4 hours ago, Captain Morgan said:
Hur ska en militärkupp gå till? Generalerna i uniform störtar generalerna i kostym?
Yes, precis så. Det är inget nytt i Thailands kupphistorik, tvärtom. Militärer störtar militärer, eller exmilitärer.
De är nämligen inte sams inbördes, militären består av flera olika fraktioner. Särskilt tydligt i armén som är störst och mäktigast. Den fraktion som PM Prayut och Prawit tillhör och som styrde armén vid deras maktövertagande 2014 brukar kallas Eastern Tigers eller Queens Guard.
Eftersom alla delar av militären byter befälhavare vart eller vartannat år har mycket skett sedan 2014. Senaste skiftet skedde nu den 1 oktober. Den fraktion som har mest makt nu kallas för Kings Guard. För att komplicera det ytterligare är det en del av den fraktionen som kallas för "Red rim soldiers" som sitter på flera nyckelpositioner.
Den som utövar ett stort inflytande på Kings Guard/Red rim soldiers, och därmed i praktiken har makten över armén är den regent som en del MPR-medlemmar verkar tro är en marionett utan makt. Att man slog ner mot protesterna såpass hårt i natt och utfärdade ordern om förbud mot folksamlingar beror med största säkerhet på starka påtryckningar från armén och de intressen den representerar.
Vill man fördjupa sig i ämnet kan man t.ex läsa mer här:
https://www.newmandala.org/the-changing-leadership-of-thailands-military-in-2020/
Jag klipper in del av den artikeln nedan också:
In sum, the palace has in 2020 tightened its grip across Thailand’s armed forces. More than ever before, the leaders of the security services are concentrated under monarchical control. The palace is working to fill leading army positions with a faction that it has created—the Red Rim Group. In other words, it is seeking to establish its own army faction. Added to such top-down palace control are past developments such as the establishment in 2017 of direct palace control over the 1st Division, Kings Guard and Royal Guard 904, the latter which was later absorbed into a newly renamed Royal Command Guard. The king is working toward moving all military units outside of Bangkok except for those under his direct control, and is restocking the Privy Council and Royal Household with retired senior officers loyal to him.
Today Prayuth and Prawit are weaker than ever, except perhaps in the First Army Region. They cannot count on military backing and could, given the new Army Commander’s extremely close connections to the palace, be ousted in a coup. They are only useful today as façade-democracy front men and, as student-led demonstrations have intensified, one wonders how long they will be allowed to linger in power.
But there are dangers to giving the choicest military positions to only Red Rim senior officers. When military promotions are made on partisanship and politics rather than merit, trouble will lurk just around the corner. Officers who are members of other less-favoured factions are likely to become increasingly disgruntled. In Thailand’s history of military dissension and multiple putsches, such is not surprising.
The country’s crisis in 2020 is not only a showdown between students and arch-royalist aristocrats. It’s also a pivotal flashpoint where the military is becoming increasingly disunited. Most of its leadership in 2020 is composed of more reactionary officers willing to quash student demonstrations. Thailand today continues to proceed down the dark tunnel of charade-democratic, semi-autocracy, a path which will likely witness some form of military repression in the near future before there can occur any widening of political space.