A ‘general’ consensus

BANGKOK, Thailand – During the three days this writer has been in coup d’etat "ruled" Thailand, I have seen not one single soldier, or tank – only two elephants, a dozen mischievously-greedy taxi drivers, and thousands of shoppers beating the heat and humidity by thronging through the super-air-conditioned malls.

It seems that now that Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratklin and his junta of generals, styling themselves the "Council for Democratic Reform", are firmly in the saddle – with the full backing of His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej – most of the tanks and armored personnel carriers have been withdrawn, with only a few stationed in the government center, and a couple in front of the Marble Temple where most tourists go. I hear that the Army had to issue a directive instructing the tankmen and soldiers not to let the farang tourists and rubberneckers from the provinces handle their automatic weapons while posing for souvenir photographs with the soldiers.

The only counter-attack against the September 19 "coup" was launched by a taxi-driver. An elderly cabbie rammed his vehicle into an Army tank Saturday morning to protest the military takeover.

The 60-year old cab driver, Nuamthong Praiwan, crashed his taxi – bearing spray-painted slogans stating: "Sacrificing life!" and "You destroyers of the country" into a tank parked in front of the Royal Plaza Hotel. Nuamthong broke four of his ribs and suffered a cut chin, his vehicle was badly damaged, its windscreen shattered, while the tank sustained only a few scratches.

The "attacker" still had the gumption to say from his bedside in Vachira Hospital that he was disappointed with the coup that overthrew the government of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The "attack" was duly reported on the front pages of the two English-language newspapers, The Bangkok Post and The Sunday Nation. The latter daily commented that Thaksin had been "popular among taxi-drivers." It further reported that the police were charging Nuamthong "with damaging state property."

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In any event, after making a big noise over the probability of appointing a civilian as "interim Prime Minister" to run the government while the 1997 Constitution was being "revised" (no Cha-cha debate over here, obviously) and to prepare for promised elections in October next year, the Council selected, instead, a retired Army Chief and Commander-in-Chief (from 1998 to 2001). Hail, hail, the Gang’s all here, some might say – but they’re not saying it loudly.

Anyway, the anointed gentleman is a member of the King’s Privy Council, General Surayud Chulanont.

Already, the local press is lauding the appointment. Columnist Nophakchun Limsamarnphun of The Nation wrote that "during this crucial period, the stop-gap premier also needs to champion the cause of national reconciliation."

In his column, "Watchdog," Nophakchun alleged that General Surayud was "widely recognized as being pro-democracy and professional while serving as the Army’s Commander-in-Chief… Such a track record should reassure weary Thais and the international community that the CDR and its interim leadership have no intention whatsoever to prolong their presence beyond their self-imposed one-year limit." And, the journalist added, "Surayud should also play the crucial role of helping to put Thailand back on the path to democracy after a necessary detour was taken to avoid the further worsening of corruption and the widening of the social divide."

Wow! I hope the "necessary detour" is short – and not extended. Somehow, when people acquire power, for all their good intentions and idealistically-proclaimed aims, they find being on top… well, delicious.

The paeans of praise heaped on the putschists and the New Order somehow remind me of Apo Macoy’s "martial law" of September 1972, when Ninoy Aquino, this writer, and hundreds of others were arrested in the first hours of that exercise, designed to save democracy from the Communists and other destabilizers (like us). The press sang the glories of Marcos’s Bagong Lipunan, his shining "New Society," while Ninoy and this jailbird, shoved into a common cell in Fort Bonifacio, were derided as villains of the vicious "Old Society." The newspapers, radio and TV were filled with "praise releases."

I don’t weep for exiled Thaksin, who bribed, bullied, and cozened his way to power, and used every dodge to retain it, but whether "democracy" has been saved from him remains a dodgy proposition. After all, he was "elected" twice, had another "win" nullified, and new elections had been set for this November.

Oh well. We wish all the best for Thailand and our neighbors, the Thais. If the current situation is their cup of tea – then, so be it. A poll taken just after the coup showed 80 percent of those surveyed had approved of the move.

As for us, we aren’t the most shining example of democracy’s "success" either – but rather, I sometimes think, of its failure.

Look at the current disaster situation in our nation in the wake of Typhoon Milenyo (real international name, Typhoon Xangsane) millions of Metro Manilans and people in the provinces are still without electricity. Metro Manila, Cavite, and other areas remain in a dire "state of calamity."

Fallen trees blocking roads have still not been cleared – obviously we were totally unprepared to cope with any emergency. Those supposed to have been working in our disaster teams failed to show up to do their jobs, concerned apparently with fixing their own disaster problems at home.

We have, sadly, no sense of duty, community responsibility, but our first reactions seem to be to secure family, then tribe. What we need is what our revolutionary forefathers had: Love of country!

What if we had to cope with the raging firestorms that hit Australia periodically, and recently threatened to reduce Sydney’s suburbs to cinders, or those that devastated Galicia in Spain, or a horror on the scale of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Louisiana?

