Salvaging The Future Of Democracy In Thailand

[LaoPo]

The Nation - Monday, May 7, 2007

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Salvaging the future of democracy in Thailand

Never before has Thailand's future been as severely undermined as it is today.

A three-pronged attack on Thailand's media freedoms, democratic development and its international obligations is now occurring. Meanwhile, it seems everything in Thailand is being affected by internal divide, pro-and anti-Thaksin groups, those on the left and the right, as well as populists and royalists.

First of all, right after the September 19 coup, freedom of expression began a fresh chapter - but not for long. While print media enjoy more freedom, electronic and online media continue to be held captive by narrow-minded bureaucrats and royalists. It is a huge dilemma. Can a country have a free press system in which certain media outlets enjoy more freedom than others? That used to be the conventional wisdom regarding Thai press freedom. Prior to the Internet age, it was generally accepted that the print media were freer than the electronic media, which has traditionally been under government control. Now, the ubiquitous online media outlets have been targeted for filtering and closure, which in the end will be in vain.

The annulled 1997 charter gave the best guarantees for press freedom and freedom of expression, however in practice it was not followed. The new draft addressed these key issues and tried to assure a more comprehensive guarantee of freedom of expression. What is sad is that the government's inability to understand the dynamism of online content. The knee-jerk reaction to YouTube, and previous responses to pro-Thaksin media campaigns have already left a huge scar on Thailand's press freedom record, as noted by international media advocacy groups such as Freedom House and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Obviously, new legislation proposing tighter controls on the Internet is pending now and if it passes, without any substantive amendments, Thailand's online media freedoms would be in the abyss.

Second, the most ironic development has been the Council for National Security's (CNS) repeated attempts to portray itself as a democratic force. In the beginning, the public was convinced that the coup-makers would be able to bring about political reforms. After seven months in power this hope has evaporated and it has already morphed into anger and despair.

Slowly members of the CNS and the government have shown their true colours. Both Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and General Sonthi Boonyaratglin have done little to address the reasons they gave for the coup such as accusations pertaining to corruption and lese majeste. Such allegations were made but nobody has ever been reprimanded because of them.

Attempts by the CNS and the government to be more democratic than the purged elected but undemocratic government had generated support earlier. But the consistent lack of efficiency and ability to understand the current situation cannot be condoned. Indeed, the leaders of the CNS and the government have time and again aired views that do not augur well with the country's democratic future and international reputation.

Finally, outside of Thailand these days negative views of the country have been prevalent and point to the spread of a rising nationalistic sentiment led by right-wingers and royalists that could push Thailand inward and incite confrontations.

Continued here:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/07...on_30033524.php

LaoPo

[jumnien]

I've said all along that the only thing worse than Thaksin is the right-wing anti-Thaksin junta-loving brigade that will take far more than 14 unarmed tanks to get rid of.

[alexth]

It's not something a person with some brains wouldn't have expected. Thaksin is a role model compared to these guys.

[wintermute]

I've said all along that the only thing worse than Thaksin is the right-wing anti-Thaksin junta-loving brigade that will take far more than 14 unarmed tanks to get rid of.

There is a very revealing interview by media tycoon Sondhi at atimes.com. Sondhi is a bit of a loon but he is dead on and quite blunt about how the junta is operating in a similar fashion to the kleptocrat Thaksin regime.

I think more than a few people were saying that the junta is more of the same.

This is how Thai politics has always operated with power swapping between old elite ruling families, politicians, and military figures. Nothing has changed at all it's just that the balance of power has shifted back into the old hands who are just as unwilling to let the people have any choice.

[LaoPo]

There is a very revealing interview by media tycoon Sondhi at atimes.com. Sondhi is a bit of a loon but he is dead on and quite blunt about how the junta is operating in a similar fashion to the kleptocrat Thaksin regime.

I think more than a few people were saying that the junta is more of the same.

This is how Thai politics has always operated with power swapping between old elite ruling families, politicians, and military figures. Nothing has changed at all it's just that the balance of power has shifted back into the old hands who are just as unwilling to let the people have any choice.

That interview is here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=118049&hl=

LaoPo