Committees can't invent democracy: countries must emulate it
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John Arnone in his letter of November 5 claims, "History offers terrible warning for committee drafting the charter".
He concludes with, “I guess I will have to stick with my basic belief that anything designed by a committee is unreliable.”
Mr Arnone is absolutely right with his caveat and his belief. If the objective is to establish democracy as the form of government in Thailand, it does not require collective innovation. The principles of democracy are well established in several countries. All that is required is emulation.
Recognised as the mother of democracy, the UK democracy evolved over centuries. In the process the divine right of kings was challenged and overthrown, much protest was experienced and even civil war played its part. One hundred years ago, universal suffrage did not exist, with women denied the right to vote. The right was won with violent protest.
The UK does not have a written constitution. Because democracy has evolved it is in the culture of the country. Democracy is a way of life, with its principles firmly rooted in society.
Identifying all these principles and embodying them in a charter is the sure way to establish democracy as a form of government. Democracy is not a matter of collective self-serving opinion. Its principles provide a framework within which government takes place. The law, its enforcement and adjudication are paramount.
Several charters have been written and rewritten in Thailand but democracy has never resulted for the simply reason its principles have never been embodied.
JC Wilcox
