Thai Politicians Need To Show Integrity To Prevent Problems

[Lite Beer]

Politicians need to show integrity to prevent problems

By The Nation.

EDITORIAL

Military chiefs have vowed not to stage a coup, but MPs must do their job also

How are we supposed to feel when, in an unprecedented move, top commanders have come out to declare there will definitely be no military coup? Should we be relieved? Should we shrug it off because this big story wouldn't have mattered had someone decided to do it and succeeded in the future anyway? Or should we curse our collective fate that has brought our nation to this "embarrassing" point?

The commanders had their reasons. There have been rumours, and none of them bode well for their reputation, which remains tarnished after the 2006 overthrow of Thaksin Shinawatra. The yellow shirts - or some of their leaders at least - are allegedly in favour of another "revamp" of Thai politics.

The red shirts, though totally against any new military intervention in politics, have helped fan speculation that their yellow counterparts want to come true.

Thai politics can't live without coup speculation. But what happened on Tuesday brought a nasty side of our political life to new heights. The commanders met at the Supreme Command headquarters, where they adopted some kind of a pledge to stay out of democracy's way. The subsequent press conference was no less dramatic, with no-nonsense threats given to any potential mutiny plotters, who Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara warned would be charged with treason.

Were some renegades planning something and the word leaked out? Pro-coup theorists will insist that there is no smoke without a fire, and that the press conference was a thinly veiled warning against anyone who intended to cancel the upcoming general election and shatter the fragile democracy once again. If that was the case, perhaps we should be thankful the armed forces leaders decided to come out like that.

Yet, as far as democracy goes, maybe the less reported part of Songkitti's press statement, where he denied the military would influence the forming of the post-election government, is something that deserves more attention. The good news is that Songkitti did address this public concern. The bad news is he did it only briefly and could have sounded more committed and convincing.

Thailand's political situation is a bit different from the time prior to the 2006 coup. Back then, a political deadlock following a boycotted election more or less served as a main pretext. The Thaksin government was also accused of massive corruption, amplified by the controversial sale of the then prime minister's telecom empire to Singapore's Temasek. Now the country is looking forward to a general election, to be contested by the two main political rivals, who are supported by a clear majority of the Thai population.

A coup would not make any sense. Although the current political climate is far from conducive to stable democracy, it surely demonstrates that Thais are trying. The military has no choice but to let them. However, while a coup is not likely, the urge to have a say in who should form the new government may grow strong after the election. This is where the real challenge lies for the Thai military. To say that there will not be a coup is easy; to leave politicians alone after the poll may not be.

The present military leadership naturally will feel threatened if the opposition Pheu Thai Party rises to power. For one thing, there will certainly be a new defence minister. What happens after that will depend on everyone's sense of proportion and level of paranoia. How a Pheu Thai-led government and the armed forces could leave each other alone, holding back the urge to "strike" or "make a pre-emptive strike", would determine the course of post-election democracy.

Thai military leaders have taken much blame for the stop-start nature of our democracy. Sometimes they totally deserved the criticisms, but sometimes they did not. For the country to move ahead democratically, however, the politicians must begin keeping their part of the bargain. They must stop hiding behind democracy and start really cherishing it. Rather than using democracy as an excuse for repeated mistakes, they must prove that democracy can correct its own errors. If the politicians can come to realise that democracy is not a licence to do just about anything, maybe the men in uniform can also stop thinking the same for their tanks and guns.

-- The Nation 2011-04-10

[ChiangMaiFun]

politicians? integrity? this is not a hangover thread from 1st April is it?

[pisico]

If the military's function is to protect and defend the country why the announcement was not made by the PM?

In such case, that would clearly indicate that in fact, as sluggish and imperfect that it is, there is an attempt to Democracy in Thailand.

The military, telling Thais (the people they are supposed to defend, not control) that "There will not be a coup" says it all.

[SomTumTiger]

Only way to get a politician to show integrity is to offer them money - they are always faithful to the money.

Can't wait for many of this current "old guard" generation to die away. I think the 40-50 age have at least a better sense of circumspection.

[Thaddeus]

Or should we curse our collective fate that has brought our nation to this "embarrassing" point?

Change the word fate in to actions or greed, and that pretty much nails it.

[DP25]

Now the country is looking forward to a general election, to be contested by the two main political rivals, who are supported by a clear majority of the Thai population.

Neither one are supported by the majority of the population, and considering they are diametrically opposed to each other it doesn't matter if together they are over 50% either. It's entirely possible an election will be won by a party that the majority of the population is opposed to, not sure if that's something to look forward to.

[LukDod]

Thai Integrity???

Is this a joke, or just another oxymoron?

[swillowbee]

... the headline appears as an abbreviated conditional ... IF Thai politicians show integrity, THEN problems will be prevented.

... the conditional resultant is quite straight-forward, and inexhorable ... there WILL BE problems.

[asiawatcher]

".. Politicians need to show integrity to prevent problems".