What Is Democracy?

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Reading the negative comments by Western leaders and the press on the coup in September I am appalled at their negative reactions to it. They judge this very popular event by their own warped standards without taking into account the Thai people's needs.

After Thaksin was elected the first time I had high hopes for him. He was ‘popular’, whatever that means. He was already rich, so I figured he would not do the same as the old guard politicians and go for the money. He offered much-needed social changes. My only reservation was the rumor that he had bought votes in the northeast. Even then, I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps his party representatives took the initiative themselves without his support?

My high hopes were dashed within days of his election. Instead of bringing in fresh new faces to help him govern, he brought in old-guard politicians like General Chavalit, Sanoh Thienthong, Banharn Silpa-Archa, and Newin Chichob. These guys couldn’t join the obviously successful Thai Rak Thai fast enough. Their murky pasts included accusations of corruption, drug dealing, and vote buying to stay in power. It was immediately obvious that these, and many of the other politicians suddenly latching on to TRT, were not the sort of people who would work for the good of the people.

Despite this, we have seen that democracy in Thailand is well and truly entrenched. The people have made it abundantly clear they did not approve of Thaksin’s corruption or some of the more stupid policies he initiated. This is not to say that everything he did was bad. He did bring in some good social changes, and I have heard from some highly placed sources that they are lobbying for the next government to retain them; with some improvements of course. But closing the gas stations at night to stop people wasting gas, or banning the sale of liquor and cigarettes at certain times of the day were signs of lunacy. Cracking down on entertainment places instead of tackling the root cause of the drug problem was even more lunacy. All it did was make Thailand look bad internationally, and tourists started going to other holiday destinations instead. It was obvious they were implemented to curry favor with the bluenoses and gain popular approval of the xenophobes.

Even the recent crackdown on foreigners setting up Thai companies to buy land was a disaster. It did give large-scale developers pause for a while as everyone tried to figure out what to do. However, the real result was that all land and home transfers stopped dead. Instead of helping Thais gain control of their land, they were thrown out of work as construction projects stalled. Thais working in associated industries like construction materials supplies, transport, and even the noodle seller who relied on selling to the workers, all lost their income. Worse, the Land officers suddenly saw their lucrative business dry up completely: No land title transfers, no fees. Real estate agents had to lay off sales people as inquiries stopped. The effects continued trickling down the line. Taxi drivers saw less tourists coming in, forcing them to fight harder to get fares, or just give up and go home to Esarn. All of this because Thaksin unilaterally decided what he thought was good for the people. That is not democracy.

Killing so-called drug dealers without arrest or trial early in his government years showed Thaksin’s true colors for the first time. He wasn’t interested in the rule of law. His idea of resolving a problem was to throw bullets at it instead of common sense. The massacre of Muslims down south was the next example of what he thought of ‘the people’. He lost sight of the fact that government is there to serve the people, not to take advantage of them, or to disregard their humanity. Despite this, many Thais still continued to support him.

When the people finally woke up (it took them a long time), it was the educated people in Bangkok who saw the light. At last they realized how far he was prepared to go to take advantage of his fellow citizens and use his power. Instead of paying taxes when he sold his business like anyone else, he used his position to evade them using a loophole he created himself. The man was already mega-rich. Why did he need more? Because greed and corruption feed on themselves. He couldn’t help himself, and in the end it was his undoing.

The people took to the streets to protest. We were lucky that Thaksin didn’t know how to respond to this expression of democracy. He was so used to getting his own way he couldn’t comprehend how anyone could not approve of him. The demonstrations were true Thai democracy in action.

When Thaksin postponed the next elections from October to November, the unrest flared up again. A large anti-Thaksin rally was organized. Rumors were flying that pro-Thaksin supporters were also rallying and the threat of mass violence loomed. The man on the street was worried, but no one had the power to avert what looked like a serious tragedy. Thankfully, the military also saw the problem and decided to step in.

Now, before you think I am an apologist for the military, let’s look at the facts. The February 23, 1991 coup, for example, took place because the elected PM, Chatichai Choonhavan, planned to reshuffle the military promotions list and sideline the coup leaders to-be. That angered the men in green, so they took steps to ensure they retained their power and position: Not a good reason for a coup.

Thaksin didn’t learn from Chatichai. He, too, planned to do exactly the same and move his own supporters into positions of military power. The entrenched military didn’t like that, so it was easy for them to decide to overthrow the elected government, citing the threat of bloody demonstrations. There is no way of knowing whether the planned demonstrations against Thaksin would have turned violent. The coup ensured that the demonstrations didn’t take place at all.

Despite the widespread support the coup engendered among Thais and foreigners living here, the Western press and governments have sat back smugly and denounced the move. They say that the coup was a big step backwards for democracy. What do they know? They print sensationalist rubbish to sell papers. That’s hardly the best way to guarantee the truth, is it? Considering that the Western media is controlled by a few large organizations that are beholden to their political masters, it difficult for any thinking person to take their ‘news reports’ seriously.

The other problem is that the Western press doesn’t understand what real democracy is. It’s not about elections. It’s not about following a set of rules. It’s not even about the number of votes counted, especially when the ballot is obviously rigged. Just look at where that has led the USA today. Frankly, looking at so-called American ‘democracy’ today, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a coup to overthrow King George already. There is nothing wrong with a coup if it expresses the will of the people, and it resolves a bad political situation. Things are much worse in the US than anything we have experienced here. At least with Thaksin we had the best government money could buy!

Democracy is an expression of the people. It comes with responsibilities, and one of those is to keep those who govern honest. When it is obvious that the people we elected are dishonest the people have a duty to overthrow them. Usually, this is achieved at the ballot box. But when the leader is so corrupt he can literally afford to buy the whole country, there is no way the people can expect honest elections.

Similarly, when a leader changes the law to suit himself, to protect himself from prosecution for his illegal actions, when he manipulates the law for his own personal gain, or to support his personal beliefs, the people have a moral and civic responsibility to overthrow him. The organization tasked with protecting the country and citizens is the army. In the end, they are the ones who are responsible for maintaining law and order when government is incapable of doing so. The army stepped in at the right time. The coup averted a much worse situation that would have caused far more damage to the Thai people than the loss of approval from Western governments and the media. In the end, each country must determine the type of democracy that suits its citizens. In Thailand’s case, the people have spoken and we are happy about it. So who cares what others think? We have ousted a totally corrupt regime. We are working to install a new government that will hopefully learn from the lessons of the past. And we have stabilized society so that we can continue living safely. Nothing else matters really, does it?