General Surayud Chulanont: A man and his contradictions
Kevin Hewison [
When General Surayud Chulanont, a soldier for four decades, was appointed prime minister (PM), the Thai and the world"s media reported that
The international media did note the irony in this description - the professional soldier who is claimed to be uninterested in political office is now the junta"s selected premier. Incongruous, perhaps, but then General Surayud"s life has been full of apparent contradictions. The best known amongst these, and a defining event in his life, is the fact that he and his father were on different sides in
Following his anti-communist service, Surayud apparently operated with clandestine forces in
Another remarkable contradiction is seen in the bloody crackdown on civilian demonstrators in May 1992. Surayud was then commander of the army"s Special Forces. Men under his command were involved in vicious attacks on peaceful demonstrators, shooting, kicking and beating them. On this black day, about 50 people were killed, many went missing and more than 100 were injured. Surayud later denied that he gave any orders for his troops to shoot and expressed public regret over the events. He also claimed that the May 1992 episode made him realize that coups were futile.
In 1997, apparently about to retire, then PM Chuan Leekpai made General Surayud army commander. In this position, General Surayud gained a reputation for cracking down on mafia-like criminal activities within the army, for promoting modernization of the armed forces and for beginning the development of a military professionalism that was supposed
to end coups. At the same time, he worked hard to restore the status that the military lost
in 1992.
When Thaksin Shinawatra was elected in 2001, he inherited General Surayud. The two soon clashed over government policy on
General Surayud was eventually kicked upstairs to be supreme commander following a public spat with the PM. In June 2002, a Burmese military action against ethnic rebels spilled over the border into
When he retired, General Surayud was quickly brought into the Privy Council, the King"s handpicked advisory body, chaired by General Prem Tinsulanond. In this position, early in 2006, another of General Surayud"s contradictory positions emerged. While it is always said that the King is above politics, and while General Surayud is reported to be apolitical, he became deeply enmeshed in the political battles that led to the coup.
As
The three generals are all good friends. Surayud served as a close aide to General Prem when he was PM. General Surayud was Sonthi"s commander when the two were with the Special Warfare Unit in Lopburi province. Interestingly, it was this unit that was linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Thaksin in late August, and it was the troops from Lopburi who played a major role on the night of the coup.
General Surayud has been strong in his support of the coup, arguing that it was necessary to avoid further conflict. This leads to the most recent and all too obvious contradiction in General Surayud"s career. The apolitical military professional is now a very political military-appointed and palace approved PM. General Surayud"s appointment makes it nearly impossible to distinguish the "civilian" government from the military and palace power base that joined forces to take over the country.
For the Thai audience, the military junta is banking on General Surayud"s carefully crafted reputation for incorruptibility, along with his connections to the military, the palace and General Prem to gain support for the coup. It is the palace connection that is critical. As a Democrat Party politician commented, "The most important qualification of General Surayud is he is so trusted by His Majesty the King
".
The coup-makers realize that General Surayud is not well-known to an international audience. To burnish the new PM"s image and to promote the military-dominated government, teams of academics and PAD leaders, all of them eloquent supporters of the coup, are being dispatched to the US and UK. They will meet the international press, overseas Thais and various academic audiences in an effort to convince them that the coup was good for
Ambassador Ralph Boyce"s visit to General Surayud on his first day in office was highly symbolic. The
The appointment of the "civilian" Surayud, dressed in his ceremonial uniform and surrounded by the military coup-makers, as Thailand"s 24th prime minister indicates another set of contradictions in General Surayud"s career. The "democrat" has been appointed by a military junta. The "professional soldier" assists the repositioning of the military back on political centre-stage. The General, with no previous experience in government, must now set
ร่วมบริจาคเงิน สนับสนุน ประชาไท โอนเงิน กรุงไทย 091-0-10432-8 "มูลนิธิสื่อเพื่อการศึกษาของชุมชน FCEM" หรือ โอนผ่าน PayPal / บัตรเครดิต (รายงานยอดบริจาคสนับสนุน)