Thread: Sonthi declines to explain 2006 coup

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Gen Sonthi said what is most important in building reconciliation is for all sides to turn to face each other, talk about truths, forget the past, and look to the future.

and then..

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

He declined to answer to Maj-Gen Sanan's question regarding what made him stage the coup. [...] he felt ashamed by having to encounter this question.

There's little to do but shake one's head when reading stoopid shit like this

Well, Sanan asked a good question anyway.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation

Enough said. The mastermind of the coup which basically started all the (major) trouble heading a "reconciliation commission". It would not be easy to find a more divisive figure.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

He said some truths can never be told, even after his death.

A simple man who admits so much in this statement.

But then we all know the truth thanks to Ralph Boyce cables

Originally Posted by crocodilexp

The mastermind of the coup

really?

there is nothing to explain, Thaksin was a bad bad man and he was punished

they couldn't reveal any of his deals for 2 reasons

1. It would showed how widespread and how "everyone" was involved
2. Why reveal a good secret when you can exploit it yourself

the real question is what's next ?

"some truths can never be told, even after his death" Oh, come on, even in Thailand they can't prosecute a pii.

So typical of the Thai elite. It really has become tiring reading this garbage.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

the real question is what's next ?

You will be put in a padded cell

The plot thickens -- Maj-Gen Sanan: To the question who were behind the coup, the answer is nobody.

Sanan: Prem not involved
Published: 22/03/2012 at 02:33 PMOnline news:


Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda had nothing to do with the Sept 19, 2006 coup that overthrew the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, Maj-Gen Sanan Kachornprasart said on Thursday.

Maj-Gen Sanan, chief adviser of the Chartthaipattana Party, was responding to questions arising from one of his questions to Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation, during a reconciliation study forum held by the King Prajadhipok's Institute on Wednesday.

He based this opinion on information that he had received.

Maj-Gen Sanan had asked Gen Sonthi who was the actual mastermind behind the coup.

Gen Sonthi, then army chief, was chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS), that staged the Sept 19, 2006 coup. He refused to answer the question, saying he would take that information with him to the grave and that answering it would not serve the best interests of the country and reconciliation.

Maj-Gen Sanan said he raised the question with the sincere intention of wanting people throughout the country to know the answer. Since the the Sept 19 coup the country had been plagued with violence.

The people believed from the beginning that there were some other people behind the coup.

He thought it was now time for Gen Sonthi to speak out whether there was anyone else behind it. Both Thaksin and the red shirts believed Gen Sonthi received an order to stage the coup.

This belief led a group of red shirts to lay siege to Gen Prem's Si Sao Theves residence and the matter escalated to affect a high institution, he said.

Maj-Gen Sanan said for as long as Gen Sonthi did not speak the truths, reconciliation would never get started.

People in society would continue to question why Gen Sonthi, himself the coup maker, is now chairman of the House committee for reconciliation and wonder what was going on.

Not only the people in general believed the high institution was involved in the coup, even some MPs of his party also held the same belief.

He said the three questions he raised were simple ones. If he were Gen Sonthi, he would not hesitate to answer them to clear the people's suspicion, he added.

Maj-Gen Sanan said although Gen Sonthi did not answer his questions, he had learned from his own intelligence that the high institution and members of the elite were not involved in the Sept 19 coup.

Had he not obtained clear information he would not dare to raise the questions with Gen Sonthi at a public place.

The information he had obtained could provide answers to the three questions, Maj-Gen Sanan said.

To the question who were behind the coup, the answer is nobody.

To the question whether it was Gen Prem who lead Gen Sonthi and his team to have an audience with His Majesty the King after the coup and whether Gen Prem was aware there would be a coup, the answer is "no." Gen Prem knew nothing about the coup plot.

"To the third question whether he met Gen Prem before the coup and whether after the coup Gen Prem asked him twice, via Gen Mongkol Ampornpisit (a former supreme commander), to speak out the truths concerning the coup, I also have the answer.

"Although Gen Sonthi did not answer, the intelligence I got revealed that Gen Prem really did that through Gen Mongkol," Maj-Gen Sanan said.

The Chartthaipattana chief adiviser said he believed the situation in the country would improve once Gen Sonthi spoke out the truths.

^ well there we go
Thai style

Everyone knows.............

