Prachatai’s english language site is carrying a provocative, translated article penned by Wittayakorn Boonruang. It is just one of many interesting translations that have been published on their site in the past couple of weeks.
This most recent article attacking the proponents of the “Thaksinocracy” school of academic argument concludes that:
…after the coup and the new Constitution, the same old atmosphere is returning to haunt us, the suppression of the political rights of the poor.
Among those who have helped to coin the term “Thaksinocracy” to justify the coup, those who claimed to understand the poor and democracy, now will you have the guts to raise your hand?
Please, I beg you. If you made even less than the minimum wage, if you had no big family to take care of [you], if you had no degrees that earned you livelihood, if you had no inherited wealth, if you had no fancy shops or factories, if you had no land to till, you would not have done anything other than support the party that gave you the most tangible benefits
And most importantly, all the poor elect their governments through a democratic process.
But for the academics who coined the term “Thaksinocracy”, do you have any sense to overthrow a disgusting system through a democratic process? What have you done more than masturbating your academic knowledge and giving the chance for people to dismantle the whole democratic foundation? Did that gratify you enough?
Have you delivered to the villagers more than the vote-buying politicians who you abhor so much? Have you ever really fought through a democratic process?
The full article - which gives voice to much simmering resentment - is certainly worth a read.
19 responses so far ↓
1 jeru // Sep 18, 2007 at 12:15 am
Is that how to describe what New Mandala commentators like Andrew Walker have been doing all this time – - – - “masturbating your academic knowledge” to defend Thaksin’s deeply flawed democracy?
Come on stop this b.s. about the Thai poor being disenfranchised. Those poor who sold their votes deserve to be disenfranchised. But those poor vilage voters who were intimidated (and there was intimidation . . “take this money and vote for xxxx, or a bullet is the alternative”) by their kamnans have been saved.
I am grateful Thaksin the danger had been removed. Too bad his removal was done extra-constitutionally, yet, I believe keeping Thaksin longer was putting Thailand in even more grave danger.
2 Historicus // Sep 18, 2007 at 12:35 am
Ah Col jeru at his best and worst. Name-calling and elitism. The idea seems to be that if you yell loud enough people will listen and if you say it enough you will convince the disbelievers.
3 Srithanonchai // Sep 18, 2007 at 1:29 am
Jeru seems to have chosen the “And-Carthago-must-be-destroyed” approach — in its Thai version, “Thaksin ok pai” (was rather loud around Government House…).
4 col. jeru // Sep 18, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Come on . . . all you NM bloggers keep regurgitating the same old trite plaint that the Thai middle class and academics had abandoned Thai democracy that allowed the generals to take over just because of “jealousy or hatred’ of Thaksin. What rubbish!
None of you NM bloggers, including academics Andrew Walker or Nicholas Farrely had been able to educate me on how you all see the Thaksin dead-end democracy playing out, other than via a coup (pro-Thaksin coup or anti). Had we NOT seen this very moronic dead-end democracy played out elsewhere before (Philippines for one) with the coup as the only recourse to stop the rot and stop the corrupt leader??
Historicus keep on giving me the colonel rank so I accept. Since I outrank Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra, can I extra-judicially shoot Thaksin on sight just for the pleasure?
5 James Haughton // Sep 18, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Better a deeply flawed democracy than a shiny new gun barrel.
6 Taxi Driver // Sep 18, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Col. Jeru (and Ngarn) would rather have the certainty of a military dictatorship through the tyranny of the gun, than the potential of a Thaksin dictatatorship through the tyranny of the ballot box. Clever….
How would have the 2006 crisis played out if there was no coup? Well, Jeru, there would have been an election held in October 2006. Yes TRT probably would have won it. Parties in opposition including the PAD might eventually wake up and do a better job at (1) trying to figure out policies that the people (yes, the ai ban nok people) want and will vote for; and (2) expose Thaksin’s alleged wrong doings. Come the next elections, they may even win a few seats back from TRT.
Sounds like fantasy to you Jeru? Well I reckon its better than the fantasy of relying on a military coup to restore democracy. Who are you gonna call to restrain the Saprangs of this world after HMK is gone? Rama 10? 55555. Privy Council? 555555555.
7 Srithanonchai // Sep 19, 2007 at 1:11 am
“How would have the 2006 crisis played out if there was no coup? Well, Jeru, there would have been an election held in October 2006.” >> The “real question” here is what would have happened if the Democrat and Chart Thai parties had not boycotted the elections.
Has the Democrat party ever made public a word-by-word transcript of their most decisive debate leading up to that decision, which threw the country into turmoil?
8 nganadeeleg // Sep 19, 2007 at 9:30 am
Who are you gonna call to restrain the Saprangs of this world after HMK is gone?
Who are you gonna call to restrain the Thaksins of this world after HMK is gone?
IMO, Saprang & Thaksin have a lot in common, although I will concede that Thaksin might be smarter (more devious).
9 Teth // Sep 19, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I agree with Houghton. As for nganadeeleg, I ask you, who will restrain the HMKs of the world? Or who will restrain the future Kings of Thailand? Themselves?
