To the world: Please don't become part of Thailand's internal affairs problem

[webfact]

TELL IT AS IT IS
To the world: Please don't become part of Thailand's internal affairs problem
Pornpimol Kanchanalak

BANGKOK: -- On Wednesday morning - the day after the Army Chief declared the martial law - Thailand was bombarded with criticism and warnings from overseas. The UN Secretary General, the US State Department, the European Union, etc, all decided to assume the role of big brother.

Meanwhile Western media swooped on Thailand like scavengers sensing a dying animal down below. They were full of opinions, yet devoid of the full facts and unbiased information.

The voice from overseas talked big ideals - that individuals' freedom must not be violated, and that the democratic process must not be tampered with. These notions are the Holy Grail of modern Western civilisation, something that tomb raiders like Laura Croft get lured in by and thrilled about.

It is true that Thailand is not an isolated island; we are part and parcel of the world community of nations. As such, the community has a legitimate reason to express its apprehensions over events in Thailand. However, while so doing, it must not try to conveniently insert itself into Thailand's troubled political equation. By choosing to remain oblivious to certain facts and the whole truth of why Thailand is where it is today, the world's condescending criticism is at best unfair and at worst downright wrong.

If facts are inconvenient to the world community, then it should have refrained from straying into territory with which it is unfamiliar, for the result of such meddling is counterproductive. In fact, its energy would have been better spent in trying to locate more than 200 kidnapped Nigerian girls and bringing the kidnappers to justice. After all, Thailand is not Iraq or Afghanistan, where national sovereignty was completely trampled down by the West in the name of counter-terrorism.

Article after article in major Western media outlets has failed to mention the massive abuse of power on the part of the government, its corruption of epic proportions, and the blood and tears of poor farmers who broke their backs working the soil only to see the cash owed to them for their crops go into offshore and local bank accounts of politicians and their cronies. They have failed to mention that it was the government's misplaced intransigence and hubris that brought out millions of honest taxpaying citizens into the streets, unable to tolerate the daylight robbery of national coffers that they had paid in to.

Western media have harshly criticised the Constitutional Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, depicting them as thorns in the side of Thai democracy. They overlooked the string of illegal actions by the government that led to the verdicts. The falsification of documents by the office of the then-prime minister is never mentioned because foreign press never bothered to study the verdict thoroughly. Truth be told, the verdict and impeachment of Ms Yingluck and her Cabinet was as good and as fair as the US Congress's decision to impeach Nixon over the Watergate case. In fact, the illegal acts, the cover-up, the abuse of power and the kickback schemes perpetrated by Nixon and his people pale in comparison with what the Thai government and its head did here.

And Nixon deserves credit for resigning when confronted with the full disclosures of his legal and administrative failing. In Thailand, the government twisted and bent the laws to serve its whim. It was selective over which laws it would follow and which legal interpretations it used. It didn't think twice before choosing the low road and demonstrating to the country that the laws only apply to little people like us, not them. And despite all this, it continued to insist on its "legitimacy", even when it had none left.

The Western media has chosen to ignore the torrent of vile epithets delivered by community radios and local cable TV, paid for by the powers-that-be and poisoning the minds of villagers and city-slickers alike, encouraging them to hate without really questioning whether what they hear is true or not. These media outlets love mentioning that Thaksin Shinawatra-led parties have managed to win every election for the last decade, but show no interest in the dirty political machine that got them into power.

The foreign press loves to drag the so-called elite, the "Amart", and the Palace into the picture because it sounds "sexy" and offers the intrigue of a conspiracy. But if pressed about what evidence they have of such interference, if they were honest they would admit they had none. Their "evidence" comes merely from the words of biased academics, who are keen to communicate with them in their language of conspiracy.

As for the "Democracy" word that the Western world so loves to preach, the bad news is we never had the genuine article, only the "appearance" - a phantom democracy. We had elections, but they are not synonymous with democracy. The check-and balance mechanism in our political regime has been destroyed, or marginalised, and rendered toothless. That's why wholesale fraud and corruption have been allowed to prosper, and we the people have little or no say in it.

So when the world fails to fully grasp our terrible political situation brought on by bad government, when it ignores the killing of innocent and unarmed protesters that is met by absolute inaction on the part of that government, when it chooses not to see the large cache of war weapons at a resort owned by a former member of the government party and frequented by key red-shirt figures, and when it won't act on information that bombs and grenades are being moved across the border and into Bangkok, it thereby loses any right to preach to Thailand about the imposition of martial law.

