BANGKOK -- Sonthi Boonyaratglin, a former Thai army chief commander who led the overthrow of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, sees coups as a necessary tool in his country's "immature" democracy.
Thai democracy differs "from the U.S., U.K., France, Japan or other countries in Asia," Sonthi told Nikkei in an exclusive interview. "Many coups [have taken] place in Thailand until now because the military [has] had to step in to correct immature so-called Thai-style politics."