^ but no one is telling

There was no coup. Your memories are faulty...

Pheu Thai backs Sonthi's keeping of coup secret
March 22, 2012

The Pheu Thai Party has stepped forward to shield former coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin from answering three embarassing questions designed to uncover the real mastermind behind the 2006 power seizure.

"The past should be put behind," Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Thursday.

Sonthi, presently Bhum Jai Thai MP and committee chair on reconciliation, refused to answer the questions posed by Chart Thai Pattana MP Sanan Kachornprasart.

Sanan said he raised his questions in order to debunk a false belief that chief royal adviser General Prem Tinsulanonda backed the military intervention.

Prompong said he saw no merit in trying to relive the past because Sonthi had already said he would take the secrets to his grave.

He said all sides should rally behind Sonthi who is trying to rectify what he had done wrong by staging the coup.

nationmultimedia.com

Originally Posted by Mid

"A deal has been made agreed." Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Thursday.

Changed the wording a little...

Streisand effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Scaramanga

To the question who were behind the coup, the answer is nobody.

Classic. It's like a Monty Python sketch.

(late updated report from The Bangkok Post, some repetition, apologies..)

Sonthi urged to expose coup mastermind | Bangkok Post: news

Sonthi urged to expose coup mastermind

• Published: 22/03/2012 at 06:21 PM
• Online news: Local News

Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda had nothing to do with the Sept 19, 2006 coup that overthrew the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, Chartthaipattana chief adviser Sanan Kachornprasart said on Thursday.


Maj-Gen Sanan Kachornprasart (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

The veteran politician was responding to questions arising from one of his questions to Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation, during a reconciliation study forum held by the King Prajadhipok's Institute on Wednesday.

He said he based this opinion on information that he had received.

During the public forum, Maj-Gen Sanan asked Gen Sonthi who actually masterminded the coup, the military or a third party.

Gen Sonthi, then army chief, was chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS) that staged the Sept 19, 2006 coup. He refused to answer the question, saying he would take that information with him to the grave. Replying to the question would not serve the interests of the country and reconciliation.

Maj-Gen Sanan said he raised the question with the sincere intention of wanting people throughout the country to know the answer. Since the Sept 19 coup the country had been plagued with violence.

The people had believed from the beginning that there were some other people behind the coup.

He thought it was now time for Gen Sonthi to speak out whether there was anyone else behind it. Both Thaksin and the red shirts believed Gen Sonthi received an order to stage the coup.

This belief led a group of red shirts to lay siege to Gen Prem's Si Sao Theves residence and the matter escalated to affect a high institution, he said.

Maj-Gen Sanan said for as long as Gen Sonthi did not speak the truth, reconciliation would never get started.

People would continue to question why Gen Sonthi, the coup maker, was now chairman of the House committee for reconciliation and wonder what was going on.

It was not only people in general who believed the high institution was involved in the coup, some MPs in his party also held the same belief.

He said the three questions he raised were simple ones. If he were Gen Sonthi, he would not hesitate to answer them to clear people's suspicions, he added.

Maj-Gen Sanan said although Gen Sonthi did not answer his questions, he had learned from his own sources that the high institution and members of the elite were not involved in the Sept 19 coup.


Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin (Photo by Kosol Nakachol)

Had he not obtained clear information, he would not have dared to raise the question with Gen Sonthi at a public place.

The information he had obtained could provide answers to the three questions, Maj-Gen Sanan said.

To the question who else was behind the coup, the answer was nobody.

To the question whether it was Gen Prem who lead Gen Sonthi and his team to an audience with <redacted> after the coup, and whether Gen Prem was aware there would be a coup, the answer was "no", he said.

Gen Prem knew nothing about the coup plot, he said.

"To the third question, whether he met Gen Prem before the coup and whether after the coup Gen Prem asked him twice, via Gen Mongkol Ampornpisit (a former supreme commander), to speak out and tell the truth concerning the coup, I also have the answer.

"Although Gen Sonthi did not answer, the intelligence I have reveals that Gen Prem really did that, through Gen Mongkol," Maj-Gen Sanan said.

The Chartthaipattana chief adviser said he believed the situation in the country would improve once Gen Sonthi revealed the truth.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she wanted the country move forward and its people have confidence in the reconciliation efforts.

