Former Deputy PM Warns of Two Decades of Coup Damage
Former deputy prime minister Phoomitham Vejjachayai warned on the 20th anniversary of Thailand's 2006 coup that two decades of instability, constitutional rewrites, and lost opportunities show the country must never repeat the mistake of us
Phoomitham Vejjachayai, former deputy prime minister and Pheu Thai Party leader, marked 20 years since the September 19, 2006 coup by posting on Facebook that it represents a crucial lesson Thailand must learn and never repeat. As a government minister who was removed from power that day, Phoomitham reflected on two decades of conflict, lost opportunities, and ongoing consequences. He stressed that the use of extraconstitutional power to destroy democratic mechanisms must be seriously questioned by Thai society.
Phoomitham argued that while a coup can change a government in one night, it creates far larger problems and causes irreplaceable loss of opportunity and national potential. Over the past 20 years, Thailand has witnessed multiple government changes, constitutional rewrites, and rule changes, yet problems and conflicts persist while the country has lost time, continuity, public confidence, and opportunities for its people.
He clarified that democracy does not mean the majority has absolute power to do whatever it wants, but must also respect minority rights and public consent. Stable democracy requires both a government that comes from the people and checks-and-balances systems the people trust. While governments can be wrong, corrupt politicians prosecuted, failed governments changed, and political parties held accountable, all must occur within the law and democratic rules.
Phoomitham emphasized that democracy's true value is not guaranteeing the best government every time, but having a system where wrongdoing is checked, failed governments can be changed, and people decide their own future. He argued democracy will not be stable unless people see its real-world meaning—whether citizens have adequate income, whether farmers have a future, whether poor people access healthcare, and whether young people have education, jobs, and hope.
Looking back 20 years, Phoomitham said September 19 should not merely be a day for assigning blame or declaring winners and losers. Instead, Thailand should ask how to turn past mistakes into immunity against future ones. The country needs a system where governments can be checked without overthrowing the system, conflicts can exist without breaking the rules, and governments can be changed without using extraconstitutional power. If people vote wrongly, they must have the right to vote again; if a government fails, it must be checked and held accountable—but solutions should not be created through extraconstitutional means.
