No democracy to fight for

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013
No democracy to fight for

In a front-page article (The Nation, October 14), the question is asked, why don't Thai students participate in the democracy movement? The answer is that there is no democracy movement.

Sure, Thaksin’s supporters will go on and on about democracy, but we all know they use violence against people who disagree with them.
On the other hand, when the Democrats were in power, they used the lese majeste law to throw political opponents into prison. What blows my mind is that, while a Thai man was given bail after he was convicted of murder, Thais who are merely charged with violating the lese majeste law are denied bail before they’re tried. What democracy is this, where you can be treated more harshly for what you say than for who you kill?
I think the students know that “democracy” in Thailand is just a label used to disguise selfish political interests that has nothing to do with freedom, justice or democracy in any meaningful sense of the word.
Eric Bahrt
Pattaya