The Caretaker Premier

"I still feel as if I'm dreaming," said Thailand's Premier Sanya Dharmasakti last week. "Give me some time so I can wake up." Sanya's bewilderment was understandable. Three weeks ago, he was hastily installed in the Premier's vacant seat when a revolt of Thai students (TIME, Oct. 29) prompted King Bhumibol Adulyadej to oust and exile General Thanom Kittikachorn, General Praphas Charusathiara and Colonel Narong Kittikachorn--the unpopular military trio that had ruled Thailand. Like most of his countrymen, Sanya, formerly rector of Thammasat University, has only gradually recovered from the shock of that brief revolution, which saw scores of Thai students gunned down in the streets of Bangkok by government security forces.

Well aware that he heads merely a caretaker government, Sanya waited until last week before taking any kind of decisive action. To the delight of the populace, he froze the assets of the three exiled officers and began a probe of their extensive real estate holdings and myriad bank accounts. Most of the new Premier's activity, though, has been less dramatic--directing the planning of a new constitution for the country and the elections that he has promised to hold within nine months.

Drafting a constitution--a task Sanya has entrusted to a broad-based committee of judges, lawyers and law professors--will not be all that easy. Any new political charter for Thailand must assign an important role to its very popular King, even though Bhumibol personally desires little political power. (In fact, the King has hinted that he is even uncomfortable about the role he was forced to play in ousting the former leaders.) A new constitution must not only exclude the military from politics but must also create a government so stable that the military will not be tempted to overthrow it. Moreover, the members of the new national Parliament must be selected in a way that will not confuse the politically unsophisticated peasantry. Above all, the constitution must find some method of preventing the growth of dozens of tiny political factions and splinter groups, which paralyzed Thailand's previous attempts at parliamentary government.

Sanya's cautious pace and his concentration on the constitution have irritated Bangkok's newspapers. Now that they have complete freedom, they have become vocal and critical. The papers have chided the Premier for doing little to help Thailand's sluggish economy, curb soaring inflation and eliminate rampant corruption. The English-language Bangkok Post complained that in slum areas of the capital, police services have deteriorated so badly that "robbery and violence are at a level which can only remind one of New York and Chicago."

Fear of Reprisal. The students voice a different complaint. They worry that Sanya, a gentle, scholarly Buddhist who studied law in London, may not be able to keep the ambitious young Narong from returning to power. Leaders of the twelve-man executive of the National Student Center of Thailand, which organized most of the demonstrations against the Thanom regime, are so afraid of reprisals from the military that they sleep in a different house each night. Explained one student leader: "Colonel Narong still has his followers. We don't want to go out in the dark night alone." There were so many rumors that the ousted leaders were about to return that Defense Minister Dawee Chuliasapya had to refute them at a press conference: "Are you really afraid of them? Why be afraid of two or three people when demonstrations can be staged by huge waves of people?"

Despite the fears of a possible military coup, the students still remain solidly committed to Sanya. "We must give the government time to work," observed Prasarn Triratvorakul, a Student Center leader. Because three university rectors and one dean now sit in the Cabinet, the students have an unprecedented line of communication into the new government. This easy access seems to overwhelm some of them. Reflecting the modesty and caution that marked the students' revolution, Prasarn remarked: "We are being listened to. But if our ideas get too radical, then the government should stop listening. We don't want the government to recognize us too much."

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