In victory, magnanimity

It was a thumbs-down to the ongoing domestic squabbles, unwarranted and undeserving, which have cost the country a fortune. Thailand used to be a country where differences in beliefs and views were not only tolerated, but even respected.
The voting result, which can be described by any Western standard as a landslide, sent the strongest signal to date that Thai people wanted change. They wanted a real political reform that could pull the country out of the political gutter, and take it into the light.
It was a vote of confidence from the people for the ruling government. It was a defiant voice against Western administrations and the press that have been so presumptuous to think they know what’s best for Thailand and the Thai people, and have been treating us as a punching bag as if we were their outpost, not a sovereign country.
The Thai people have spoken, loud and clear.
They not only sanctioned the legitimacy of the government, they gave the administration the mandate to chart a new course for the country.
For the government, the responsibility that comes with the mandate is immense.
In order to move the country forward together in one purposeful common direction, and not in omnidirectional mode, Thailand’s wounds will have to be healed.
It is perhaps the single most demanding task before the administration. It is the challenge that defines greatness and creates a legacy.
What it comes down to is how to mend a broken nation?
Everybody agrees on the virtues of reconciliation but differs drastically on the process and the conditions.
Before the August 7 referendum, the government had its back against the wall. It had very little room to manoeuvre; the stakes were high and the odds were long. But through sheer strength and determination of the leadership, the country managed to get through the several danger zones relatively unscathed.
As the administration emerged a victor with a fresh mandate, the prevailing political scenario has changed. The hand of the government was strengthened, and as such it now can afford to hand out an olive branch.
Whether or not dissenters would embrace that olive branch is an entirely different question, but someone has to be the first to take that small step.
British politician Winston Churchill once said, “In war: Resolution. In defeat: Defiance. In Victory: Magnanimity. In Peace: Goodwill.”
And magnanimity is what His Majesty the King has demonstrated to us Thais by example throughout his life. If we are honest in our desire to honour him, let us do it right by him. Let us start the internal peace process led by magnanimity, and ruled by the principles of justice and fairness.
The insurgency carried out by the Communist Party of Thailand in the 1970s to 1980s was put down, not only by armed forces, but also by an amnesty that was declared on April 23, 1980 by then prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda. The amnesty order, co-authored by General Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, was born out of the recognition that the communists could not be defeated by purely military means, but that tackling the political, economic and social causes of the insurgency was also necessary to destroy their popular support.
In many ways, the ongoing internal conflicts in Thailand pose a more challenging task for the government. The narrative is more complex and the players, or rather the instigators, are more deviant, more opaque, and devoid of real ideology or ideals. They have no qualms in lying or using unsavoury tactics to serve their warped interests. But they are also one of us.
In many countries, reconciliation started on the condition of repentance. But the underlying requirement is the magnanimity of the leadership. Nelson Mandela was a case in point.
However, reconciliation is never about a blanket amnesty. The rule of law must be preserved, for without it chaos ensues. The country has been through too much, and as a result it’s the little people who have taken on more than they could chew. A sick body and mind could only endure for so long before it caves in. But first we need to recognise that we are not well.
The Thai people have sent a strong and clear message to the administration that it had their trust. And only through magnanimity can this trust be honoured and the healing of a nation be accomplished.