Thursday, September 21, 2006
Thailand - Democratic or Undemocratic
Recent events occuring in Thailand has been a surprise to many people. Few would have expected that the military leaders would stage a coup de tat against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra. It all started out with the sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings. Mr Thaksin has since then been branded as a traitor of the country, selling his nation away and all in all, corrupt. He failed to clear misunderstandings immediately and this allowed media mogul Sondthi to stir up the feelings of the middle class people to request his resignation. Thaksin returned power to the people by calling for new elections but opposition refused to endorse the elections. Elections were nullified and new elections were recently called to being in November this year. Before the elections could take place, Thailand is now under the control of General Sondthi.
Democracy offers the people not only the right to vote, but the right to be involved in the decision making process of the nation, and most importantly, the right to removed a leader should he stray away from his path as the leader of the nation, without bloodshed. Indeed, Mr Thaksin is now effectively out of power as the King has given his support for the military rulers and no blood was spilled. But it was not by the means of democracy that allowed this process to occur, this change was brought about by force. Does democracy still has its functions in Thailand?
In the pass 60 years of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, there have been almost 16 coup de tats, new Constitutions drafted each time. If Thailand were to be a truly democratic country, it has to allow the wheels of democracy to work and turn, no matter how long and tedious the process is. If the people have shown their support for Thaksin in the polls, he should be allowed to carry on his duties. The polls has shown support to him, but this is met strongly by opposition parties and results have to be nullified. I feel that Thaksin has been defeated by asymmetrical people power. The lower class versus the middle class. Thaksin's support base lies in farmers, taxi drivers and essentially, the low income group and less educated. They supported Thaksin because he has made substantial effort to allieviate their problems. The middle class however, are richer and more educated, they are more vocal and dare to challenge the government. However, even if they have lesser votes then the poor, they seem to exert a stronger influence over the political climate and can lead to important changes. While it is important to ensure that elections are fair, i feel that elections should be respected, everyone's views has been part of the results, they reflect truely the wishes of the nation.
I sincerely wish that no killings will happen in Thailand and hope that the military leaders would return the power to the people. Power corrupts, no matter how much integrity you have, power corrupts.
stalin rules
11:15 PM
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