BANGKOK -- Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon, who died in a Bangkok hospital on June 10 at the age of 91, will forever be remembered for breaking his word and snatching Thailand's premiership in 1992 -- a time when it was still constitutionally possible for an unelected individual to be endorsed as prime minister by parliament.
It meant stepping down as army chief, so he bade farewell to a gathering of 500 military officers with tears streaming down his face, and swallowed his pride "for the sake of the country."
