More political tolerance needed, academic says
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Cultivating more Thais with political tolerance is urgently needed to avert another round of violent confrontation, according to Gothom Arya, a lecturer in peace studies at Mahidol University.
“I fear that there will be violence and there are signals that people who can’t tolerate one another are demonstrating. We need to expand the number [of people who are more tolerant].”
Gothom, who has been running talks on national reconciliation for half a year on behalf of Mahidol University’s Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies, made the remark on Sunday as a two-day national dialogue ended in Bangkok.
Gothom blamed Thai culture, which he believes doesn’t place importance on diagnosing the root of political conflicts. He urges society to seek alternatives to dichotomic thinking of “us and them” and looking at the possibility of future cooperation and seeking to identify win-win issues that both sides can achieve.
His view was supported by Wuthisarn Tanchai, deputy secretary-general of the King Prajadhipok Institute, who in the same meeting urged Thai society to discuss a common future and put contentious issues that can’t be resolved aside for the time being.
“Otherwise we will only be seeking the culprit [for political trouble],” Wuthisarn said. “Let’s talk about the future and what we want to see. Let’s stop accelerators and create an environment for dialogue at the top and lower levels.”
Wuthisarn said people should recognise that political conflict is no longer confined to a problem between a few individuals but that its related to the issue of socio-economic and political justice, and that there is a need to cultivate democracy as a way of life.
Kittipong Kittayarak, a former commissioner on the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) and permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry, said there was a need to expand space for deliberative dialogue and that people who were not directly part of the feuding sides must try to speak out.
He said there was a need for the judicial system to be as impartial as possible because there would be no solution found if everyone took things to the street.
Kittipong said Thai society tended not to use knowledge and wisdom to solve problems. He warned that calling for yet another military coup, as anti-government group Siam Pitak had done, would not solve anything.
“Once a coup is staged it will drag the country down deeper and create deeper problems,” Kittipong said, adding that no violation of the rule of law was worse than staging a military coup.
