Cousinly Connections

It should surprise nobody that General Chaisit Shinawatra, the former army chief who has called for a coup is related to the convicted criminal, fugitive and ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They are cousins. It would seem that with Thaksin's back-against-the-wall the general feels that the time has come to repay the debt of gratitude he owes his younger cousin. And it's quite a debt.

After all, Chaisit, dumped into an 'inactive'* post in 1999, had every reason to believe that his career was in danger of permanent stagnation. But soon after when cousin Thaksin took the reins of government, things quickly changed. A promotion in 2001 to lieutenant general and the commander of the 1st army corps was quickly followed by the elevation to assistant army commander and full general status. By mid-2003 Chaisit commanded the Thai army.

Said one military analyst: "Never before in the military records has a 3-star general risen to a full general in one year."

Critics cried 'nepotism.'

 " It's neither strange or impossible that the prime minister and the army chief would share the same family name," said Chaisit.

"There must be no more criticism. Everybody must accept the decision," said Prime Minister Thaksin.

Keen to keep things in the family, Chaisit promoted his brother-in-law to army intelligence chief in 2004.

Later, Chaisit became something of a political embarassment to Thaksin; the exposure of dodgy dealings by the army in relation to their radio and T.V. interests took its toll and Chaisit made a complete hash of handling the conflict in southern-Thailand. And of course by elevating his cousin over other better- qualified candidates Thaksin created a number of enemies within the army. Those foe came back to bite him hard in the 2006 coup.

* No one seems to know exactly how many high-ranking military and police folk have been assigned to 'inactive' posts. A large blunder, habitual incompetence, being a political liability, being a political threat, or just being in the way of someone else's favourite are all reasons why one may find themselves suddenly inactive. Of course the pay and the perks continue as before.

Still in the job, still getting paid but doing nothing. Exactly how many servicemen are working inactive posts?