With a major update: Old men’s business

Over the years, it has been remarkable how often General Prem Tinsulanonda seems to time his public appearances to coincide with forthcoming political events. PPT guesses that this is because he is involved in such events, often very deeply and therefore times his appearances for maximum public impact.

We acknowledge that Songkhran is upon us, and that usually entails the sycophantic slithering off to Prem’s taxpayer funded abode to pay him the attention and deference he feels he deserves. Yet his most recent spate of appearances began a few weeks ago and have continued.

Everyone, including the mainstream media, recognizes that the aged Privy Council President is engaged in politics and is making a political statement with the intention of shifting the course of events.

Everyone, including the mainstream media, recognizes that the aged Privy Council President is also engaged in politics behind the scenes, nagging, cajoling and ordering that things be done as he wants them.

Privy Council President General Prem

Prem does this so regularly and he has done it since the 1970s at least, meaning that his extra-constitutional politicking for the palace is effectively normalized. The oldest man in the palace still mobile can be assumed to speak for something like the “collective palace,” even though that lot are fractured, ill, aged and/or loopy.

You would think a 94 year-old would just wait out the fires of cremation, but not Prem, for he seems to feel a little royal himself, regularly seen in royal-like poses, and he clearly covets the power and tribute he receives as the voice of the collective palace.

Over the decades, Prem’s main task has been to ensure that loyal royalists fill the top slots in the military, army, Ministry of Interior, judiciary and other major government agencies. He has been highly successful, and part of the hatred of Thaksin derives from his attempts to shake up this “Premocratic” royalist cabal.

The most recent Prem intervention is is reported in the Bangkok Post, where Prem lauds the armed forces and the police as his “real friends” and he sees them as “united.” Given that the Army is undoubtedly royalist and that almost every member of the bras owes their position to Prem’s royal seal of approval, there’s no surprise there. However, the police are generally seen as being politically aligned to Thaksin Shinawatra; certainly that is the anti-democrat’s mantra.

He lauds both groups as a “force to be reckoned with, that can keep out elements harbouring ill intent against the country.” He means anti-monarchists. PPT has a suspicion that the struggle for control of the police is not finished, and Prem’s men are working hard. Hence the sometimes contradictory actions by the police in facing the armed and unarmed anti-democracy militants.

Making his point stronger, Prem says: “If we keep together like this, we will be strong and make those with ill thoughts for the country fearful of us…”. He thanked both forces for their loyalty to him.

Interestingly, this display of mutual posterior polishing and sycophancy is one normally led by the minister for defense. At present that is Yingluck Shinawatra, and she was conspicuous by her absence.

When Prem is on the march, political events – such as the 2006 military-palace coup, seem to result. Keep watching the old men.

Update: As if on cue, the old men are back in the limelight. No sooner had we completed the above post than a report has emerged that has the geriatric brigade working for Prem’s centrality in the current political struggles.

A “group of retired soldiers and former state officials” – in fact, the usual old men – “has called on … Prem Tinsulanonda to step in to help defuse the political crisis.”

It might well be asked how Prem, so central to many of the political disputes since he effectively rallied support for the military-palace coup in 2006, could ever “defuse” a situation he has done so much to create? The answer, of course, is that the geriatrics asking Prem to help them are anti-democratic royalists who know Prem is an ally.

They also know that he is “collective palace,” for the “group wants Gen Prem to act as a ‘middle man’ to work under His Majesty the King in finding ways to end the country’s turmoil.” That is the king they mention and want to be involved. To “protect” the king, they suggest “Prem should function as an intermediary between the King and other parties, since His Majesty has said he cannot be involved directly with political problems.” Boy, these guys are sharp! Like bowling balls.

Leading this bunch of aged ninnies is General Saiyud Kerdphol, the “chairman of the People’s Network for Elections,” which is a group that seems not to want elections but royally-appointed government.

Saiyud’s links with Prem go back to the 1960s when both were involved in U.S.-funded counterinsurgency operations. PPT would guess that Prem has been consulting with these aged plotters and that he would not have made these calls without Prem’s approval.

Saiyud said Prem:

could consult judicial agencies, the military and leaders of other organisations to draft a proposal to end the crisis. That proposal could then be forwarded to the King, who could instruct the statesman on how to proceed.

He argued the statesman’s post was originally created to carry out royal commands in times of crisis and perform responsibilities as directed by the King.

As far as we can determine, that last claim is simply concocted and has no basis in the legal framework of the Privy Council, although we acknowledge that Prem may well have played this role since joining the Privy Council.

Another member of Saiyud’s group is the royalist propagandist Pramote Nakhonthap, who previously worked for PAD, and was arrested once as an airport occupier with PAD and a plotter against the Samak government in 2008, trying to get the Privy Council/palace to throw out that elected government.

Pramote claimed that:

the King’s wishes should be heeded in the event of national emergencies. But he insisted the group is not asking the King to install a prime minister.

Mr Pramote said no statesman had assumed such a ”middle man” role before, but said that does not mean the King could not choose to exercise his power that way.

These plotters want the king to act in concert with the judicial coup, earlier if possible. Prem is certainly at it again.