chief Tharit has responded. As might be expected, Tharit “has rejected an accusation that the agency is serving the government’s interests and vowed to carry out any inquiries in an honest and straightforward manner.” That would be a first! PPT can’t wait to see that. That the DSI is even investigating is, for us, bizarre.

Usefully, Tharit adds a denial and affirmation. He: “denied the DSI was involved in making the graphic, insisting it had received it from other security agencies, mainly the military. It must have taken all of military intelligence’s collective imagination to concoct this “map.”