Thai Journalist, AMARIN KHOMAN sums it up nicely when he says:
We are now encountering a paradigm in Thailand's 72-year history of see-saw democracy and coup d'etats - a peaceful but unconstitutional overthrow of a constitutionally elected, but authoritative government based on "money politics."

The Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) led by Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin has promised a return to civilian authority within two weeks, after which will begin the crucial process of writing a new constitution.
The 1997 constitution went a long way toward identifying the basic rights of the people, but unfortunately the avenues to achieve them were for the most part not laid out.

For now, we must take the coup makers at their word when they say they truly want to reform the troubled political and democratic institutions of the country.

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Thai Opinion
Thaksin is Out but, but not yet de f e a te d
"We hope the new regime Will quickly arrange a new election and continue to uphold the principles of democracy for the future of all Thais."

So said ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a statement released from his comfortable and safe refuge in London on Thursday.

Undoubtedly, his statement would have found receptive ears among Western leaders and media who have a soft heart for anyone who preaches democracy, although he, in actuality and unknown to many people outside this country, practised just the opposite.

One re- spectable academic branded him an "elected capitalist absolutist". But for many of us who made the wrong choice at the ballot box four years ago and have been lied to throughout his term in office, Mr Thaksin' s statement from London is a sick joke.

How ironic it is for a man like Mr Thaksin to call for a quick return to dem - ocracy in Thailand when he himself has trampled democracy under his feet. Mr Thaksin never stopped trying to suppress free expression, resorting to any means to muzzle criticism and ma- nipulate the media for his own benefit.

Nestern media were quick to condemn be coup in Thailand was understandable. lntheir view, Mr Thaksin ' s regime was elected by the majority and thus had a mandate to govern. Any undemocratic means such as the Sept 19 coup to over- throw the regime was therefore illegal.

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