It's official. Thailand has now had its second military coup in eight years, and the 12th since abandoning the absolute monarchy in 1932. Last week's takeover has been a "creeping coup," an almost reluctant move by a military leadership fed up with a democratic process that seems unable to govern or bring stability to Thailand.
That frustration is understandable, but the inclination should have been resisted: A military government will not resolve Thailand's problems. The best thing Gen. Prayuth Chan-choa, the prime mover behind the coup and the head of the new National Peace and Order Maintaining Council, can do is to produce a civilian government, one that represents the entire country, and hand power to them.
Prayuth made his move last week, when he called in leaders from the government and the opposition to have them explain progress they had made on "their homework": resolving the standoff that had paralyzed Thailand's political system and threatened to descend into violence and civil war.