I suspect that Milenyo’s wrath may be close to that of Katrina, with much damage and many casualties still unreported. Our Presidenta GMA the other day, rightly but belatedly assigned our armed forces to undertake relief, rescue, and rehabilitation work. In the end, our military – for all the brickbats hurled at them — are the only unified command capable of dealing with dispatch and discipline with disaster and calamity. Our soldiers and police must be tasked to do more.

In the meantime, I submit, the President and our government must swallow pride and ask, once again, for help from the Americans. (Even the Indonesians, who later bit them, begged for such assistance when the horrible Tsunami destroyed Aceh, as well as beach areas in Thailand and Malaysia almost two years ago (on December 25, 2004).

Most of Metro – including Makati and Bonifacio city, etc. – remains plunged in darkness, I’m informed. Some 30 pylons of high tension wires normally bearing "current" to Metro Manila were toppled by the typhoon, and cannot be lifted again and repaired without US help in the form of those heavy-lifting helicopters they have based in Okinawa, for example. Otherwise, it may take three months or more to restore power, despite all the over-hyped press releases of Meralco and Napocor.

In sum, we’re in desperate trouble. And our government must act. This is the real state of emergency which exists in our land.

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Going about Bangkok, I realize why the Thais – who used to be looked upon as so "backward" – have beat us into the 21st century. I’m speaking of the expressways, flyovers, and public works which festoon this capital city. I’m referring to the fabulous buildings which have mushroomed over the past decade, while Makati and most of Metro Manila have stagnated – indeed, slid back into decay and decrepitude.

I’m amazed with the patience – and lack of indignation – on the part of our people. It’s this widespread "acceptance of mediocrity" which has held us back while Thailand passed us by.

There was a time, in the 1950s and 1960s when 14,000 Thai students were enrolled in the Philippines, to learn everything from agriculture, to medicine, pharmacy, nursing, engineering, business administration, accounting, etc. Today, they could teach us a thing or two. While, amazingly, we remain smug and conceited about ourselves.

The old saw went that "ignorance is bliss." In our case, our ignorance is stultifying and retards progress.

This is a time to get ourselves a good, strong dose of patriotism.

In Thailand, generals may come and go, but the unifying factor in the King who is loved by everybody. At the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, which (don’t be discouraged) took 40 years to be developed, until its completion, ironically, was rushed through by the deposed Thaksin, huge signs all over proclaim: "Long Live the King!"

Would you believe, I visited three book shops, and the "bestsellers" bookcases were packed with biographies of the King, including commemorative pictorial books of "The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty’s Ascension to the Throne."

The King’s (and Queen’s) portraits hang in most shops and emporia, and decorate the streets all over.

By golly, in the bookshop of the Siam PARAGON, I even found a book, for the first time translated into English from the original Thai, written by my former roommate in Harvard (in Wigglesworth Hall), one of my best friends, retired Police General Vasit Dejkunjorn. It is entitled, "In His Majesty’s Footsteps" subtitled, "A Personal Memoir."

In its fascinating pages, Vasit had painted a portrait of a very human, caring and courageous King. He had been a comparatively low-ranking Police Major when we were together under Dr. Henry Kissinger, but he had been named a police aide-de-camp to His Majesty, King Rama IX, then risen after 12 years to be Chief of the Royal Court Police.

Vasit was that phenomenon, an honest cop. He was also an excellent writer, with a side-career as a journalist – penning a humorous column, and writing novels, one of them, "Border Patrol" winning the UNESCO Award as best fiction opus many years ago (it was made into a TV series).

He became, eventually (after a year spent as a Monk, would you believe), the nation’s Chief of Police, then Deputy Minister of Interior. Vasit graduated from Chulalongkorn University, New York University, the City of New York Police Academy (Detective Training Course). He was awarded the title of Thailand’s National Artist in Literature, after serving, as well, a stint as Senator. Gee whiz, Vasit! Good for you. Mabuhay, my chum! (He’s now advisor to the Buddhist Association of Thailand and the National Press Council).

Vasit, for all his achievements, was always modest. Whenever he would meet me in the former Don Muang airport, he always came in civilian shirt, without a police escort, or wang-wang. He even drove his own car.

I once tweaked him about his not really being a "general," so he genially drove into a car stop, opened the trunk of his vehicle, and there was his uniform, cap and all, with a full salad of decorations.

His son become a pilot of Thai International Airways – and must be senior by now. Guess what Vasit nicknamed him? "Pogo" after the Walt Kelley cartoon character.

Remember Pogo’s famous assertion in that comic strip of long-ago: "We have met the enemy, and they are us."

That’s an injunction we must take to heart today. Our worst enemy is ourselves – but we Filipinos can be great. We have it in us, as our heroes once did, to love and serve our country beyond ourselves.

The present crisis gives all of us the opportunity to demonstrate that sense of unity and patriotism. We must get together – instead of endlessly griping – and do it!