In times of crisis, even US curbs democratic freedom

I fear John Arnone is wrong in his claim that no democracy has an all-powerful “crisis panel”. Although we typically associate martial law and the cancellation of rights with natural disasters such as fire or floods, that is by no means the whole story. Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India in 1975 in response to political opposition, and it remained in effect for nearly two years. Britain’s Edward Heath invoked martial law in the 1970s because of industrial strikes. The US state of emergency declared after 9/11, which overturned rules on the size of the military and the duration of military service, remains in force.

Nobody is claiming that Thailand is a democracy. At best it is trying to emerge as one amid a deep political divide. There should be no surprise that the drafters of the constitution are mulling what might happen if street chaos resumes following a general election. Sadly, the one-size-fits-all theory of democracy doesn’t always fit.

Barry Kenyon