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Military thuggery rewarded

Ugly Truth Thailand - September 9, 2018

Weakness of electoral politics in dealing with the Thai military – Ugly Truth Thailand. August 26, 2018
Mafia style military rule ensures impunity – Ugly Truth Thailand. August 19, 2018
Junta's repression and double standards regarding forest conservation – Ugly Truth Thailand. August 5, 2018
Inequality is still a huge problem in Thailand – Ugly Truth Thailand. July 29, 2018
The Thai state cares little about ordinary people – Ugly Truth Thailand. July 15, 2018

Giles Ji Ungpakorn – Not only do the Thai military killers and thugs enjoy impunity after killing pro-democracy demonstrators, Malay Muslims or human rights activists, they also get promoted.

Army thug Apirat Khongsompong has been appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Army. In early April 2010 he led a group of soldiers to attack unarmed pro-democracy Red Shirts at the Thai Khom Satellite Ground Control Station in Patum Tani. Several Red Shirts were injured in that attack. He can be seen in video footage shooting a handgun at the protesters. Obscenities were also mouthed.

The video can be seen on YouTube (assuming it isn't removed at the request of the junta). The link is: https://youtu.be/x26MASB1J9w

The Thai military attack unarmed civilians as though they are enemy combatants, rushing forward as though they were involved in great feats of heroism. In fact they behave like cowardly thugs.

Some people have commented that because the new military reshuffle and appointments were done in the name of the king that Wachiralongkorn is somehow in charge of the military. This is just the usual nonsense from the conspiracy theorists. All such appointments have always been carried out in the name of the Head of State.

There is no evidence at all that Wachiralongkorn has any power over the armed forces and the military reshuffle was directed by the top generals and the ruling junta.

Military reshuffles and promotions are an occasion for top generals to get their turn to stick their snouts in the corrupt feeding trough and therefore much behind the scenes bargaining takes place between different factions.

In most European countries where there is a monarchy, top appointments of soldiers, Prime Ministers or judges are usually carried out in the name of the monarchy without the monarchy having any power whatsoever.

General Apirat clearly hated the Red Shirts and this is just another example of how the Thai military can never act as an honest broker between the different political factions.

Source: https://uglytruththailand.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/military-thuggery-rewarded/.