Thai editorial: Walking in an ever-diminishing vicious circle

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EDITORIAL
Walking in an ever-diminishing vicious circle
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Both sides of the political divide are displaying contempt for Parliament; unless common sense prevails, we seem doomed to further and deeper misery

Anyone watching the latest parliamentary debates on the amnesty, budget and charter-amendment bills might have lost faith in the legislature. Admittedly that's a sensitive, if not dangerous, thing to say. It has to be emphasised, therefore, that deploring what has gone on in Parliament and rejecting democracy are never the same thing. In fact, for democracy to prosper in a difficult political environment like ours, we need a strong and accountable Parliament that can make a badly divided people agree to disagree. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.

Everyone is to blame - the Democrats for their strategy of "rocking the boat", the ruling Pheu Thai Party for initiating bills that defy legislative principles or ignore political realities, the news media for being drawn to emotion and not substance, and the general public for its unbending political stances. Parliament, however, has the most delicate responsibility. Parliamen-tarians must strive to maintain unity, not break it.

Which brings us to the question of why amnesty and charter changes are matters of such urgency in the ruling party's eyes. Both issues have caused parliamentary turmoil that was completely avoidable. Pheu Thai has had its way on other parliamentary matters, but it's been pushing its luck with its so-called democratic mandate. Why does the ruling party seem willing to throw it all away?

If the answer is "Thaksin Shinawatra", the Pheu Thai Party cannot blame the Democrats without looking in the mirror. The latter have made a mockery of parliamentary proceedings, but, as senior Democrat Terdpong Jayanam pointed out, voters can't condemn the effects without checking the causes. A lot of things went wrong in Thailand before the current parliamentary turmoil, and how the "democratic mandate" has been exercised in recent years has been dubious to say the least.

Our parliamentarians can condemn Thailand to this vicious circle forever or they can at least attempt to help us break free. Currently, Parliament is little more than a farce, and could be a lure for opportunists with ill intent toward democracy.

If the Democrats try to block the government's legitimate control of budget planning and spending, or the appointment of people the administration wants to work with, they should be condemned for obstructing democratic principles. If the opposition bloc resists any controversial use of the electoral mandate, it needs to be heeded.

Parliament has the responsibility to douse the fire. What has happened over the past few days is having the opposite effect. Anti-government Thais have found the Democrats' tactics acceptable, while the other side has denounced what it sees as contempt for democratic principles. Who is right and who is wrong is an exhausting question, but the situation has prevented Thailand from doing what it is supposed to be doing - focusing efforts to tackle the insurgency in the deep South and raising the level of education.

Everyone is calling for someone else to show responsibility so that the country can move forward. "We are being watched by the entire nation" and "Let's do this together in Parliament because there's no other way" are statements heard often that simply mean nothing.

Unless Thai parliamentarians walk the talk, they and much of Thailand will continue walking in a vicious circle.


-- The Nation 2013-08-23

[Ianatlarge]

Interesting and accurate article from "The Nation", not the least because it did not automatically blame the Pheu Thai government for each and every problem. The Thai government does look to be in a stalemate, with no sign of an early resolution. My suggestion would be in line with the article, let the government govern, it did after all receive a mandate to do so, but equally as important, that the government respect the parliamentary process. Don't call in the cops!

[rijb]

Did I misread this, or is this a fair and balanced article?

[theblether]

Good article. The fundamental problem here is that the Amnesty bill is a Trojan horse with only one person in mind. By bringing it forward at all the government has abrogated governmental responsibility and destabilized the country.

Passing the bill would be a purely political move and nothing to do with legal process. If it then results in TS swanning into Swampy like the returning hero chaos would ensue.

It's for the government to uphold the law, not usurp it. The potential damage to the country is so serious any mature political party would not have brought it forward.

[NongKhaiKid]

The last sentence sums it up but is a forlorn hope as the PTP have one path as an objective and the Dems will oppose.

The politicians psyche is such that they must come out on top and compromise can be arranged as long as it's in their favour. Behind all of this there"s the spectre of one man and we know what he wants no matter what so there's no way PTP will deviate from the course he has instructed them to take.

[Robby nz]

Good article. The fundamental problem here is that the Amnesty bill is a Trojan horse with only one person in mind. By bringing it forward at all the government has abrogated governmental responsibility and destabilized the country.

Passing the bill would be a purely political move and nothing to do with legal process. If it then results in TS swanning into Swampy like the returning hero chaos would ensue.

It's for the government to uphold the law, not usurp it. The potential damage to the country is so serious any mature political party would not have brought it forward.

Agree with you blether but the current senate bill would seem to be in the same vain.

I see Thai people who have no political affiliation being asked, not asked really, more like forced to take sides.

Its either want Thaksin back or don't want him back.

This ignores the real problems of the country.

[MaxLee]

A lot of things went wrong in Thailand before the current parliamentary turmoil, and how the "democratic mandate" has been exercised in recent years has been dubious to say the least.

Yeah, it started long, long ago, when certain immigrant from China have established power by any means possible even with murder and since colonize-terrorized this country with propaganda suppression and corruption

[PhilipCook]

Should TS ever return, his security requirements will make Obama's visit look like a stroll in silom by comparison. The freedom he enjoys now will only ever exist outside Thailand unless he decides to serve a little executive class jail time.

[mca]

Should TS ever return, his security requirements will make Obama's visit look like a stroll in silom by comparison.

I've sometimes mulled about this. It's not as if, should he ever return to Thailand under whatever reason, that he's going to simply be allowed by certain factions and members of the public to just go on about his day to day stuff.

On a basic daily level sitting for 60 seconds at the traffic lights would be an exercise in "Who can put the most dents in the car" and casually window shopping round Emporium or wherever would be a definite out.

It'd be like me wandering into a London pub or sitting in a football crowd with an "I'm a convicted pedophile" t-shirt on.

If I were him I'd rather be somewhere where I can wander around relatively anonymously. But of course I'm not as divinely arrogant as him.

Edited August 23, 2013 by mca