Yingluck Must Steer The Herd In The Right Direction

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE

Yingluck must steer the herd in the right direction

Avudh Pananaada

The Nation

Pride, vendetta and political opportunism are the key reasons why national reconciliation is not making headway.

Several legislative agendas are scheduled to commence debate on the mending of fences next year, but the effort of ending political animosity might backfire and deepen divisions. And if Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra continues being coy about spearheading reconciliation, her government might end up being plagued by instability next year.

Yingluck is obliged to project decisiveness in steering the reconciliation process, otherwise her opponents will only hijack the fence-mending debate and turn it into a bashing campaign against her brother Thaksin.

In order to bring about reconciliation, the government must frame the debate so it focuses on closing the political divide. As long as the push for mending fences is seen as a pretext to bring Thaksin back, the political turmoil will intensify rather than dissipate.

Yingluck is understandably trying to avoid a conflict of interest when commenting on issues involving her brother. But her vague stance is fuelling suspicions of there being an ulterior motive behind the push for reconciliation. This is, in turn, is being exploited by the anti-Thaksin camp to drive a deeper wedge in society.

In South Africa, reconciliation could only be achieved after the advocates of racism repented and brought apartheid to an end.

Among the Thai politicians, reconciliation has become a catch phrase for political opportunism rather than a genuine attempt to heal the rift.

Though all sides agree that a political malady exists, they continue bickering about what the malady is and how it can be fixed.

Both pro- and anti-Thaksin camps are poles apart on their version of the term reconciliation. The rivalling camps have deeply entrenched views, attaching the country's political future to the fate of one man.

Thaksin's supporters believe that the political landscape will continue being mired by injustice if the former PM is not completely vindicated. His opponents, on the other hand, believe that politics can never be back on course until Thaksin starts serving his two-year jail term.

Both sides are refusing to swallow their pride for the sake of a greater good.

In 2007, street protests erupted to derail the charter rewrite spearheaded by the governments of Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat.

Next year, Pheu Thai Party and red-shirt allies are slated to activate the process of amending the charter, which they claim holds the key for reconciliation. However, the yellow shirts and their splinter groups are already preparing to block the charter amendments, which they see as a pretext to absolve Thaksin of his conviction.

Yingluck should be careful about how she treads the stormy waters of the legislative debate on charter rewrite. Her predecessors, Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat, had opted for a hands-off approach, allowing the then-People Power Party to dominate the rewrite and leave the opposition Democrat Party out in the cold.

The end result was an eruption of violence because the charter debate had spiralled out of control.

The Democrat-led government under Abhisit Vejjajiva had witnessed political disturbances and much bloodshed in 2009 and 2010 brought on by the wrath of the red shirts. Abhisit tried but failed to push for reconciliation because he kept the Pheu Thai Party on the sidelines.

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach. If fences are to be mended, then those on either side of the fence should take a bipartisan approach. Yingluck is about to face the tough challenge of steering all sides toward making a concerted effort toward reconciliation. If she fails, she might see her early downfall.

-- The Nation 2011-12-20

[OzMick]

Thaksinistas want him forgiven; anti-Thaksinists want him to serve his sentence. Without claiming the wisdom of Solomon, may I suggest we cut the baby in half. Let his serve half his sentences, and then forgive him.

[CraigSchuler]

She's gonna steer the herd all right........Straight to slaughter!

[Bakseedaa]

She's gonna steer the herd all right........Straight to slaughter!

And sooner the better...... for all of us..!

[lovetotravel]

Thailand will have problems until corruption is dealt with. If there was less corruption, less people would be chomping at the bit to get to the trough for "tea" money.

[gregb]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

Or the yellows could just face reality and give up and bow out, let him return and Thailand can get back to business as usual.

Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup - now there's a root cause. . .

What about if he's pardoned and allowed to return, but agrees to be barred for life from holding any government office?

At some point his luster will fade, maybe in five or ten years the old gang can take back over.

I'm not saying this would be the best path, but anything would be better than continued conflict.

[lovetotravel]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

Or the yellows could just face reality and give up and bow out, let him return and Thailand can get back to business as usual.

Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup - now there's a root cause. . .

What about if he's pardoned and allowed to return, but agrees to be barred for life from holding any government office?

At some point his luster will fade, maybe in five or ten years the old gang can take back over.

I'm not saying this would be the best path, but anything would be better than continued conflict.

If Thaksin admitted guilt, gave up his money, and promised not to get involved in politics in anyway, the country's political problems would be over. But he wants his money back, and more. So this will never happen. IMHO. :jap:

[Crushdepth]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

Or the yellows could just face reality and give up and bow out, let him return and Thailand can get back to business as usual.

Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup - now there's a root cause. . .

What about if he's pardoned and allowed to return, but agrees to be barred for life from holding any government office?

At some point his luster will fade, maybe in five or ten years the old gang can take back over.

I'm not saying this would be the best path, but anything would be better than continued conflict.

You think he will agree to that? The guy is a wannabe dictator. Observe his systematic dismantling of the checks and balances of government and the installation of relatives in key posts (including Prime Minister, Justice Minister, Chief of Police, Foreign Minister). Left unchecked, exactly where do you think he would stop?

This has got a long way to play out yet, but it is quite likely to have a very nasty ending.

[sparebox2]

YS cannot relay on TS all the time.

She have to make some real decision of her own.

[whybother]

Or the yellows could just face reality and give up and bow out, let him return and Thailand can get back to business as usual.

Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup - now there's a root cause. . .

What about if he's pardoned and allowed to return, but agrees to be barred for life from holding any government office?

At some point his luster will fade, maybe in five or ten years the old gang can take back over.

I'm not saying this would be the best path, but anything would be better than continued conflict.

"Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup"

Do you want to take their guns away?

[slapout]

what If a arbitration panel of neutral people were to set down with chosen representatives of various groups? The 'wants' of each group would be reviewed, and then start working toward some reasonable binding agreement that would bring a sense of agreement to all parties.

There are experienced people all over the world, who handle issues between nations, political parties, labor/owners, etc, and they receive no benefit from the end result. Those outside any sphere of influence, with no axe to grind, could probably asses and promote real reconciliation and or democracy which seem to be receiving lip service only, past and present.

[lannarebirth]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

You're mostly right gregb, buy if one REALLY wants reconcilliation they'd do everything you suggest AND find a way to skip over the heir apparent. That would be a profoundly wonderful outcome for Thailand. No one seems to be backing such an initiative, so I predict much more strife to come.

[geriatrickid]

Here's my wish for the new year, a day when there will be a thread that won't obsess over former PM Thaksin. He's not here and he didn't get the Royal pardon.

[Oberkommando]

but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

The more you obsess over Thaksin being the root cause of what is happening in Thailand at the moment, the more you miss the real reason why it is actually happening.

Thailand's changing. The time of military dictatorships, coups and fascist juntas is over.

It's just a matter of time.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Oberkommando

[MikeOboe57]

Yingluck must steer the herd in the right direction

Unfortunately the course is determined by the coxswain, not by the figurehead.

[siampolee]

Thailand's changing. The time of military dictatorships, coups and fascist juntas is over.

It certainly will be if megalomaniac Thaksin gets back into power, 'twill be like Kim Jong-il has been resurrected.

[whybother]

The more you obsess over Thaksin being the root cause of what is happening in Thailand at the moment, the more you miss the real reason why it is actually happening.

Thailand's changing. The time of military dictatorships, coups and fascist juntas is over.

It's just a matter of time.

If Thailand is changing, why are the PTP and red shirts so intent on going back to how it was a few years ago?

[DP25]

Yingluck is about to face the tough challenge of steering all sides toward making a concerted effort toward reconciliation.

What is with these articles? They act as if there is the slightest chance in hell that Yingluck is NOT going to do everything she can do pardon her brother of his crimes and return all the billions of baht taken from him. Doing so will end in blood, if they are slow in proceeding it's so they will be prepared for it.

There is no chance of a path of reconciliation and Yingluck certainly isn't going to attempt to 'steer' the government towards it. These articles are ridiculous.

[surangw]

She's gonna steer the herd all right........Straight to slaughter!

Break out the cattle prods.

[hellodolly]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

Or the yellows could just face reality and give up and bow out, let him return and Thailand can get back to business as usual.

Not to mention removing the army's ability to execute a coup - now there's a root cause. . .

What about if he's pardoned and allowed to return, but agrees to be barred for life from holding any government office?

At some point his luster will fade, maybe in five or ten years the old gang can take back over.

I'm not saying this would be the best path, but anything would be better than continued conflict.

Are you saying give in to Thaksin let him come back and be PM again and loot the countries treasury.

There will not be reconciliation in Thailand as long as Thaksin is alive.

If he was to die now the country would come to a stand still as all of his apointies started trying to suck up to Yingluck who would be at a loss as what to do with out Thaksin telling her.

The solution is Thaksin to die but it in it's own rite would create a bigger problem.

It is looking more and more like the only thing that can be done is let the government continue to make fools of them selves and if they stay in power long enough the Thai people will realize that they are on a ship captained by Howdy Doody and vote them out at the next election.

Then of course there would have to be a strong government to withstand the mindless attacks of the red shirts.

I say ten years

[scorecard]

Past efforts on reconciliation have failed because those in power had opted for a unilateral approach.

It bores me reading drivel like this. Past efforts at reconciliation have failed, and future efforts will fail, not because people are unwilling to reconcile, but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

If he were to be eliminated, reconciliation would happen. As long he stays in the picture, we are headed nowhere but civil war. This isn't rocket science. You can keep trying to address symptoms of the disease all you want, but it will never result in a cure unless you remove the cause of the disease itself.

The reason reconciliation hasn't worked to date is because the tumor has not yet been excised. It is as simple as that. And the longer you refuse to do this, the worse the situation will become. The end result of not doing it is the death of the patient itself.

Agree, but I'll put it another way. As long as nobody respects the law then nothing will change.

And the people who should be the champions of the law and the role models are the worth offenders, believing they have the right to ignore or bend the laws for their own gain.

[scorecard]

but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

The more you obsess over Thaksin being the root cause of what is happening in Thailand at the moment, the more you miss the real reason why it is actually happening.

Thailand's changing. The time of military dictatorships, coups and fascist juntas is over.

It's just a matter of time.

So what we have left is scaly dishonest politicians, you call that positive change?

[scorecard]

Yingluck is about to face the tough challenge of steering all sides toward making a concerted effort toward reconciliation.

What is with these articles? They act as if there is the slightest chance in hell that Yingluck is NOT going to do everything she can do pardon her brother of his crimes and return all the billions of baht taken from him. Doing so will end in blood, if they are slow in proceeding it's so they will be prepared for it.

There is no chance of a path of reconciliation and Yingluck certainly isn't going to attempt to 'steer' the government towards it. These articles are ridiculous.

And even if she wanted to (not true) then chalerm certainly wouldn't let her get to first base.

[lovetotravel]

but because there has been no concerted effort to remove the primary cause of the division, namely the square faced fugitive criminal in exile.

The more you obsess over Thaksin being the root cause of what is happening in Thailand at the moment, the more you miss the real reason why it is actually happening.

Thailand's changing. The time of military dictatorships, coups and fascist juntas is over.

It's just a matter of time.

The time of civilian dictators is over also. Just watch the news.