Pravit in The Nation:
But this is Thailand, a country where writing about this or that general makes for best-selling books and where the Army runs a fat campaign to educate the populace about democracy - despite its checkered record of staging one coup after the other.
The latest campaign, which is very visible, involved wrapping a huge campaign sticker in orange, black and white on one whole BTS Skytrain, on the inside and outside of carriages.
The campaign was dubbed "Sustainable Thinking" by the Army and the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) and involved a guideline on mental "immunity" which involves: accessing news with mindfulness, spending money reasonably, |carrying out your profession |with perseverance and making one's family sufficiently |happy.
"Mindfulness + reason = immunity" was its main motto.
Alright, maybe those messages - which also appeared on at least two large billboards along Bangkok's expressways - may not be the worst messages to convey. But is that really the job of the Army and Isoc?
Earlier this year, the Army was paid by Cabinet to go to rural areas - mostly regions where ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra is popular - to educate people about "democracy". Sounds like a bad joke doesn't it?
BP: That is not the only ISOC ad campaign. There is another one with Abhisit, appearing as a Director of ISOC, and appears in a new TV ad for them which is below:
BP: You will note the sufficiency economy terminology and the use of HM the King's "เข้าใจ เข้าถึง พัฒนา" ("Understanding, Reaching Out, and Development"). It seems to be re-packaged as "moderation society" to make it slightly hip - "New generation loves 'moderation society'" and other buzz words. If you see the mosothai.com website you can see the entire campaign.
Having the Army teach the populous about democracy is like hiring the mortician to do your open heart surgery. The military has no idea of democracy their idea of democracy is a big fat bloated budget which brings us to sufficiency.
Do we need all those APC's, Griffin fighters, or the big gray balloon - probably not but that's what the military is in it for. Expensive toys for big boys, NO self sufficiency for this lot of big spenders.
Some guy on TV, PM or not, who's telling me to be self sufficient better walk the line first. He better not be a member of the Pacific City Club or drive an overprice Hi-So auto who's manual comes in German. If you want to preach the line you better be able to walk in the mud with the peasants and don't arrive in your Armani Suit and your Gucci loafers or they're liable to kick your arrogant butt out of Dodge.
Maybe Pravit can explain why the Nation is publishing story after story on the ISOC campaign in the south. It has been commented on at Political Prisoners in Thailand.
Reg
I agreed with Rice. It's sad that the Army want to have the cake and eat it too. It's a well known fact that several Thai generals are worth hundred millions bahts when they retired. I'm sure they have some loots left over to dole out to the PAD leaders' movements to ensure their status quo intact.