Junta has failed on key tasks of reform and political reconciliation, Abhisit says

[webfact]

Junta has failed on key tasks of reform and political reconciliation, Abhisit says

By Jakrawan Salaytoo
The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- THREE YEARS after seizing power from an elected government, the junta has failed disappointingly to reform the country and encourage political reconciliation, according to Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.

 

The former prime minister said those are main tasks the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is supposed to carry out before handing over power to an elected government after the next general election.

 

“There has been very little progress on reforms. In fact, I see some regression in certain areas, such as reforming the media,” Abhisit said. 

 

“A proposal calls for state officials to sit on the professional media council, which goes against what it is supposed to be. We call on the government to give media groups some teeth for self-regulation. But having state officials in the media council is very risky as there will be more government intervention into the media sector,” he said.

 

Abhisit called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also heads the NCPO, to help get rid of confusion regarding this matter by clearly stating that the media must self-regulate without state intervention.

 

“If that is the case, people will become confident that Thailand is reforming the media in line with the international principles,” he said.

 

The veteran politician said he thought it was a mistake for the NCPO to task the reform work with powerless agencies like the now-defunct National Reform Council and the National Reform Steering Assembly. But, he said the junta now seems to have become keener about the matter by setting up the Administrative Committee for Reform, Reconciliation and National Strategies. 

 

However, he pointed out that since the NCPO has only a year or two in power before the change of government following the next election, |they must expedite the work that |still needs to be done.

 

He also did not think any orders issued by the NCPO chief under the all-powerful Article 44 of the interim charter would result in successful reforms. Abhisit said that without widespread acceptance and public participation, such orders would not achieve the intended goals.

 

“In order to achieve reforms, you need to allow participation from people of diverse views and have them reach an accord,” he said.

 

Prayut’s power under Article 44 – which encompasses the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government – has remained under the new Constitution which came into effect in early April.

 

Abhisit said he did not expect the national reforms to be completed within the NCPO-led government’s tenure. He explained that large-scale changes require widespread participation from all the elements involved – an environment that was unlikely following a military coup.

 

“They are concerned with security and they are afraid the conflict could re-emerge” if all political sides are allowed to freely campaign on their reform proposals, Abhisit said.

 

Worse still, with politicians being excluded, the post-coup government has to mainly rely on the bureaucracy in pushing for reforms, which explains why most reform proposals are conservative, he added.

 

According to Abhisit, an urgent reform issue is how to boost public confidence in the political system, particularly after the next election.

 

“I am a bit worried. The reform’s direction is not clear, so we haven’t seen if the reform goals will be achieved,” he said.

 

In regard to reconciliation efforts, the former PM said the NCPO had completed the process of hearing opinions from conflicting parties but there had been no clear proposals or solutions from the junta.

 

“Reconciliation is no easy matter. There is no uniform formula as to what should be done,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30315884

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-22

[Thailand]

If Abhisit does not see by now that the "reforms" are designed to keep the military in control for the forseeable future then he needs new glasses.

[gk10002000]

They did not fail.  Fail presumes there was a plan, and metrics to measure the plan's progress.  Everytime you toss out the law and the constitution, you are doomed to fail.  There is no agreement on how to run the country.  Sure Democracy has its problems, but the underlying principle is the people decide their governors.  Thailand has never had that mentality.  In fact if you talk with many Asians they will say "We need a strong leader".  Strong leader is good.  Too much haggling gets nothing done.  But unilateral leadership rarely works well

Edited May 21, 2017 by gk10002000
typos

[debate101]

Just as the Shinawatras co-opted the pro-democracy movement, Ultra-regressive generals who care only about top-down control co-opted its democratic reform movement. Unfortunately, Abhisit gave his base the stark choice of supporting their political enemies' efforts to maintain the fledgling system or throwing in their lot with the green menace. He deserves much of the blame. RIP Thailand.

[pentap]

The army are not politicians. Simple!

It's like saying, let taxi drivers run a country, or nurses, or staff at Home Pro! Actually, they may do a better job? 555

It's simple logic. Well
it is elsewhere.

Oh! I forgot for a moment where I am... lol

[yellowboat]

The only reform that has taken place is ridding the country of two elected prime ministers from the same family.   Other than bike lanes and beach chairs, the junta has done little for the average Thai. 

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

The only reform that has taken place is ridding the country of two elected prime ministers from the same family.   Other than bike lanes and beach chairs, the junta has done little for the average Thai. 

hmm.  Popular vote more or less.  Didn't India  have two elected prime ministers from the same family?  As for elected, well, the USA just elected Trump, who has zero public office experience.  Amazing in my lifetime how elections have gone. In the past there was some presumption of ability, experience, etc.  Shame on the USA Democratic party for not putting forward a better candidate.   And shame on Hillary for ruining herself.  On paper she could have gone down as one of the greatest woman in USA history, State Senator, Secretary of State, President (missed by a hair). 

 

[KarenBravo]

1 minute ago, gk10002000 said:

Didn't India  have two elected prime ministers from the same family?

Actually, three.

 

Jawaharlal Nehru - India's first prime minister after independence.

 

Succeeded by his daughter Indira Gandhi.

 

Succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi after her assassination.

[scotchonrocks]

Nepotism and family lines have always been seen in political spheres. Even in the most powerful country on earth, think Bushes, Clintons and so on. It's not the families that are neccesarily the problem but the process: let the people decide, not a self-interested military cabal of generals.

[mtls2005]

Not sure who is "audience" is?

 

I guess he's sending a message to the "powers-that-be".

 

But surely he understands that the Coup/NCPO's goals were not reforms, other than to say reforms meant to turn the clock back 100 years.

 

Or is he really that clueless?

 

 

[Eric Loh]

9 minutes ago, scotchonrocks said:

Nepotism and family lines have always been seen in political spheres. Even in the most powerful country on earth, think Bushes, Clintons and so on. It's not the families that are neccesarily the problem but the process: let the people decide, not a self-interested military cabal of generals.

Asia has its fair share of political families. Current Singapore PM Lee (son of Lee Kuan Yew,) Malaysia PM Najib (son of ex-PM Tun Razak), Japan Shinzo Abe (prominent political family), S Korea ex-President Park Geon-hye (daughter of ex-President Park) and Indonesia ex-President Megawati (daughter of ex-President Sukarno). 

 

Each of these leaders was tested and challenged and ultimately their position was decided by the people. Electorates in Singapore, Japan and Malaysia are making the right noises for the people to decide in the next election. Park was ousted by people power and Megawati lost the trust of the people and voted out. This democratic process ensure a peaceful transition of power and all these countries have their economy intact and progressing. Seizing power repeatedly in Thailand is self-serving and in the interest of a few minority elites.    

[Smarter Than You]

I wonder where Thailand would be today had Abhisit not cowardly boycotted the last election??

You reap what you sow!

[IamNoone88]

The pot is calling the kettle black.

[Srikcir]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

the junta has failed disappointingly to reform the country and encourage political reconciliation

TRANSLATION:

The junta has failed to guarantee Abhisit as the next PM.

(notice I didn't say "elected" PM)

[Kiwiken]

Democracy requires open and unfettered debate. The Military does not allow this. While Abhisits hands are not clean he is correct. The Military has failed in its duty.

Only when it removes itself from politics can the Country develop. This is not 1932