This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/world/asia/in-thailand-rallying-cry-is-against-too-much-democracy.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
In Thailand, Rallying Cry Is Against Too Much Democracy In Thailand, Standing Up for Less Democracy
(about 3 hours later)
BANGKOK — In a world now accustomed to democratic upheavals, including the Arab Spring and the Saffron and Orange revolutions, the weeks of political upheaval in Thailand stand out for one main peculiarity. Protesters massing on the streets here are demanding less democracy, not more. BANGKOK — In a world now accustomed to democratic upheavals, including the Arab Spring and the Saffron and Orange Revolutions, the weeks of political upheaval in Thailand stand out for one main peculiarity. Protesters massing on the streets here are demanding less democracy, not more.
From their stage beneath the Democracy Monument, a Bangkok landmark, protesters cheer their campaign to replace the country’s Parliament with a “people’s council” in which members are selected from various professions rather than elected by voters. From their stage beneath the Democracy Monument, a Bangkok landmark, protesters cheer their campaign to replace Parliament with a “people’s council” in which members are selected from various professions rather than elected by voters.
The embattled prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has proposed holding new elections as a solution to the turmoil. But that is exactly what the protesters do not want. The embattled prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has proposed new elections as a solution to the turmoil. But that is just what the protesters do not want.
“I am one of the people who will not allow this election to take place,” Suthep Thaugsuban, the main protest leader, told a group of business executives in Bangkok on Thursday. Continued protests “might hurt businesses,” he said, “but just in the short term.”“I am one of the people who will not allow this election to take place,” Suthep Thaugsuban, the main protest leader, told a group of business executives in Bangkok on Thursday. Continued protests “might hurt businesses,” he said, “but just in the short term.”
In today’s fractured Thailand, a majority wants more democracy, but a minority, including many rich and powerful people, are petrified by the thought of it.In today’s fractured Thailand, a majority wants more democracy, but a minority, including many rich and powerful people, are petrified by the thought of it.
Ms. Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party has won every election since 2001. Members of the main opposition party, the Democrat Party, resigned en masse from Parliament on Sunday, joined the street protesters, and have not yet said whether they would contest in February. Because a number of the protest leaders are members of Thailand’s wealthiest families, some have described the demonstrations here as the antithesis of the Occupy Wall Street movement. This is the 1 percent rebelling against the 99 percent, they say.
The reality is more complicated — the protesters include rich and poor, Bangkok residents and many people from southern Thailand who feel disenfranchised by the current government and its northern power base. What unites the protesters is the desire to dismantle Ms. Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party, which has won every election since 2001.
That Thailand is being convulsed by an antidemocracy movement is somewhat surprising. The country was one of the earliest in Asia to adopt democracy, and both women and men were allowed to vote in local elections in 1897, more than two decades before the 19th Amendment in the United States banned voting rights discrimination on the basis of sex.That Thailand is being convulsed by an antidemocracy movement is somewhat surprising. The country was one of the earliest in Asia to adopt democracy, and both women and men were allowed to vote in local elections in 1897, more than two decades before the 19th Amendment in the United States banned voting rights discrimination on the basis of sex.
The antidemocracy protests, which have been some of the largest in Thai history, call into question the commonly held belief that a rising tide of wealth in a society will naturally be followed by greater demands for democracy. Thailand today is much richer than it was two decades ago, but it is also much more divided.The antidemocracy protests, which have been some of the largest in Thai history, call into question the commonly held belief that a rising tide of wealth in a society will naturally be followed by greater demands for democracy. Thailand today is much richer than it was two decades ago, but it is also much more divided.
To outsiders, some of the rhetoric of protest leaders seems to come from a different era — and is in jarring contrast to the image of Thailand as a cosmopolitan country open to the world. To outsiders, and many Thais, some of the protesters’ rhetoric seems to come from a different era.
At the Democracy Monument, in the heart of Bangkok’s historic district, tens of thousands of protesters gather nightly to speak of their skepticism of the notion of one person, one vote. One block over on Khao San Road, a street legendary with generations of Western travelers, tattooed and tanned backpackers watch English Premier League soccer, drink beer and enjoy $7 foot massages. “I can’t believe we are now arguing about suffrage. Is this 2013 or 1913?” wrote a Thai Twitter user who goes by the handle Kaewmala.
On the face of it, the crux of the protest appears to be a classic power struggle between a dominant majority and a minority frustrated that its voice is not being heard. The antidemocratic ideas put forward by protest leaders are a jarring contrast with the image of Thailand as a cosmopolitan country open to the world.
But the political turmoil today is also tightly intertwined with the fact that King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country’s 86-year-old monarch who during more than six decades on the throne has been revered to the point of quasi-religious devotion, is ailing, and the country is bracing for his passing. At the Democracy Monument, in Bangkok’s historic district, tens of thousands of protesters gather nightly to speak of their skepticism of the notion of one person, one vote. A block over on Khao San Road, a street legendary with generations of Western travelers, backpackers watch English Premier League soccer, drink beer and enjoy $7 foot massages.