"I want all sides to have the opportunity to share their views because in the end we'll have to consider ways to walk together," Ms Yingluck said.

The premier said she believed the House committee chaired by Gen Sonthi will take into consideration all ideas proposed at the forum to bring about national reconciliation.

When reporters asked her if national reconciliation could be achieved by the end of this year, she declined to comment and went to her car immediately.

Democrat Party and opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was disappointed that Gen Sonthi refused to answer Maj Gen Sanan's questions about the Sept 19 coup in 2006.

"Personally, I think Gen Sonthi must answer, to make it clear to society. If no one wants to provide the truth, how can we move forward?" Mr Abhisit said.

"Gen Sonthi is giving an ambiguous answer and this is not good for anyone. If he wants reconciliation he must answer and Gen Sonthi must know what the consequences are if he leaves the questions unanswered," the former prime minister added.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

.

The information he had obtained could provide answers to the three questions, Maj-Gen Sanan said.

To the question who else was behind the coup, the answer was nobody.

.

Pity.

That corrupt senile prat Sanan finally looked like he'd grown a pair.

Except, when he answers his own questions, turns out he hasn't.

There was a good editorial in the South China Morning Post yesterday about why PT has gone soft on the elites that it ostensibly came into power to oppose. Shame none of you are allowed to read it as it will pervert your innocent minds in the Kingdom of Similes.

Like flies around a bull's bottom.

Is this the story that they reckon they have made a deal on Thaksin returning before the year end ?

Sonthi silence on coup a story in itself | Bangkok Post: news

Sonthi silence on coup a story in itself

ANALYSIS: Refusal to speak about who was behind Thaksin ouster has tongues wagging

• Published: 23/03/2012 at 08:11 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin's refusal to answer a question about who was the mastermind behind the 2006 coup may actually end up holding back reconciliation efforts.


Democrat Party MP Nipit Intarasombat, right, hands a letter to Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation, to oppose the panel’s decision to support amnesty for offenders who violated the emergency decree and to favour dropping criminal charges levelled against politicians by the defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee. CHANAT KATANYU

Somjet Boonthanom, an appointed senator and a former staff member of the coup team, said Gen Sonthi not answering has done no good but may have confirmed suspicions among some about who was behind the putsch.

The question was posed by veteran politician Sanan Kachornprasart, of the Chartthaipattana Party, during a seminar on national reconciliation. Maj Gen Sanan asked Gen Sonthi if Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda and the ammart (elites) were behind the coup as alleged by the red shirts.

Gen Sonthi, who led the coup that toppled the Thaksin government on Sept 19, 2006, said he would take the answer with him to the grave.

Gen Somjet said that Gen Sonthi, who chairs the House national reconciliation committee, had plenty of time to mull over the question.

"When he is the only person who can answer it, he should answer it clearly. He can't say, 'When the time comes the truth will reveal itself'," said Gen Somjet, who served as former chief of the secretariat of the Council for National Security.

"By not answering it, he faces questions of whether his stance has changed."

According to Gen Somjet, Maj Gen Sanan's three questions should have been easy to answer, as follows.

First, Gen Sonthi engineered the coup because Thaksin was corrupt, abused his authority and drove the country to the brink of carrying out atrocities.

Second, Gen Prem did not take Gen Sonthi to a <redacted>.

And last, Gen Sonthi did not pay heed to Gen Prem and Gen Mongkol Ampornpisit's advice that the public should be informed of the reasons behind the coup.

Gen Somjet said that national reconciliation cannot proceed because the truth has not yet been revealed.

Tul Sitthisomwong, leader of the multi-coloured group, said Gen Sonthi's remarks would rekindle political rifts and deepen the red shirts' hostility toward the ammart.

But, he said that Maj Gen Sanan's question was wrong because the coup was not the cause of the conflict that has divided the nation."It was corruption and interference in the judicial system [by Thaksin]," he said.

Dr Tul said that there was a long way to go for national conciliation as long as efforts are under way to whitewash Thaksin.

A study by the King Prajadhipok Institute that was prepared for Gen Sonthi's committee is bent on clearing Thaksin of wrongdoing, he claimed.

"It doesn't reflect anything about reconciliation," he said.

