If you had the opportunity to spend one night in the boisterous capital city of Thailand, Bangkok, you would find yourself immersed in exotic cuisine, a vibrant club scene and political unrest..
From the early 1980s to 1997, Thailand thrived on both its burgeoning tourist economy and agricultural exports. In particular, its rice was in demand all over Asia. When the Southeast Asian bubble collapsed at the end of the last decade, Thailand fractured and fell into a malaise.
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Similar to Pakistan in 1999, civilian rule was pre-empted in Thailand two years ago by the military. Rather than a national security crisis as in Islamabad, Thai generals stepped in to end the corrupt government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Subsequently indicted for malfeasance, Thaksin went into exile, and Thailand descended into an urban/non-urban divide. While farmers in the countryside still supported Thaksin due to his generous welfare programs for the rural poor, mid to large population centers railed against his supposed pilfering of the public coffers.
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Since the military relinquished power, Thailand has not been able make a seamless return to democracy despite holding national elections. Indeed, the Thais past is currently paralyzing its future. Last week, 30,000 people, spurred on by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), marched in the streets of Bangkok to demand the resignation of the current Prime Minister - Samak Sundaravej. Although PAD accuses him of being a puppet for Thaksin, Samak has actually forced the ex-PM into exile once again by speeding up a government investigation of his financial improprieties and incarcerating his wife on tax evasion. PAD also criticized the Samak government for endorsing a proposal to declare a Buddhist temple, situated on the border with Cambodia, a World Heritage Site in order to diffuse a potential armed confrontation. The Foreign Minister, a former Thaksin lawyer who assisted in negotiating the compromise, resigned amid a shrill public outcry against perceived appeasement of Phenom Penh.
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Regardless of the Bangkok's attempt to act pragmatically, the PAD refuses to be mollified. More demonstrations are planned, and PAD, despite its name, actually seeks a larger role for the military in government for the purpose of securing law and order.
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What can be learned from the recent history of Thailand, and how should the West respond? Thailand mirrors Pakistan and vice versa to an important degree. Both have large population segments partial to military government due to the absence of a legitimate legal system. Hence, the United States and Europe must assist both nations in reforming their respective laws to ensure fair, non-politicized trials, due process and rights of appeal. If Thailand and Pakistan each move toward erecting a functional framework of justice, cronyism and militarism will recede in the wake of new tides of democracy.
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J Roquen