It seems certain that martial law is simply Round One of this national "Thai Fight", and that things have only just begun. The military is now playing referee. Most people agree it has provided a necessary breather, no matter how short the space and what will happen next.

In our complex political scene, it is already extremely difficult to separate the facts from the fictions, the good from evil, the right from wrong. We are one big baffled family, and uninformed, prejudiced overbearing interference from outside can only make the confusion worse. The very real threat is that such meddling can be easily exploited to tip the level-playing field of our politics, thereby smashing any chance for us, no matter how slim, to find our own Holy Grail.


-- The Nation 2014-05-23

[Somtamnication]

Well, asking some "big" countries not to meddle is like asking for no milk with my laté.

[angsta]

North Korea, Burma, South Africa in the 80's and Nazi Germany said very similar things.

[lujanit]

Who gives a flying firetruck what the US thinks.

[pxlgirl]

another one from the chapter "yoo farung yoo no understaahn thai culturrrr."

Edited May 22, 2014 by pxlgirl

[Thai at Heart]

OK. Apparently nothing worth dealing with or paying attention to in thailand. SNAFU

How is Burma this time of the year.

What a ludicrous article. We never had a democracy so what did u expect? In that case, don't have one, live your lives and stay in the dark ages.

[Bluespunk]

While some of the news I heard did paint a very one sided picture this article reads like a teenagers rant.

"No one understands me, you don't get it, I hate you all, leave me alone"

[Prbkk]

This article by the same person convicted of illegal campaign contributions in the USA? If so, some significant hypocrisy. In any event, a threadbare piece from a known fanatic.

[orientalsf]

Well written article and I totally agree. Let the Thai people handle their internal affairs. The US and the EU should solve their own problems instead of trying to dictate internal matters of this country. I can't speak for the EU, but as an American citizen I know we have major problems here that should be taken care of.

[haroldc]

Excellent commentary.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.”
Elvis Presley

[Credo]

Well written article and I totally agree. Let the Thai people handle their internal affairs. The US and the EU should solve their own problems instead of trying to dictate internal matters of this country. I can't speak for the EU, but as an American citizen I know we have major problems here that should be taken care of.

Fine. Let them handle their internal affairs. The problem is that they don't handle their internal affairs and the affairs start affecting the rest of the world. Stop selling passports from other countries. Stop violating copyright agreements. Stop forcing asylum seekers out to see (and on to somebody else's shores).

Handle your internal affairs and you will not be subject to criticism.

[Payboy]

The UN is not my father, all over again.

[rwdrwdrwd]

North Korea, Burma, South Africa in the 80's and Nazi Germany said very similar things.

Did they? Love to see some examples.

[IamNoone88]

Wouldn't it be helpful for once if the US and that quite ineffective outfit, the UN actually understood a situation and supported it or at least remained neutral rather than condone it? We have been putting up with Suthep's and Jaturong's nonense for far too long and it has impacted our business and personal lives for the worse as the country suffers. So, Mr Kerry and Mr Moon, wake up and think and spare a thought for the real people who have been trying to make an honest living and have suffered for months because of this impasse. As you obviously can't help the situation, you really should keep quiet. As we say, if you are not part of the solution, then don't become part of the problem.

[Delta8500]

The same democratic elections without democracy take place in the USA. That is how a tyrant like Obama came to power.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Tokay]

Dear Pornpimol Kanchanalak,

Your country gets aid from all over the world. It is the business of those who send you aid to make sure you clowns don't destroy their investment or put their citizens in harm's way. If you were capable of handling your own country, you would not be treated like children on the international playground. Yet, here you are, time and time again. So suck it up or deny all aid. Choose one.

Cheers,

The World

[Tokay]

“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes flip flops.”

Elvis Presley

Fixed that for ya.

[DirtFarmer]

SO tempted to dismantle her piece...but not going to bite ...suffice it to say she speaks as if she not in the Wireless Road Wine Society clique... but rather part of the 'normal folk' but in reality ...

[tx22cb]

It's sad when the Yellow press gets all defensive - blaming our foreign media for reporting the news.

We happen to have the concept of freedom of the media in our countries out West.

