Thailand Still Seeking A Way Forward: Thitinan

[webfact]

Thailand still seeking a way forward: Thitinan

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

Thailand is searching for a new political consensus although the establishment fears that if it makes a political concession it will lead to more. That is the view of Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) at Chulalongkorn University.

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all," Thitinan told a public forum on transitions to democracy in Southeast Asia organised by ISIS at the university yesterday.

The ISIS director said Thailand was also in a kind of political transition, although the transition might in fact be a "regression transition" in which political rights are curbed and self-censorship becomes widespread as the establishment becomes increasingly worried about the succession to the throne.

He predicted that the political situation was unlikely to remain calm and clear indefinitely, adding that much would depend on the new Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

"We will see a greater role for the military before we see it reduced," Thitinan predicted, adding that Prayuth's acceptance speech last week about possible future military intervention in politics was tantamount to a "self-invitation" for the military.

Thitinan said Prayuth's pledge to protect national sovereignty and the Crown had become "a recipe for [military] intervention".

The academic warned that growing self-censorship in Thai society had become the "most dreadful, dangerous kind of censorship", as it emanated from fear.

The lese majeste law had become like a "deepening cancer", he said, as anyone could sue anyone who they claimed had offended the monarchy.

"The trend is definitely not good," he said, adding that space for dissidents was being limited.

Maung Zarni, a research fellow from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a current visiting senior fellow at ISIS, said the election in Burma scheduled for early next month (November 7) was like a transition to an economic and political "twilight zone".

Maung Zarni said the junta-sponsored charter in 2008 had ensured that the legitimacy of military rule would extend well beyond the election, as it was designed to ensure the military class remained as the ultimate rulers.

While self-censorship was a product of Burma's "neo-totalitarian system", Maung Zarni pointed out that even in jail, dissidents managed to resist by drawing paintings behind bars or getting news from the outside world.

Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand Mohammad Hatta said his country had managed to put the military back in the barracks and a consensus for rule by the people had clearly been established.

The military was forbidden from doing business, was no longer in Parliament nor in any other government offices except the Defence Ministry, Hatta said.

"In Indonesia, democracy has reached the point of no return and that's only forward ... because the people have spoken."

-- The Nation 2010-10-06

[SomTumTiger]

As long as Abhisit is in charge - Thailand will be better off.

[silp1979]

look how different it is in Indonesia

[geovalin]

Things are changing.

I'm not sure that a sentence like "the establishment becomes increasingly worried about the succession to the throne." would have been published by The Nation a few months ago.

(it's personal feeling so it's maybe not true)

[yellow1red1]

Maung Zarni, a research fellow from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a current visiting senior fellow at ISIS, said the election in Burma scheduled for early next month (November 7) was like a transition to an economic and political "twilight zone".

Maung Zarni said the junta-sponsored charter in 2008 had ensured that the legitimacy of military rule would extend well beyond the election, as it was designed to ensure the military class remained as the ultimate rulers.

Burma heading towards the Thailand model of normal. ha ha ha

[asiawatcher]

As long as Abhisit is in charge - Thailand will be better off.

Absolutely but also look at :

The academic warned that growing self-censorship in Thai society had become the "most dreadful, dangerous kind of censorship", as it emanated from fear.

The lese majeste law had become like a "deepening cancer", he said, as anyone could sue anyone who they claimed had offended the monarchy.

"The trend is definitely not good," he said, adding that space for dissidents was being limited.

That is a fairly good assessment of the status quo!

[yellow1red1]

Things are changing.

I'm not sure that a sentence like "the establishment becomes increasingly worried about the succession to the throne." would have been published by The Nation a few months ago.

(it's personal feeling so it's maybe not true)

good point as Posters get suspensions for same same comments!

If this keeps up there be be people talking same same Ben Franklin

[quote I prefer the following Abstract from the London Journal to any Thing of my own, and therefore shall present it to your Readers this week without any further Preface.

'Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man, as far as by it, he does not hurt or controul the Right of another: And this is the only Check it ought to suffer, and the only Bounds it ought to know.

'This sacred Privilege is so essential to free Governments, that the Security of Property, and the Freedom of Speech always go together; and in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech; a

Thing

terrible to Publick Traytors.

