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Thailand’s nervous generals

STR/AFP The remarkably successful coupsters in Thailand are finally stumbling. A string of unexplained bombings in early January set the ruling generals on edge. Now, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s  peregrinations in the region are unsettling them even further:  Thailand’s military-backed government has summoned Singapore’s ambassador to protest over ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit to the ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.
604779_thai_coup_leader_05.jpg
604779_thai_coup_leader_05.jpg

STR/AFP

STR/AFP

The remarkably successful coupsters in Thailand are finally stumbling. A string of unexplained bombings in early January set the ruling generals on edge. Now, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s  peregrinations in the region are unsettling them even further: 

Thailand’s military-backed government has summoned Singapore’s ambassador to protest over ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit to the city state.

Meanwhile, the authorities are struggling to counter Thaksin’s flurry of media appearances, even going so far as to ban a CNN interview with Thaksin. Thailand’s population greeted the coup with such equanimity that the world didn’t protest much. But the generals appear increasingly unable to provide the calm they promised. And without that, public support may evaporate quickly.  

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Tags: East Asia, Military

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