Conflicts blamed on populist policies
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Thailand will only become a true democracy if there is a strong sense of community and people should stop waiting for populist policies, because that will make them weak, academic and former activist Thirayuth Boonmi said yesterday.
Speaking on “Citizenship and the Future of Thai Democracy”, Thirayuth, director of Thammasat University’s Sanya Dharmasakti Institute for Democracy, said the idea of a civil society and strong community had resulted in the establishment of independent organisations as per the 1997 charter. However, conflicts began arising when then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra started introducing populist policies and a battle broke out between the populists and conservatives, who contribute to society in different ways. That is when the concept of a civil society was forgotten.
“Thai society has not moved with the changes over time, as some groups of people have not been participating in the country’s development. All they think about is what they will get from the government and how they can live under patronage. Therefore, there is only a small group of people who do their duties as a citizen. Meanwhile, people who don’t understand the Constitution consider it an odd thing. I confirm that the idea of a strong society and the cultivation of a strong community will bring us closer to democracy,” he said.
