Follow Anand’s principles for sustainable democracy
The junta’s insistence on appointing all 250 senators shows that it realises it has badly failed at restoring happiness and reconciling us and that what we the people want to do is very different from what the generals demand that we do.
So, to provide a graceful exit for the junta, I suggest that the generals apply the democratic principles they advertised on February 25 in the Bangkok Post, where they put a politically active citizenry at the centre of democracy, with reduced vertical power and strengthened horizontal power.
The generals’ principles are very agreeable with former prime minister Anand Panyarachun’s four elements of democratic governance, which he proposes as the most direct route to true sustainability.
These elements are ensuring sustainable and widespread economic development, promoting an open and inclusive society, respecting the rule of law, both in spirit and its underlying moral principles, and recalibrating the balance of power between the state and the people.
The junta could strengthen our economic foundations by such steps as reforming our railway system or upgrading education and research so that students learn “how” to think and not “what” to think, and choosing projects that spread the fruits of economic growth widely and equitably.
The junta should ensure that all segments of society, no matter how humble, have equality of rights, liberties and opportunities.
The demands and views of all groups, not just those in power, would be heard and respected, the media would be encouraged to serve as an unbiased and objective platform for voicing different views in a balanced manner – rather than to be a junta mouthpiece.
Every individual and organisation, private and public, and even the government itself, must be subject to the law. No longer, for example, would a Red Bull heir be able to kill a cop with his Ferrari and get away with it for years. No longer would the police be able to convict two foreign workers for the Koh Tao rape/murders on the basis of DNA “analysis” from a police lab not certified to conduct such analysis. We would have a judiciary that was strong, independent and neutral, which could find even a Thaksin guilty of tax evasion when he conveniently “forgot” that he'd parked billions with his driver.
We would have a government responsive to its citizenry. A government would exist to serve the people, not the reverse. Anand says, “Responsive government…can occur only when there is comprehensive decentralisation and local political empowerment”, for “decentralisation enables the participation of more diverse interest groups”. Local bodies must be answerable to the local populace, not the central government.
The government should encourage civil society, so that the collective views of citizens can influence government policy.
We must also urgently reform our education system from one that simply produces graduates to one that nurtures the ability of people to think critically and make constructive changes to society, thus making the changes they propose all the more relevant.
Follow Anand’s four elements to sustainably develop Thailand and enable the junta to leave a legacy to be proud of.
Burin Kantabutra
