This post would typically belong under 12minds’ sister site, but I’m currently trying to consolidate everything into one place before giving my half-assed attention to a couple of different sites at the same time. The plan is to make myself write regularly on 12minds about everyday things, lyrics, poems and the such while the sister site will turn into a policy type site. Ideally my attention on that site will be focused on Asia and the politics and issues of the region. One day I’d like to really focus on personalities and the subtleties as well.

Now to my point. On September 19th, there was a bloodless coup in Thailand while the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting. Thaksin has been a polarizing figure in Thailand for years now. The poor loved him, the wealthy despised him. He kept power by trying to muzzle the media and by providing hand-outs to the poor for votes. He wasn’t a good guy at all, but removing him from office is a decision that belongs to Thailand’s voters, not an army general. The worst part is that elections were coming in November and steps were being taken to avoid the corruption from before.

The danger of September 19th coup is the fact that, regardless of what supporters or critics say of Thaksin, the majority of the country’s voters supported him and his policies. Democracy should be about the best and most capable and fairest leader in the position of power, but it is also about the person who gets the most votes. I’m not a fan of Bush, his foreign policies, his domestic policies and his fiscal policies. However, coming from Honduras, I would be much more afraid to have the military push him out of office using illegal methods. The institution of democracy needs to be stronger than the individual in power and those who want him out of power. These events were an example of how weak the institutions still are in Thailand.

Populist-driven politics, like those of Thaksin and Venezuela’s Chavez, fuel class divisions and these leaders keep their power by highlighting the gaps in wealth. But in the end, I can’t support the notion of using the military to oust these leaders. Not only does it essentially admit the failure of democracy, but it sets up a terrible and dangerous precedent to any group who disagrees with the current leader’s policies.

In the fifteen years since the last military takeover in Thailand, the country has grown tremendously and has been an example to the entire region of what a stable democracy with multiple religions and ethnicities can look like. It’s been an example of democratic and economic reforms for the entire region and now…what? How do these events not embolden the Muslim separatists in the south? Apparently the jailed leaders of an attempted coup in the Philippines are already praising those behind the Thai coup as patriots and success stories to be emulated.

And what is the lesson that should be taken from these events? If democracy is too hard, if the middle and upper-classes feel helpless…then banish democracy? The people in charge aren’t ready for democracy and the military knows best? General Sonthi Boonyarathkalin, the interim leader of Thailand, should swiftly restore the democratic institutions and allow political councils to form, but I’m still concerned that the damage has been done.

For example, Thaksin’s top aides are currently being detained by the military. On what charges? What legal steps are being taken to ensure their rights? The military authorities have also outlawed political meetings of five or more people. Television and radio stations are told to avoid any criticism of the new military government and armed soldiers stand outside the stations as..what? Reminders?