An extraordinary political crisis has arisen after a freelance article in the latest edition of Hin Kling magazine exposed the private views of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides towards the Thai military command. The article, which bizarrely appears in a magazine more noted for gushing puff pieces on Korean boy bands, quotes a raft of comments from the Prime Minister’s entourage mocking the army’s top hierarchy, though none directly from the PM himself

Taking advantage of the PM’s enforced absence from Government House during the recent crisis, a reporter gained extended access to the Prime Minister’s staff while they worked at the 11th Infantry Headquarters in Bangkhen. The authenticity of the surprisingly unguarded comments by the civilian leadership has not been questioned.

Among the more pungent remarks is one describing CRES spokesperson Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd as a ‘clown stuck in 1976’. In a briefing in preparation for a press conference, the PM is reported as trying out some one-liners. ‘Are you asking about Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army General Prayuth Chan-ocha?’ he quips, ‘Who’s that?’

The article reveals a disturbing degree of disunity between the civilian and military leadership of the country. The two sides have tried hard to project an image of cooperation and harmony which this article now calls into question.

The article relates the Prime Minister receiving an e-mail on his Blackberry and saying: ‘Oh, not another e-mail from Anupong... I don’t even want to open it.’

The implications for government strategy in dealing with the current political conflict and the road map for reconciliation are troubling. It now seems that the two halves of officialdom may be pulling in opposite directions.

The personal relationship between PM Abhisit and Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda does not appear to be strong. One of the PM’s aides comments in the article that when the two first met, the PM was not impressed with the General. ‘He didn’t seem to be interested in what the PM had to say,’ the aide is reported as saying. ‘He seemed to think the meeting was merely a photo opportunity.’

The reaction of the military to the story was predictably negative. The Supreme Command and Army HQ were careful not to issue any immediate reaction. But in a strongly worded statement, Minister of Defence Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said PM Abhisit had made a ‘significant mistake’ and ‘exercised poor judgement’.

PM Abhisit moved quickly to try to limit the damage. In a remarkably personal statement, he said: ‘I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgement and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honour and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard. I have enormous respect and admiration for General Anupong and his national security team, and for the military leaders and troops fighting terrorism in this country and I remain committed to ensuring a successful outcome to this struggle.’

Abject though this apology appears to be, it failed to appease the generals. In a press conference two days ago, General Anupong issued the following statement:

‘The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a Prime Minister. It undermines the military control of the civilian government that is at the core of our peculiarly Thai democratic system. And it erodes the trust that is necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in overcoming red shirt terrorism and the political divisions in the country which are instigated, funded and exploited by convicted criminal and terrorist Thaksin Shinawatra.’

Clearly the military was forced to choose between maintaining the pretence of government unity with the risk of being seen as weak, or of going all out to punish insubordination and possibly threatening the national strategy to counter political dissent.

The Prime Minister was yesterday summoned to Army Headquarters for a special meeting with the military high command to learn his fate. After barely half-an-hour, Mr Abhisit was seen leaving by a back gate where he flagged down a tuk-tuk and left for an undisclosed location.

Shortly afterwards, a terse statement was issued in Gen Anupong’s name:

‘Today I accepted Mr Abhisit Vejjajiva’s resignation as Prime Minister of the country. I did so with considerable regret, but also with certainty that it is the right thing for our mission against terrorism, for our military and for our country.’

About author: Bangkokians with long memories may remember his irreverent column in The Nation in the 1980's. During his period of enforced silence since then, he was variously reported as participating in a 999-day meditation retreat in a hill-top monastery in Mae Hong Son (he gave up after 998 days), as the Special Rapporteur for Satire of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and as understudy for the male lead in the long-running ‘Pussies -not the Musical' at the Neasden International Palladium (formerly Park Lane Empire).