'Thai coup undermines Asean democracy march'
Afp, Singapore
Thailand's return to military rule is a setback for democracy in Southeast Asia after two decades of progress that brought an end to army-backed regimes in Indonesia and the Philippines, observers say. "Any sudden change of government in any Asean member government is no good for Asean as a whole," said Ong Keng Yong, the secretary general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). "The Secretary General hopes the situation in Thailand will return to normal as soon as possible, because political stability in Thailand is very important to the stability of Asean." Analysts said the coup's impact would depend on how long the military holds onto power after ousting the billionaire-businessman prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, in a bloodless putsch Tuesday. Mely Caballero-Anthony, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Singapore-based Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, said the events in Thailand were a setback for the region. "If you look at what's happening in Asean, one of the goals is to establish a more democratic Southeast Asia," she said. "Anything that is considered as an unconstitutional takeover of power is a setback to democratisation. That is bad news for Southeast Asia," she told AFP.
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A column of tanks guard a highway in suburban Bangkok yesterday. Thailand's ruling generals imposed tough new curbs on the media including a ban on expressions of public opinion as they tightened their grip on power two days after a bloodless coup. PHOTO: AFP |