Down with lese majeste I say. (At the very least).
10 Teth // Sep 19, 2007 at 7:16 pm
And don’t tell me the Chakri’s are all good, benevolent, and godlike. (You’re having a laugh).
11 col. jeru // Sep 19, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Who are you gonna call to restrain the Thaksins of this world after HMK is gone? Nobody . . . Thailand will be on its own.
There will be even worse Thaksin-wannabes in the future. I mean it must be obvious the “rural constitution” are so easily manipulated, bought or intimidated.
12 Taxi Driver // Sep 19, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Ngarn asks: “who are you gonna call to restrain the Thaksins of this world after HMK is gone?”
Please select from the following multiple choice answers (a or b):
a) the Ballot Box, aka “the Hard Way”… Thai democracy still weak, susceptible to manipulation, will require decent opposition parties with decent policies, strong independent media, strong independent anti-corruption watchdog, strong independent jury, and a vigilant public to make work. Society not fully there yet, but have taken quite a few collective steps over past decade up to 2006. No guarantees will work, however.
b) Thai Military Juntas, aka “The Easy Way”…send in tanks and soldiers, kick out incombent government, set up puppet, rig new constitution — everything should be a-OK again after that. In the meantime military to operate without accountability, secret funds to grow (but care should be exercised to ensure never to become larger than CPB funds). Guaranteed to work (unless bloodshed on streets force soldiers back to barracks temporarily).
…I think we know which answer Ngarn has chosen…
(of course, Ngarn, please feel free to come up with alternative c)
13 nganadeeleg // Sep 20, 2007 at 8:34 am
Taxi Driver: I choose (a).
You obviously don’t bother reading most of my posts.
Here’s a quick summary of them over last year:
- Thaksin was unsuitable for PM, and bad for democracy
- A coup happened – I chose to accept it, in the hope that democracy could be reset and next time the electorate would be more discerning.
- Corruption is still a major problem, and needs to stamped out at every level.
- I disagree that the king is the main problem, and think the politicians, military, police, bureaucrats & most people (including elites & rural masses) have to look at their own behavior.
- I agree with you that Thailand has taken quite a few steps over the last decade, and now the electorate is very important.
- Therefore I choose to concentrate on the portion of the electorate that has the real power – trying to plant a seed (of ethics above self interest) – if not directly into those voters, then at least into those academics and other interested persons who visit this site.
14 nganadeeleg // Sep 20, 2007 at 8:45 am
I should add that I realize my attempts to elevate ethics above self interest is probably futile – the battle has already been lost in most western countries, so why should Thailand be any different?
I just keep trying in the hope that a seed might be planted (at least somewhere out there in cyberworld)
15 Taxi Driver // Sep 20, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Ngarn, your (and many other Thais’) ability to internally reconcile choosing (a) on the one hand and ‘accepting’ the coup on the other, is exactly why Thai democracy is weak. You are guilty of exactly the same unethical behaviour that you level at the uneducated rural masses: whether it be vote buying/selling, corruption, or accepting a coup d’etat – the common underlying unethical behaviour is the willingness to accept or play a part in the violation of the rules. By accepting the violation of rules (i.e. coup d’etat to remove a government even if that government is perceived by you and me to be playing outside the rules itself) you are solving nothing, but instead helping to perpetuate the cycle of unethical/rule-breaking behaviour.
Your ’seed of ethics’ is noble but misplaced, because politics, whether in the east or west, has always been about competing self-interests, not altruism, and we already have laws & rules to deal with vote selling & corruption. Unethical behaviour will always arise if those seeking to perform it know they are not going to have to face the consequences. If is naive to believe otherwise.
16 jonfernquest // Sep 20, 2007 at 4:09 pm
This little intellectual screed is nothing but hot air, unless the author doesn’t get his little high-horse hiny out into the countryside himself and start contributing to the education of poor rural folk.
Partisan ping pong arguments do nothing to solve the problem.
The least vocal lot of all are the people (mostly Thais, some foreigners) actually out there working in rural zones educating people.
And they will do this whether Thaksin, Surayud, or even Santa Claus is in power.
17 Srithanonchai // Sep 20, 2007 at 6:23 pm
“common underlying unethical behaviour is the willingness to accept or play a part in the violation of the rules.” >> Yes, indeed.
18 nganadeeleg // Sep 20, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Taxi Driver: I accept what you say, and although I did not call for a coup, I’m just naive enough to believe that in the current Thai political scene the only real alternative to accepting the coup is accepting Thaksin back – so pragmatism wins over idealism again.
Jon: Good points, but I’ll just stick to the hot air ping pong – I cannot see much evidence of the people heeding HMK’s advice, so I don’t think I would have much chance to educate anyone – anyway, people only really learn when they want to, and not before.
19 thai farmer // Oct 9, 2007 at 9:53 am
Am I wrong? I see nothing wrong to vote for Thaksin and Thai Rak Thai . We are not stupid as those in ivory tower thinks we are… Why I vote for the Democrat? that southern scum only support the rich and the banking business.
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