Tuesday night we first heard them howling, then barking and intermittently yipping. My first thought was “earthquake”; we’d witnessed Nature’s early warning system once in Bali during a tremor. Little did we know this was indeed an earthquake, but not of the physical kind, rather, of the political variety. We found out the next morning when friends scattered about the globe emailed us asking about a coup. A quick check of the TV yielded only the local channels showing old newsreel footage of the King and Queen out doing good things among the populace, accompanied by lively ditties with the words highlighted below, as tho for a karaoke singalong. All the international channels were off the air. We wondered if the internet, our lifeline to the rest of the world, would continue to be up. Fortunately, it has continued to function, and within that first day all the original TV programming was restored, tho with occasional censoring of Thaksin-related news.
Wednesday was declared a ‘holiday’ with government offices, schools etc. closed. Traffic was quite light on the roads, but no movement of military or police was evident in our area. Our house is on the edge of San Kamphaeng, the hometown of the Shinawatra family, and we even have a Thai Rak Thai party HQ in our neighborhood. (The photo shows some of their mischief-making during the last election: effigies of opposition candidates ‘lynched’ on a prominent corner of San Kamphaeng, with the King observing in the background. Sadly, this is a manifestation of the current political divide in Thailand.) We have heard of APCs in evidence at the American Consulate by the River (municipal offices are also located there), and of soldiers at Tha Pae Gate.
Not surprisingly, the reaction to this event by most Western leaders has been negative. That, however, is mostly for the benefit of their citizens. Tony Snow, Bush’s spokesman, gave away the real concern of the US when he said that “once you have democracy restored, we'll also be in a position to move forward on a free trade agreement with them.” What they don’t say as they extoll the virtues of democracy is that democracy in Thailand was a sham, thanks to Thaksin and his party. They had subverted the carefully-crafted institution with money and the traditional patronage system. Checks and balances ceased to exist. One very well-funded party controlled Parliament. Nepotism reigned. Individual reporters and their employers were served with lawsuits when media reports displeased. The electoral process was abused, with the last election hastily called to thwart the opposition from organizing an effective campaign. Some of the worst human rights abuses in the nation in recent times occurred under the auspices of a nationwide drug roundup, with over 2500 extrajudicial killings in just 3 months. And the situation in the south of Thailand, with targeted killings of monks, teachers and community leaders, along with many other innocents, has gotten completely out of control.
I would remind those pointing fingers in the West that democracy is not the simplistic ideal they would like their constituents to think; it’s not all black and white, good or bad. Very few nations today have a true democracy, not even the US. Thailand was in a political morass with no real end in sight. Sometimes you just have to do a Format C, and start over; clean house. And, by all means, go back to paper ballots for the next election.
No, we're not talking about politics here... this is the subject of a new collection of Burmese marionettes just posted: mostly ogres or otherworldly figures from mythology. Beautifully crafted, with rich detail and traditional designs of both costume and figure, they are fairly large in size and commanding in presence. Their demeanor is rather benign considering their demonic reputations, giving them a certain charm.
