The Bangkok Post reports on Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan”defending” all the off-budget money the Ministry of Defense following criticism from Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Gen Prawit said the “off-budget money was used to provide welfare benefits for its troops, low-income state employees and the general public and its disbursement was transparent and under scrutiny at all levels.”
So why is it off-budget? No answer.
The corrupt general, best known for his luxury watch collection that was “borrowed” claimed there was no need to explain the billion in off-budget funds.
As usual for this regime, Gen Prawit turned on the questioner, “question[ing] the motive behind the criticism of the off-budget spending, saying the move was simply to cause misunderstanding among members of the public.”
There is no misunderstanding as the public knows the military is corrupt.
Future Forward is also pressing for an end to conscription, and Gen Prawit seemed to threaten Thanathorn when he declared “the FFP leader should abide by the law” when campaigning against the military.
The Defense Ministry said scrapping of conscription … was unlikely to happen soon because there are not enough volunteers signing up for military service.”In addition, the Ministry spokesman warned that it was necessary to “consider the impact on national security among other aspects.”
Of course, it is already known that the Ministry sees no external threat and wants conscripts as servants for senior military figures who use them both for personal service and for making money.
The Bangkok Post also reports on a speech Thanathorn made to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand that will have caused the regime heart trouble.
He’s convinced that the military and the “establishment” see him and his party as dangerous and seems convinced the Constitutional Court will soon dissolve the party. Thanathorn accused the regime of “undermining parliamentary democracy…”. This regime has been doing that since the coup in 2014.
He observed that the establishment “consistently use fake news and misinformation to discredit opposition.” He added: “They are branding us as traitors, branding us as anti-monarchy, installing hatred that divides the people of this country…”.
The Post report has “Colonel Artcha Boongrapu, a member of the Committee to Return Happiness to the People at the Royal Armed Forces HQ” who “accused Mr Thanathorn of hypocrisy and troublemaking.”
The military-constructed and backed Palang Pracharath Party attacked Thanathorn.
By attacking the “establishment” and doing so by pointing to military corruption and capitalist monopolies, Thanathorn is defined as “dangerous.” In fact, it is the military and its allies who are dangerous.
As many before Thanathorn have said for years, it is the military that is dangerous. It has the guns and a track record of anti-democratic interventions, arming thugs and forming gangs to maim and murder.
The military will stop at nothing to ensure the status quo.
Update: The Bangkok Post’s editorial on this topic is worth considering. It observes that Gen Prawit and the Defense Ministry provided “explanations” were “arguments [that] lack any real substance.” It adds that “off-budget spending” is not “subject to external audit and public disclosure…”. The corruption is clear.