Democracy in Thailand is all talk

The heading could have been “Thaksin complains through his clone”. In general terms I have little disagreement with Yingluck Shinawatra’s complaint. “Having a selected group [make a decision for the people] is not truly democracy.” Meanwhile a group of Pheu Thai MPs filed a complaint with the Constitution Drafting Committee, urging an amendment to the draft that would ensure sovereignty remained with the people. Is this the same Pheu Thai that dreamed up a bill for their chief to make deals with foreign countries without deference to Parliament? Is it the same party whose MPs voted for the unscrupulous amnesty bill because their boss said they had to? How does this stack up against Yingluck’s democratic renaissance?

Parliament is a “selected group”, but it has to represent the people that elected it and not be self-serving. Democracy in Thailand is all talk – it is “democracy on our terms”. The demagogue has undermined the system and Humpty Dumpty is in real trouble.

Richard Bowler