Royal seal of approval a coup for Thai military

Thais dress to honour the king. Picture / Reuters

Bangkok - Most of Thailand, men and women, were yesterday wearing an identical costume: a bright yellow T-shirt with a collar and an elaborate crest emblazoned on the chest.

They do this every Monday: an entire country puts on what has become a sort of unofficial national uniform, completely voluntarily. The somewhat lurid costume would not be considered flattering by Western tastes, but then they are not a fashion statement. They are a statement of loyalty to Thailand's king.

The T-shirts were given out for free this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the accession to the throne of King Bhumibol Adalyadej. He was born on a Monday, and so intense is Thailand's devotion to him that the whole country has now taken to wearing them, without fail, every Monday.

Some Thais have gone even further: they have managed to get their hands on several identical T-shirts, so they can wear them every single day.

Last week's military coup has thrust King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch, back into the political spotlight after he endorsed the group of senior generals who have seized power.

On Thursday, the day after the coup that deposed Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, a large crowd of Thais gathered next to the tanks which had taken up position outside Government buildings. At first it looked as if they were there to protest, and soldiers were eyeing them warily.

But then the royal motorcade came into view, and it became clear why the people were really there. They had not come to demonstrate against the sudden overthrow of democracy: they had come to try to catch a glimpse of the King as he drove by.

It was far longer than a British royal motorcade, or a US president's. To the onlookers' disappointment, the police said the Crown Prince and not the King was inside the old cream-coloured Rolls-Royce which looked somewhat out of place amid the ultra-modern skyscrapers of Bangkok.

It was followed by the most extraordinary number of Mercedes and BMWs, all in royal red with a crest on the side, that seemed to be there for no other reason than to swell the procession. The entire motorcade must have added up to a million pounds worth of cars.

It was a glimpse of the power and mystique of King Bhumibol. Even though he is a constitutional monarch, with almost no official powers, the events of the last week have shown he is still the real power in Thailand.

The televised ceremony in which he endorsed the coup leader, General Sondhi Boonyaratglin, was another insight into his grip on the country.

Bhumibol did not even have to turn up. Instead, Sondhi, in full ceremonial regalia, knelt and prostrated himself before a picture of the King. No one has suggested this implies the King was not wholeheartedly behind it. That is just the way they do things here.

This is a King who plays jazz saxophone to relax, and used to give concerts to his people. He has played live with the late jazz musician Benny Goodman, who said that if he weren't a King he'd give him a place in his band.

Bhumibol holds the patents to several agricultural inventions, and is said to drive himself around Bangkok secretly at night to see how his people live.

But at the same time, he commands such devotion that Thais do not dare look him in the eye: they address the dust beneath his feet.

Most Thais say the one thing that made them accept last week's coup was Bhumibol's endorsement. Almost all of those asked whether they supported the coup or not said they backed the King.

On the other hand, it is illegal to say anything else.

When American journalist Paul Handley published an unauthorised biography of Bhumibol, The King Never Smiles, this year, the Thai Government banned it and blocked its page on the Yale University Press website. It also banned an earlier biography by William Stevenson, who was granted hundreds of hours to interview Bhumibol and who says it was the King who suggested he write the book in the first place. Thai newspapers were told they weren't even to mention Stevenson's book in print.

There is not doubting Bhumibol's immense popularity among Thais is genuine. Nobody makes them wear those yellow T-shirts. And there are many Thais, respected university professors among them, who will tell you they would die for their King. So it was no surprise that the generals who seized power last week were so eager to stress that they had the King's backing.

- INDEPENDENT