I seem to recall previous Thai coups when the Military killed Thai people, banned some newspapers, threw journalists in jail - the Thai press bleated for help from the Western countries pretty loudly then.

I wonder what the Nation's stance would be if they were to be closed down and their Editors were to be thrown in prison in a different coup in the future, if the coup makers were to dislike the Nation's views?

[jonclark]

I agree that Thailand needs to sort out its own problems

But to expect the world to turn a blind eye to it, is just plain naive. One of Thailand's biggest sources of income is foreigners in the form of tourism, so foreign governments have a right to make and pass comment.

And as part of ASEAN next year - with its binding joint agreements and common policies - which will come into effect, this interference will increase.

You don't invite someone into your house and then complain when he says something you don't like

[newcomer71]

Wouldn't it be helpful for once if the US and that quite ineffective outfit, the UN actually understood a situation and supported it or at least remained neutral rather than condone it? We have been putting up with Suthep's and Jaturong's nonense for far too long and it has impacted our business and personal lives for the worse as the country suffers. So, Mr Kerry and Mr Moon, wake up and think and spare a thought for the real people who have been trying to make an honest living and have suffered for months because of this impasse. As you obviously can't help the situation, you really should keep quiet. As we say, if you are not part of the solution, then don't become part of the problem.

Westerner and democratic countries have every right to express their opinion and choose to give voices to who wants democracy vs. military dictatorship, especially in case of US, as they contribute with financial helps to their allies.

I vividly hope that US and UN will go on wit their voices and apply sanctions to Thailand until democracy will be restored. Dictatorship is never a solution, except for those radical extremists cheering for it.

[LuckyLew]

So next time Thailand has another disaster and they reach out for help ...; the response should be "we were told not to meddle"

[newcomer71]

The same democratic elections without democracy take place in the USA. That is how a tyrant like Obama came to power.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Tyrant... Obama... Obviously you don't know the meaning of the word "tyrant".

[noitom]

What an unenlightened writer with little or no deep knowledge about what is actually going on in Thailand. Thailand wants to play with the big boys, "the kitchen of the world" nonsense, but doesn't play well with others. This aricle is the Thailand is so special tripe that is part of the -problem and not the solution. Thailand and this writer has no accountability for Thailand's failed state nature and its effect on the region.

[stickyrice2000]

Since they don't want the world to interfere, their supports should be put on halt until the democracy has been resumed.

[cmsally]

This article by the same person convicted of illegal campaign contributions in the USA? If so, some significant hypocrisy. In any event, a threadbare piece from a known fanatic.

Yes, indeed it looks like the same person. All a bit strange as she appears not to be a US citizen. And here she is telling the international community to butt out of Thai affairs.

[marinediscoking]

It's sad when the Yellow press gets all defensive - blaming our foreign media for reporting the news.

We happen to have the concept of freedom of the media in our countries out West.

I seem to recall previous Thai coups when the Military killed Thai people, banned some newspapers, threw journalists in jail - the Thai press bleated for help from the Western countries pretty loudly then.

I wonder what the Nation's stance would be if they were to be closed down and their Editors were to be thrown in prison in a different coup in the future, if the coup makers were to dislike the Nation's views?

They had the same opinion after the 2006 coup, then after a week or so it was criticism after criticism about less freedom of the press.

[Stradavarius37]

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What an unenlightened writer with little or no deep knowledge about what is actually going on in Thailand. Thailand wants to play with the big boys, "the kitchen of the world" nonsense, but doesn't play well with others. This aricle is the Thailand is so special tripe that is part of the -problem and not the solution. Thailand and this writer has no accountability for Thailand's failed state nature and its effect on the region.

Thankfully, we have you - anonymous internet forum guy - to educate the world via your posts on the TV forum. Im sure Obama is waiting in breathless anticipation for all the knowledge you are about to drop.

[NongKhaiKid]

What an unenlightened writer with little or no deep knowledge about what is actually going on in Thailand. Thailand wants to play with the big boys, "the kitchen of the world" nonsense, but doesn't play well with others. This aricle is the Thailand is so special tripe that is part of the -problem and not the solution. Thailand and this writer has no accountability for Thailand's failed state nature and its effect on the region.

However don't they want some sort of observer status at the UN ?

The world would really benefit from some input of Thainess