Staggering back towards democracy [Editorial]

[webfact]

Staggering back towards democracy

By The Nation

 

 

With political restrictions eased, confidence is stirring that the people’s voice will be heard again in two months’ time

 

Thailand appears to be returning to a modicum of political normalcy now that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the ruling junta, has lifted its ban on political activity.

 

The NCPO partially repealed nine of its prior restrictions imposed following the 2014 military coup. It has effectively lifted the ban on political gatherings of five or more people and is allowing parties to organise meetings and other activities of a political nature.

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government had deservedly come under blistering attack from politicians who were gagged for the past four and a half years because of the junta clampdown.

 

Much of the criticism came from politicians linked to self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in the 2006 coup and then widely blamed for inadvertently triggering the 2014 coup with his efforts to maintain control over the government.

 

It no longer matters whether or not the politicians who have been complaining about forcible restrictions are affiliated with Thaksin – their grievances have merit and must be heard.

 

They are also speaking about national issues that the generals have failed in all this time to address, most notably the widening gap between the rich and poor. The junta has done nothing to gain legitimacy to rule and has left international confidence in Thailand to wither.

 

Of more immediate concern, the NCPO must live up to its pledge to let democratic politics resume and run its course. In the weeks before the election scheduled for February, it should issue no further orders that could benefit pro-junta parties at the polls.

 

It is bad enough that the generals have already prepared an uneven playing field. They must now step back and let the people speak – and prepare to bear the consequences.

 

Thailand’s standing in the world’s eyes has taken a beating after two coups in less than a decade. Seeking to put a human cost on the current situation, the pro-Thaksin camp notes the decline in tourism.

 

Just as important is the crisis of legitimacy. Thais want a government of elected representatives who can be openly criticised, not of military men who turn to intimidation and detention to silence dissent.

 

The partial removal of restrictions on political activities is welcome, but it is hardly enough. We must now witness elections that are free, fair and transparent.

 

There is no inherent guarantee in the lifting of restrictions that the voting will be any of that. In the past four years we have seen the junta repeatedly renege on promises to return the electoral mandate back to the people.

 

And with soldiers in control, there was nothing we could do about it. At least now we have a formal date for the polls and it is just two months away. For what it’s worth, we appear to be heading in the right direction at last.  

 

The junta could be doing more to help the situation. The political parties are still unsure, for example, whether they can now begin campaigning in earnest for votes or whether they still need to wait for a royal decree to be issued.

 

The notion bandied about that the NCPO might be setting a trap for any party that jumps the gun is not far-fetched. The junta is not known for fairness. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30360789

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-20

[mok199]

2019 and your still rampant corruption ,total lawlessness,road carnage and packs of wild dogs roaming freely...Mabey its time we broke up, ''its not you its me'', you'll never change, let me take my steely dan tapes and go ..its been a slice

Edited December 19, 2018 by mok199

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

the generals have failed in all this time to address, most notably the widening gap between the rich and poor. The junta has done nothing to gain legitimacy to rule

military generals, many of whom only gained their ranks thru cronyism, have no training, experience nor insight into running a country, one even said as much in the rumors preceding the coup,  so these lack of positive results is not surprising and only now can it be said in public clearly and directly

[Lungstib]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Staggering back towards democracy

What a misleading title. Thailand has had 4 years of military dictatorship in which most of the countries democratic principles have been removed or curtailed. A silence has been enforced and a constitution that denies proper democracy has been approved. The Thai people are only now being allowed to vote, and even then in a way that has yet to be decided by an Election Commission controlled from above. This 'voting' will then most likely result in a situation that the NCPO has worked towards for a long time. This is the reality and, sure as eggs is eggs, is not democracy. 

[Justgrazing]

43 minutes ago, mok199 said:

2019 and your still rampant corruption ,total lawlessness,road carnage and packs of wild dogs roaming freely...Mabey its time we broke up, ''its not you its me'', you'll never change, let me take my steely dan tapes and go ..its been a slice

That'll be you're Haitian divorce then Mok .. 

[Eric Loh]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s standing in the world’s eyes has taken a beating after two coups in less than a decade.

Wasted years for Thailand. Ought to put the coup leaders in jail for the damages they have done to the country although some may argue that they got their footpath and beach back. 

[KiChakayan]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

2019 and your still rampant corruption ,total lawlessness,road carnage and packs of wild dogs roaming freely...Mabey its time we broke up, ''its not you its me'', you'll never change, let me take my steely dan tapes and go ..its been a slice

That's sooo to the point... To the extent I am wondering whether it wouldn't be preferable to go with my little family and face relative poverty somewhere in Tasmania or New England.

[Eric Loh]

40 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

That's sooo to the point... To the extent I am wondering whether it wouldn't be preferable to go with my little family and face relative poverty somewhere in Tasmania or New England.

That will depend on whether your family and yourself are still mesmerized by his weekly TV talks. 

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Staggering back towards democracy

Reminds me of the game Whak-a-Mole with the juntas doing the whacking and the pop-up mole being the emergence of democracy.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/whac-a-mole

 

[Odysseus123]

16 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Reminds me of the game Whak-a-Mole with the juntas doing the whacking and the pop-up mole being the emergence of democracy.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/whac-a-mole

 

Crikey!

 

Spot on..Whack-a-Mole....

[natway09]

I am not sure Thailand is or will in the near future ready for democracy (whatever that means)

[KiChakayan]

3 hours ago, natway09 said:

I am not sure Thailand is or will in the near future ready for democracy (whatever that means)

Some 25 years ago I watched a talk show where Helmut Schmidt and Lee Kwan Yue were invited. Both retired, or semi retired, statesmen displayed some absolutely mesmerising wisdom. They agreed that the authoritarian tradition of most Asian states required a different path, to a style of democracy that may remain different, at least for a period, of what we in the west expect from democracy. Interestingly in many neighbouring countries one can observe such process at various stages, while Thailand remains stuck in the state it was 50 years ago. Sad.