Thailand less free now-The Nation
25-09-10
Country less free now: activists
Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation: September 19, 2010
Some former activists who opposed the 2006 military coup – four years ago today – said Thai society under the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration enjoys less democratic freedom than after the military junta ousted Thaksin Shinawatra.
“I don’t think it is democratic now. In fact, things have regressed. Many [opposition] media outlets are shut and even the blocking of websites was not as extensive then compared to now,” said Chotisak Onsoong, former co-coordinator of the 19 September Anti-Coup Network.
“Also we’re under the emergency decree. Students in Chiang Rai who protested against the decree or a teen idol who protested against Abhisit became a big fuss [for the authorities] although it should be a normal part of any democratic system.”
Four years ago, anti-coup activist Sirote Klampaiboon, then a PhD student at the University of Hawaii, drafted an open letter signed by other Thai students at foreign universities denouncing the Council for National Security (CNS), which overthrew the Thaksin administration in the evening on Sept 19. “[Thailand] has not become more democratic and on many fronts the situation has in fact deteriorated,” said Sirote, now a lecturer in politics and human rights at Mahidol University.
Sirote pointed out, however, that political repression under the current administration was more complex. “The rule by emergency decree is one of the clearest examples. It turns what would otherwise be legal political activities into something illegal, such as the right to political assembly by more than five persons. People also accepted the violence unleashed by the military [in April and May].”
Kengkij Kitirianglarp, now a political science lecturer at Kasetsart University, was a PhD student at Chulalongkorn University on the eve of the coup four years ago. He was among 10 or so people who violated martial law by holding the first public protest to denounce the coup-makers in front of Siam Centre on the afternoon of September 21, 2006. “The situation is gradually getting worse,” Kengkij said, referring to the state of Thai democracy and political freedom now.
“The space for political freedom is getting narrower. [Opposition] websites have been blocked or shut [with Opposition] papers threatened. The fight [against autocratic rule] has increased since the coup. However, the elite now think they must exert greater control beyond introducing the [junta-sponsored] 2007 charter.”
Kengkij feared a class war may be looming.
The three activists were all asked if the military had become even more powerful four years after the coup. All said yes.
“The military has become the main mechanism in the elite exercising power. This can be seen from the stark defence budget increase,” Kengkij said. “The issue over Preah Vihear, for example, could actually be about increasing the military budget.”
Sirote agreed that the boost in the defence budget suggested the Army’s influence had grown. He said there were more places for generals now. “We have more generals than we really need. The budget increase is also increasing at an unusual rate.”
Chotisak thought the rising power of the military was often not seen by the public but said it could be recognised by how considerate elected governments were to the military.
“Before September 19, [2006], the threat of a coup was almost like a joke and not taken seriously, but the threat has since become scary,” he said.
Reflecting on the lessons for Thai politics in the four years since the coup, Chotisak said people should think harder about ways to solve a crisis, as military solutions could ended up creating newer problems. He said the violent crackdown in April and May would only make people more politically bitter and aware of the real political problems the Kingdom faces.
Sirote hoped that a fight to ensure freedom of political expression may make a difference in how Thailand handles the current crisis. People should also recognise that resorting to force to try to solve a conflict, such as by staging a coup in 2006 or the bloody crackdown in April and May, would not solve problems.
To Kengkij, Thais should try to look at the bigger picture, beyond the past four to five years of political conflict and imagine how they would like future political regimes to be.
