Thai politics: True people power, not new charters, is key to reconciliation

[webfact]

True people power, not new charters, is key to reconciliation
THE NATION


Thammasat University academic Theerayut Boonmee delivers a speech

BANGKOK: -- WRITING NEW constitutions or issuing orders can never bring about national reconciliation, Thammasat University academic Theerayut Boonmee declared yesterday.

"Reconciliation takes place when people are willing to make it happen and when there is righteousness and justice, not when we are forced to reconcile or when we sing together. To solve political problems, we have to attack them at their roots," Theerayut told a seminar on "Rights and Powers of the People" at the university.

He said that since 1997, politicians and activists believed that to end political crises, the country had to appoint a committee to write a new constitution. The 1997 charter, the 2007 charter and then the 2015 charter draft were the results of this concept.

He said he would like to talk to the military, the yellow shirts, the red shirts or politicians to discuss solutions to the country's political crises.

"I want to encourage them to find solutions with an open mind. But I know it is difficult because people are still attached to old, conventional ways of thinking," he said. He said different groups had different outlooks and approaches to solutions. The military is focusing on national security and lacks perspective on reforms, but he wants to look at the whole country, meaning society and the people.

"When we have different outlooks, we come up with different solutions. When we focus on the people, our outlook will become wider. We have to solve problems by making people enthusiastic and responsible for the country," he said.

Theerayut said the big question was how to give power to the people so they become a base or foundation for the country.

After 1957, Thais looked down on themselves because they were oppressed by the central government. After the culture of local identity was promoted, people became more acceptable to those living in the central culture. He said locals must now learn that their rights and powers are still with them after an election. This trend must be pushed further until everybody is capable of living a democratic way of life.

"I do not want to call this decentralisation, but more a distribution of locals' rights," he said.

The academic said that if the country could not achieve a democratic way of life, local people would continue to suffer under nepotism.

"I believe achieving local identity and empowering locals by giving them rights will be a solution to the country's crisis and help bring about reforms," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/True-people-power-not-new-charters-is-key-to-recon-30267624.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-28

[ChrisY1]

"WRITING NEW constitutions or issuing orders can never bring about national reconciliation,"

It would seem that many academics and opinion writers, actually believe the military government want to achieve reconciliation among the people......IMO, that's far from the aim of the current junta hence the widespread disaproval of the draft constitution!

[Blackfalds]

"He said he would like to talk to the military, the yellow shirts, the red shirts or politicians to discuss solutions to the country's political crises"

Pardon my ignorance, but who are the 'yellow shirts' and who are the "red shirts".

Not sure what the color of shirts has to do with politics. Or rather, how they relate to the "Political Spectrum". I wonder how politically astute and those unaffected by the indoctrination of Thailand's anti-democratic media, would describe them politically. For example, which ones are linked to the Anti-Democrat Party?

In this quote I know who the military are. That is clear enough.

The quote also references Politicians as an entirely separate entity.....As if they are discombobulated. An entity separate from anything with no roots. Those who are not well served by democracy like to do that. Separate Politicians from the electoral process, at the very least separate them from the voters. Make them unrepresentative of anything. The old "divide and conquer' thing. That way the anti-politician ideology can attack them without attacking the voters who put them there. A neat little trick by those who want to attack Democracy without seeming to do so.

"Theerayut said the big question was how to give power to the people"

A lot of smoke here...Seemingly supporting electoral, parliamentary Democracy, but so obtuse that he can blow in the wind anywhere. I know historically, this is an Amart guy. The one-sided guys who unilaterally wrote a constitution they are now trying to foist on all sides, would probably say this smoky quote applies to their work.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Blackfalds

[h90]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

[Fat Haggis]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

Another idiotic statement ... suppress them with heavy hands being the only solution ? I'd really love to post what I think about you, but you're not worth the ban, 20 thousand posts plus, and yet constant drivel, no wonder your post count is so high.

If the Junta can bring themselves to talks with the Muslim separatists down in the South, and yet can't seem to bring themselves to talk to the Red shirts, that there suggests everything is agenda driven from them.

I often wonder how people like you live from day to day with so much hatred and bigotry towards one group or the other, life must be incredibly lonely !!!

[chainarong]

Khun Boonmee is quite correct , he knows how useless it was in Khun Thaksin time on how not to amend the constitution , if it hadn't been for the likes of Boonmee and other academic Thaksin would have been in totalitarian power for life, through the academic's efforts this was watered down to the effect you ended up with a shamozzle of a constitution, because Thaksin cut short the public submissions time , he could see the people were a wake up to his plan and Thailand hasn't move that far forward since , the people may very well see this latest bout of constitution amendments and deletes as similar and give it the flick , something that the people couldn't do under Khun Thaksin totalitarian plan and that about summarises this Junta up, different but just the same.

[MZurf]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

"The Army want to protect the country."

Really? That's their one and overriding concern??

[MZurf]

"True people power, not new charters, is key to reconciliation"

Actually, that's been tried for a number of years but since the wrong people get elected that obviously doesn't work!

