Interesting article by James Wise, former #Australia Ambassador to #Thailand, about #Thai politics & the dangers of the #NCPO/military pushing to get rid of Future Forward Party @Thanathorn_FWP https://t.co/FwCRSPMYcl— Phil Robertson (@Reaproy) April 27, 2019
(Excerpt)
The election campaign and results confirmed that political society is still split by class and regional loyalties, urban-rural tensions, disparities in incomes and the allocation of state resources, and the military's determination to protect elite interests. Polarization along generational lines can now be added to the list.
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The emergence of Future Forward signals a welcome change. It seems interested in genuine liberal democracy -- freedom of expression, an independent judiciary, the rule of law -- as well as electoral democracy. It talks more about how Thailand should be governed, less about who should govern.
Whether or not Future Forward is banned, Thais supporting its ideology will continue to push for reform, especially through social media, which they used effectively through the election campaign. Army chief Apirat seems to understand that. In a recent tirade against people who "studied democracy abroad and read other countries' textbooks," he conceded that social media is more powerful than the weapons of the armed forces.
If wiser heads in the establishment recognize the abiding strength of the demands for democratic change, a showdown between the weaponry of the armed forces and the social-media weaponry of political reformers could be avoided.
Thais might then imagine a brighter future. Governance could resumes a central place in political discussions, and Thailand might again serve as a beacon of democratic reform in Southeast Asia as it did in the 1990s. The eclipse of Thaksin and the dawning of Future Forward could represent a silver lining to the dark clouds hanging over not only Thailand, but also over a region where democratization has been in steady retreat
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James Wise is author of Thailand: History, Politics and the Rule of Law, published by Marshall Cavendish in April, and was Australia's ambassador to Thailand from 2010 to 2014.