'This Secret was so well known to the Court of

King Charles the First

, that his wicked Ministry procured a Proclamation, to forbid the People to talk of Parliaments, which those Traytors had laid aside. To assert the undoubted Right of the Subject, and defend his Majesty's legal Prerogative, was called Disaffection, and punished as Sedition. Nay, People were forbid to talk of Religion in their Families: For the Priests had combined with the Ministers to cook up Tyranny, and suppress Truth and the Law, while the late

King James

, when

Duke of York

, went avowedly to Mass, Men were fined, imprisoned and undone, for saying he was a Papist: And that

King Charles the Second

might live more securely a Papist, there was an Act of Parliament made, declaring it Treason to say that he was one.

'That Men ought to speak well of

their Governours

is true, while

their Governours

deserve to be well spoken of; but to do publick Mischief, without hearing of it, is only the Prerogative and Felicity of Tyranny: A free People will be shewing that they are

so

, by their Freedom of Speech.

'The Administration of Government, is nothing else but the Attendance of the

Trustees of the People

upon the Interest and Affairs of the People: And as it is the Part and Business of the People, for whose Sake alone all publick Matters are, or ought to be transacted, to see whether they be well or ill transacted; so it is the Interest, and ought to be the Ambition, of all honest Magistrates, to have their Deeds openly examined, and publickly scann'd: Only the

wicked Governours

of Men dread what is said of them;

Audivit

Tiberius

probra queis lacerabitur, atque

perculsus est. The publick Censure was true, else he had not felt it bitter.

'Freedom of Speech is ever the Symptom, as well as the Effect of a good Government. In old

Rome

, all was left to the Judgment and Pleasure of the People, who examined the publick Proceedings with such Discretion, & censured those who administred them with such Equity and Mildness, that in the space of Three Hundred Years, not five publick Ministers suffered unjustly. Indeed whenever the

Commons

proceeded to Violence, the great Ones had been the Agressors.

'

GUILT

only dreads Liberty of Speech, which drags it out of its lurking Holes, and exposes its Deformity and Horrour to Day-light.

Horatius

,

Valerius

,

Cincinnatus

, and other vertuous and undesigning Magistrates of the Roman Commonwealth, had nothing to fear from Liberty of Speech.

Their virtuous

Administration, the more it was examin'd, the more it brightned and gain'd by Enquiry. When

Valerius

in particular, was accused upon some slight grounds of affecting the Diadem; he, who was the first Minister of

Rome

, does not accuse the People for examining his Conduct, but approved his Innocence in a Speech to them; and gave such Satisfaction to them, and gained such Popularity to himself, that they gave him a new Name;

inde cognomen factum Publicolae est

; to denote that he was their Favourite and their Friend --

Latae deinde leges -- Ante omnes de provocatione

ADVERSUS MAGISTRATUS AD POPULUM, Livii, lib. 2. Cap. 8.

'But Things afterwards took another Turn.

Rome

, with the Loss of its Liberty, lost also its Freedom of Speech; then Mens Words began to be feared and watched; and then first began the

poysonous Race of Informers

, banished indeed under the righteous Administration of

Titus

,

Narva

,

Trajan

,

Aurelius

, &c. but encouraged and enriched under the

vile Ministry

of

Sejanus

,

Tigillinus

,

Pallas

, and

Cleander

:

Queri libet, quod in secreta nostra non inquirant principes, nisi quos Odimus

, says

Pliny

to

Trajan.

'The best Princes have ever encouraged and promoted Freedom of Speech; they know that upright Measures would defend themselves, and that all upright Men would defend them.

Tacitus

, speaking of the Reign of some of the Princes above-mention'd, says with Extasy,

Rara Temporum felicitate, ubi sentire quae velis, & quae sentias dicere licet

: A blessed Time when you might think what you would, and speak what you thought.

'I doubt not but old

Spencer

and his

Son

, who were the

Chief Ministers

and

Betrayers

of

Edward the Second

, would have been very glad to have stopped the Mouths of all the honest Men in

England.

They dreaded to be called

Traytors

, because they were

Traytors

. And I dare say, Queen

Elizabeth's Walsingham

, who deserved no Reproaches, feared none. Misrepresentation of publick Measures is easily overthrown, by representing publick Measures truly; when they are honest, they ought to be publickly known, that they may be publickly commended; but if they are knavish or pernicious, they ought to be publickly exposed, in order to be publickly detested.' quote]