Military Coup in Thailand

This is a historical account that might lend insights into the current developments in Thailand and bear warning to the potential gravity of that state.

During the Chilean coup on September 11, 1973, the military assassinated president Salvador Allende and established a dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet.

Allende’s Marxist reform plans had drawn widespread opposition particularly from the U.S. What ensued was one the least publicized genocides in which hundreds of thousands were arrested without warrant often in the middle of the night by masked militiamen and mysterious “disappearances” were rampant. Survivors have recounted the torture they endured and the executions they witnessed while in concentration camps such as the one set up in the National Stadium. The death toll is estimated at 22,000 counting missing persons and the targets included socialists, liberals, professionals, students, and even the clergy.

Only in 2004 was Pinochet prosecuted for the human rights violations perpetrated during his regime. U.S. involvement has been under scrutiny since the release of several classified CIA documents, but there is no direct proof of particpiation in the coup nor is there any of intervention.

The situation in Thailand should not be taken lightly in the least since it can escalate to anything given the lack of media attention it’s receiving. Now there goes something where a world power might come in handy.



"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves."
— Henry Kissinger

"Not a nut or bolt shall reach Chile under Allende. Once Allende comes to power we shall do all within our power to condemn Chile and all Chileans to utmost deprivation and poverty."
— Edward M. Korry, U.S. Ambassador to Chile, upon hearing of Allende's election.

"Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him"
— Richard Nixon, orders to CIA director Richard Helms on September 15, 1970

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Lord Styphon

Your entire post talks about Chile under Pinochet, with no real effort to explain why it out of all the military coups which have occured since the end of World War II might provide special insight into Thailand's present coup. Why it, and not Perverz Musharraf's more recent coup in Pakistan, for instance?

No special reason. Only I'm most familiar with it. I was just lending my two cents. Hoping to incite a broader discussion and basically to make the point that these kinds of events (including Pakistan) are largley overlooked. Don't know if that qualifies as an insight.

There's nowhere I can't reach.