""I do not want to call this decentralisation, but more a distribution of locals' rights," he said."

I think he has a point here. If the various factions cannot agree on how to share the national trough it's probably better for the stability of the country if Thailand implemented a more federal form of government.

That way there would be many more troughs and all the snouts would be happy.

Edited August 28, 2015 by MZurf

[EnglishJohn]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

Another idiotic statement ... suppress them with heavy hands being the only solution ? I'd really love to post what I think about you, but you're not worth the ban, 20 thousand posts plus, and yet constant drivel, no wonder your post count is so high.

If the Junta can bring themselves to talks with the Muslim separatists down in the South, and yet can't seem to bring themselves to talk to the Red shirts, that there suggests everything is agenda driven from them.

I often wonder how people like you live from day to day with so much hatred and bigotry towards one group or the other, life must be incredibly lonely !!!

My God : take a look in the mirror. Everything you call him, you are worse.

Red shirts don't want reconciliation. Period. They want 'Winner takes all' democracy and the spoils which come with it.

[Fat Haggis]

and what do I call him exactly?

I have no bigoted views, unlike you and your sidekick here, I have the same contempt for the Red shirts as I have for the yellows, neither are contributing to better Thailand, neither are the Junta who are simply consolidating their power, they're tightening their grip on the people big time, your hero Prayuth can't stand a little heat, it's his way or no way, he's the ultimate petulant child, and is nothing short of a bully.

I neither offer my opinions about what should be done in Thailand politics wise to my Thai family, as quite frankly, I have no say, and what makes anything I say to them bear any weight?

I don't need to take a look in the mirror, as I favour no side, all I need to do is look through a few of your posts and it makes me realise that you're a very narrow minded and bigoted person, with a very obvious political bias, on the odd occasion you have something worthwhile to say, but most of the time your posts are full of the same stuff.

I've made no secret that I'm no junta fan, and I've made no secret that I don't trust them either.. you fawn over them like they're a breath of fresh air, for me, they have halitosis!!

[DavisH]

There will be no reconciliation until politicians start serving the people rather themselves, friends and family.

[MZurf]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

Another idiotic statement ... suppress them with heavy hands being the only solution ? I'd really love to post what I think about you, but you're not worth the ban, 20 thousand posts plus, and yet constant drivel, no wonder your post count is so high.

If the Junta can bring themselves to talks with the Muslim separatists down in the South, and yet can't seem to bring themselves to talk to the Red shirts, that there suggests everything is agenda driven from them.

I often wonder how people like you live from day to day with so much hatred and bigotry towards one group or the other, life must be incredibly lonely !!!

My God : take a look in the mirror. Everything you call him, you are worse.

Red shirts don't want reconciliation. Period. They want 'Winner takes all' democracy and the spoils which come with it.

"They want 'Winner takes all' democracy and the spoils which come with it."

And your solution is to get rid of democracy?

[jcsmith]

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

And what would give the military the right to do that? A military's job in anything other than a military-state is to protect and serve the government. Yet in Thailand they find a way to insert themselves into power and suppress the will of the people time and time again. Now your saying the military dealing with the political parties with heavy hands is the only solution. How about this solution? The military performs their duty in serving the elected government rather than staging a coup and then trying to use the kings name to justify it.

[Srikcir]

"since 1997, politicians and activists believed that to end political crises, the country had to appoint a committee to write a new constitution."

Complete drivel.

Each Thai constitution has been abolished by and re-written by the military coups. The "country" has not had the opportunity nor the right to appoint any committee to write a new constitution. Only in a couple constitutions was the country allowed to even vote of acceptance.

One of the fundamental problems on the so-called national reconcliation is that the military DOES NOT RECONCILE - it DEMANDS.

[jesimps]

Nonsense: The Red Shirts want absolute power. The Yellow shirts want to turn back the clock 20 years. The Democrats want power.

The Army want to protect the country.

No one want reconciliation and surely no one want to compromise. Everyone want to pocket what they can.

Red or Yellow: Suppress them with heavy hands is the only solution.

Another idiotic statement ... suppress them with heavy hands being the only solution ? I'd really love to post what I think about you, but you're not worth the ban, 20 thousand posts plus, and yet constant drivel, no wonder your post count is so high.

If the Junta can bring themselves to talks with the Muslim separatists down in the South, and yet can't seem to bring themselves to talk to the Red shirts, that there suggests everything is agenda driven from them.

I often wonder how people like you live from day to day with so much hatred and bigotry towards one group or the other, life must be incredibly lonely !!!

My God : take a look in the mirror. Everything you call him, you are worse.

Red shirts don't want reconciliation. Period. They want 'Winner takes all' democracy and the spoils which come with it.

Wrong! Winner takes all is what we have now. Try disputing that and your attitude will be adjusted smartish.

[taiwanatoa]

Thailand needs what every country ( including mine, the USA) needs: an SDP ( Social Democratic Party ) like they have in Europe.

But first they must abolish the Lese Majeste law of course.