How do you get from dictatorship to democracy? Like this
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"No democracy can be created out of dictatorship" is a phrase you commonly hear from anti-coup people.
It sounds nice, but then, how do you create democracy? From corrupt businessmen who become politicians to boost their businesses? Or from vote-buying politicians? How much democracy can you get from a prime minister who doesn’t want to pay tax?
Elsewhere, democracy seems to come from honest and idealistic people who aren’t seeking self-enrichment or empowerment. Their actions can be seen in the history of the best-functioning democracies in the world. The same kind of idealistic people are probably in power now in Thailand.
To be established, democracy needs the right sort of people involved at its early stage. Prayut is probably the best and most democracy-minded man Thailand has ever had in charge. He saved Thailand from a civil war and now serves as an honest and idealistic civilian – exactly what Thailand needs at its current stage on the path to democracy.
Democracy comes from the efforts of a nation’s honest people – not from corrupt politicians ruling in a dictatorial way, as shown by various “elected” governments in recent years.
A Johnsen
