Thailand’S Troubles Show Democracy’S Shaky Future

[xthAi76s]

From Koreaherald

Recently in Bangkok, I found myself wandering through the strange but distinctive arena for one of Asia’s latest conflicts: CentralWorld, supposedly the biggest shopping mall in Southeast Asia.

Protesters supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s populist ex-prime minister, had set up base camp in the mall’s plaza in May 2010. During a widely covered clash with security forces, they had set the building on fire, destroying much of it.

Read more: http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120216001062

Edited February 16, 2012 by metisdead
Link added.

[gregb]

This is a wonderfully written piece, although I am not sure I can agree with the author's final paragraph where he states "It would be absurd to predict a repeat of the 1930's".

In fact, the parallels are numerous, and I think it is already occurring.

While I recognize this thread doesn't belong in General, I hope the mods can find a place to move it to, rather than simply closing it. So many TV members comment on democracy and what that ideal is supposed to mean in Thailand that I think it is especially relevant to point out how tenebrous this concept is in light of the political conflict that is occurring.

[metisdead]

The opening post has been edited due to possible violation of copyright and non compliance of fair use. It is generally accepted, but not written into law, that quoting the first two or three sentences of an article and giving a link to the source is considered “fair use” and not a violation of copyright.

[xthAi76s]

Sorry about that. Was not my intention. Thank you for the correction.

[xthAi76s]

This is a wonderfully written piece, although I am not sure I can agree with the author's final paragraph where he states "It would be absurd to predict a repeat of the 1930's".

In fact, the parallels are numerous, and I think it is already occurring.

While I recognize this thread doesn't belong in General, I hope the mods can find a place to move it to, rather than simply closing it. So many TV members comment on democracy and what that ideal is supposed to mean in Thailand that I think it is especially relevant to point out how tenebrous this concept is in light of the political conflict that is occurring.

Yes, I thought it was well written, and I wanted to put it someplace but didn't think I was allowed to post in News. Also the News section "Thailand News" seems to rely overwhelmingly on articles from the Nation and TAN. I might be wrong, though. The problem, in my honest opinion, is that The Nation's articles (and TAN's perhaps to a slightly lesser degree) are often very poorly written and lacking real content/argument ...

Edited February 16, 2012 by ThailandMan