Political scientist Pitch Pongsawat said that Gen Sonthi's answer should have cleared up any lingering doubts about the coup and who was behind it.

Gen Sonthi's answer has helped society come closer to the facts, he said.

"If no one was behind it, he would have said so," he said.

"It may cause him trouble but it has enlightened the public."

Mr Pitch lauded both Maj Gen Sanan and Gen Sonthi for being bold enough to address the issue.

In the academic's view, national reconciliation will be hard to achieve as long as Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva tries to make the public think he is the "righteous minority".

Somchai Sawaengkarn, an appointed senator, said he agreed that national reconciliation will not happen anytime soon because the KPI study covers only part of the issue.

He said the study should be extended to make it complete.

"But even if it is incomplete, there is one thing it got right," he said.

"Thaksin is in conflict with the Thai state and ammart."

Mr Somchai was among 47 people interviewed by the KPI's research team when working on the report.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...d-coup-secrets

Sonthi 'must yield coup secrets'

Truth needed to heal divisions, Sanan says

• Published: 23/03/2012 at 08:06 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Maj Gen Sanan Kachornprasart has renewed his call for Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin to reveal who was behind the 2006 coup that toppled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.


Democrat Party MP Nipit Intarasombat, right, hands a letter to Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation, to oppose the panel's decision to support amnesty for offenders who violated the emergency decree and to favour dropping criminal charges levelled against politicians by the defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)

Telling the truth about the coup will help improve the political situation while keeping the public in the dark would only make things worse, he said.

Maj Gen Sanan, advisory chairman of the Chartthaipattana Party, said in a radio interview that he had asked Gen Sonthi to reveal who was behind the putsch.

Gen Sonthi was chairman of the Council for National Security, which toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra administration on Sept 19, 2006. Today he is an MP and chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation.

Maj Gen Sanan said the military coup was to blame for the political violence that had ensued.

Unless Gen Sonthi tells the truth and clarifies whether the ammart, or the elite and people beyond the reach of the constitution, backed the coup as claimed by the red shirts, doubts would continue to nag society and this could have repercussions on the <redacted>.

"Gen Sonthi should now tell the truth and reveal whether the 2006 coup was his own idea or if someone else was behind it; otherwise reconciliation efforts can't go ahead.

"People will wonder why Gen Sonthi, who was the coup engineer, is heading the reconciliation committee himself. Just telling the truth will improve the situation," Maj Gen Sanan said.

He said if Gen Sonthi can answer his question, doubts will be laid to rest and anger eased considerably.

Maj Gen Sanan said he had received intelligence reports confirming the ammart were not involved in the coup.

On Wednesday, Man Gen Sanan posed several questions about the coup to Gen Sonthi during a reconciliation study forum held by the King Prajadhipok's Institute (KPI) in Bangkok.

He asked Gen Sonthi whether after the coup, Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda invited Gen Sonthi to have an audience with <redacted>; whether Gen Prem was aware of the coup plot; and whether Gen Sonthi informed Gen Prem about the coup before he launched it.

During his turn at the podium, Gen Sonthi refused to answer Maj Gen Sanan's questions. Gen Sonthi said he could not answer certain questions while he was still alive.

Responding to Maj Gen Sanan's comments yesterday, Gen Sonthi said he could not answer Maj Gen Sanan's questions because many of those involved in the coup are still working in government service.

Revealing their names would only land them in trouble and he would rather take all the blame himself, Gen Sonthi said.

Gen Sonthi also refused to answer whether Gen Prem took him for an audience with <redacted>.

"Answering this question will not do any good at the moment given that reconciliation efforts are under way," he said.

Gen Sonthi also said his committee would not make any changes to the national reconciliation study by the KPI before presenting it to parliament. The report contains proposals by impartial academics and should be left untouched, he said.

Meanwhile, Wuthisarn Tanchai, deputy secretary-general of the KPI, said yesterday the aim of the forum was to find solutions for the future, although there was no need to dig up and reveal the truth behind the political conflict at the same time.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday said she wanted the country to move on in a favourable climate.

She urged all sides to meet for talks and listen to each other and decide how they will walk forward together.

Ms Yingluck believes the Sonthi committee will take into consideration input from all sectors of society to formulate measures to foster national harmony. The committee is expected to submit its complete report to parliament on April 15.