- by Ranger, Thai Intel’s political journalist
The Vietnam War “quagmire,” I remember hearing when I was a child, visiting California. Some, 20 years later, the movie, Apocalypse Now hit movie theaters-and the quagmire was solved. The Vietnam War, has a deeper dimension than the materialistic Americans could understand. It was very much, a war of the spirit and the soul.
Yingluck has promised a period of re-conciliation in Thailand, and there is no doubt, that since the 2006 coup, Thai royalism has sunk to the bottom, perhaps to the lowest level seen in decades. What it needs, is a massive infusion of life. While Yingluck’s government may have taken roots with the Red Shirts-a staunchly democratic globalist group of activist that have resulted in a head-on collusion with Thai royalism-fundamentally, the Yingluck government has proved highly sensitive to the concern of Thai royalist.
- It is an old story of power corrupts-with a myrid of why. In Thailand, royalism is the central rationale to which the hierarchy authoritarian Thai state is kept in place. To survive, Yingluck has little choice-but to turn authoritarian in nature-and become a part of hyping up Thai royalism. Yingluck’s survival, now very much hinges on the survival of Thai royalism.
In the movie Apoclypse Now, about the Vietnam War, a band of USA helicopter air mobile brigade, attacked and occupied a river front area controlled by the Viet Cong. There they went surfing, play American football and had a Texan stlye Barbecue.
- “It smells like victory,” said the USA captain in command of the air brigade, reflecting on the beach invasion, only to be re-buff, by another captain that, quote: “The more you make it out like home, the more miserable everyone gets.”
- Sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, filled with the Thai Red Shirts, right in the middle of Bangkok, and listening in-one thing became really clear for me, there is another reality about Thailand not shown on TV or Radio, as part of the Thai royalism hype.
Here, all the talk is about “Dirty Pictures and Dirty Deeds” like the privy council going to the Thai King to approve the 2006 coup. Then what can be said of dirty pictures of (xxxcensoredxxx). Then the silence on the massacre. And on the social network, the same type of sentiment can also be felt. The disdain for Thai Royalism is hidden beneath the surface, only because of threat of lese majeste. Then on the news, never before have issues such as the lese majeste laws been openly debated and written about.
Thus, on the surface, Thai royalism, increasingly, is like that USA captain attacking that Viet Cong Village-where when the American leaves, it simply reverts back to Viet Cong control.
- Thailand, it seem, is a highly divided country, with liberated parts and parts that are still very much imperialist. Un-like Vietnam, there is no North and South, just one big country, where the battle line is increasingly about the individual reaction to it all. And like during the Vietnam War, the psychological warfare is massive-like turn on any Thai TV, and somewhere on some channel, there is a programs or music hyping up Thai royalism.
And it is a 24/7/30/12 type of effort!
But it is not just about propaganda, there are real battles. With a fresh win for the authoritarian royalist from the Thai military flood response against Yingluck’s failures-Yingluck and whatever Rede Shirts roots there is had been swept back, leaving a cautious approach to amending the military drawn constitution, with zero hope to reform the lese majeste laws that is being used to keep that authoritarian constitutional nature going.
What will happen to Thai democracy, with Thailand’s authoritarianism kept alive by royalism and the social control from the use of lese majeste? Are the three issues inseparable linked in an interplay?
- Philosophically, democracy, authoritarianism and lese majeste are on a different plain and poles of the equation. But in Thailand, the differences is not only on philosophical grounds, but in reality, the three differing concept have clashed in real ways-and in the macro sense of the picture.
Every Thai coup of the part, have been staged with the rationale to protect Thai royalism and always, lese majeste activities is used to spark that authoritarian mood swing of Thailand. Thai royalism under-threat, is the one and only constant in all of Thailand’s swing to the far extreme right wing authoritarianism. And this have occurred, under even the people’s constitution.
Therefore, one can argue, that while Yingluck’s government is planning to amend the constitution, without touching on the lese majeste laws-in effect, nothing will changed. The constitution amendment, will only result in seeing stronger political parties at the expense of the power of a judicialized Thailand-but nothing much fundamentally will be changed-with lese majeste, a potent threat against democracy, liberty, justice and human rights.
Apocalypse Now Thailand?
- The following is from the Bangkok Post:
Reds aim for 30,000 villages next year
Published: 26/12/2011 at 05:08 PM
Online news:
Supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Monday announced a project to set up more red-shirt villages with a target of 30,000 red-shirt communities nationwide next year.
The announcement was made by Prasong Boonpong, chief adviser of the Confederation of Red-Shirt Villages for Democracy of Thailand, at a hotel in Muang district of Udon Thani.
Mr Prasong was accompanied at the press conference by Anont Saengsawang, the confederation secretary, Atthachai Anantamek, Daranee Kritboonyalai, and deputy chairmen of the confederation from all regions.
Mr Prasong, a Pheu Thai MP for Nakhon Phanom, said that since the opening of the first red-shirt village at Ban Nong Hu Ling in Muang District of Udon Thani on Dec 15 last year, a total of 8,702 red-shirt villages had been opened throughout the country with 3.8 million members.
The confederation aimed to have 30,000 red-shirt villages nationwide by the end of 2012.
The project began today, Dec 26, when 13 red shirt villages were opened in tambon Hai Sok of Nong Han district of Udon Thani, he said.
Mr Prasong said the confederation would also launch a campaign for the red shirts to propose a new constitution draft.
Starting Jan 6 next year, the red-shirts would gather signatures to support the new constitution draft to show their desire for a new charter with full-fledged democracy.
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