The Hindu Business Line : <I>Cooing coup! </I>

Mention of military coups immediately conjures up visions of erstwhile civilian leaders stood up against a wall and shot or, at the minimum, marched off in hand-cuffs to rot in the nearest prison. Those who were Heads of State/Government at the time of the coup are themselves not spared these cruelties, as had been the case in many African countries and even Pakistan.

Why, the excesses witnessed during the internal Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975-77, which was tantamount to a coup, although within the ambit of the Constitution and although by a civilian elected government, were no less rigorous.

Compared to the horrors associated with coups elsewhere, what happened in Thailand is no more than a coo!

The politeness and courtesy with which it was executed was simply unbelievable. The take-over for the nonce by the military rulers was done in a gentlemanly fashion and without any fuss or fanfare (other than a few tanks on the streets exciting some mild curiosity and a gently-worded declaration revoking the Constitution and asking the Prime Minister and his cohorts to bide their time).

You would have noticed how the latest coo, sorry, coup, was even accompanied by a statement from the military begging the people's "pardon for the inconvenience caused!"

Foreign governments have been equally relaxed in advisories to their nationals: Whether they should travel to Thailand or not is left to them, provided they keep clear of crowds or commotion. And there is no problem of communicating with their friends and relatives in Thailand since everything is normal and it is business as usual.

Not infrequently, a Thai coup is followed by musical chairs among civilian leaders to whom the military hands back the keys and returns to its barracks in good humour.

The one factor that makes all this possible is the veneration the monarch universally enjoys, as an enduring symbol of the country's honour, which the military too is keen to uphold at all costs.

B. S. RAGHAVAN