The nostalgia surrounding his reign and the respect for the king is so profound among protesters that some speakers in recent days have labeled the abandonment of the absolute monarchy in 1932 a mistake. On the face of it, the crux of the protest appears to be a classic power struggle between a dominant majority and a minority frustrated by its losing streak in elections and its inability to influence national policies in a winner-takes-all, highly centralized system.
Protest leaders have called for a royally appointed prime minister. But Thailand’s crisis is multifaceted and tightly intertwined with the fact that King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country’s 86-year-old monarch who during more than six decades on the throne has been revered to the point of quasi-religious devotion, is ailing and the country is bracing for his death.
The royal anthem is played nightly at protests, and marches are led by protesters holding his portrait aloft. A crucial component of protesters’ grievances is a feeling that the king and the monarchy have been undermined and threatened by the popularity of Ms. Yingluck’s elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister and patriarch of the Shinawatra clan, Thailand’s most powerful political family.
A crucial undercurrent in the demonstrations is the protesters’ claim that the king and the institution of the monarchy have been undermined and threatened by the popularity of Ms. Yingluck’s elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister and patriarch of the Shinawatra clan, Thailand’s most powerful political family.
“This is a war between Thaksin and the king,” said a 64-year-old corn farmer from central Thailand who gave her name only as Muai and was among the thousands of protesters in the streets on Thursday. “Thaksin has been insulting the king for far too long.”“This is a war between Thaksin and the king,” said a 64-year-old corn farmer from central Thailand who gave her name only as Muai and was among the thousands of protesters in the streets on Thursday. “Thaksin has been insulting the king for far too long.”
Mr. Thaksin has never publicly spoken ill of the king, but many of his supporters have been convicted by the authorities for lèse-majesté. Mr. Thaksin has never publicly spoken ill of the king, but many of his supporters have been convicted by the authorities for lèse-majesté, a law that has been aggressively used in recent years to clamp down on dissent toward the monarchy.
A 2008 United States diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks offered a rare insight into Mr. Thaksin’s perception of his relationship with the king. Mr. Thaksin was removed in a 2006 military coup, an event that helped give him the aura of a martyr and allowed his supporters to overlook the controversial aspects of his rule, including numerous allegations of large-scale corruption and a war against drugs that left more than 2,800 people dead within three months.
According to Eric G. John, who wrote the cable and was then the United States ambassador in Thailand, Mr. Thaksin said he “had enjoyed a good relationship with the king during his first term as prime minister” but that the relationship soured after he won re-election in 2005. Verapat Pariyawong, a Harvard-trained lawyer and commentator, says the powerful bureaucracy and courtiers around the king fear that new elites, symbolized by the rise of Mr. Thaksin, will replace them.
“Thaksin said many figures at the palace felt threatened by his political power and his popularity with rural Thais,” the cable said. The Crown Property Bureau is by far the largest landowner in Bangkok and has controlling stakes in some of the biggest companies in the country. The managers of this fortune are among those “acting behind the scenes,” Mr. Verapat said.
Mr. Thaksin was removed in a military coup in 2006. More broadly, Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a leading Thai scholar on the monarchy, argues that Thailand’s protracted political turmoil has been exacerbated by the contrast between a deified king and politicians who appear crass and venal in contrast. “We have an image of monarchy that is flawlessly excellent in everything,” he said in 2010. “If we had not built this image in the first place, we would not have so many problems and complaints with politicians.”
Respect for the king, and the notion of his near infallibility and beneficence, are deeply ingrained in Thais from the earliest years of schooling. Many Thais look to the king as a spiritual anchor and someone who can steer the country far better than politicians. Respect for the king, and the notion of his near-infallibility and beneficence, are deeply ingrained in Thais from the earliest years of schooling.
Yet the king’s ailing health appears to preclude any role in mediating this conflict. He did not specifically mention the protests in his annual birthday address to the nation a week ago. Some speakers at the protests in recent days have labeled the abandonment of the absolute monarchy in 1932 a mistake; protest leaders have called for the king to appoint a prime minister.
Hopes for a negotiated settlement to the political standoff still seem distant. Mr. Suthep, the protest leader, was asked by business leaders on Thursday whether he would reach out to his opponents in the governing party and their allies. Anuchyd Sapanphong, a Thai soap opera star, recently posted on his Facebook page that he disliked corrupt politicians so much he wished he had been born during the time of the absolute monarchy.
“We are ready to listen to people from every sector,” he said. “But we don’t want to negotiate.” “I don’t think we are suited for democracy right now,” he said on his page. “We don’t understand it that well — including me.”
Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was charged with murder Thursday in connection with the 2010 deaths of protesters killed during a crackdown on antigovernment demonstrators, The Associated Press reported from Bangkok.
Mr. Abhisit, of the opposition Democrat Party, denied all the charges in the brief court hearing. His government approved the use of live ammunition under limited conditions and deployed sharpshooters and snipers during the 2010 demonstrations. His deputy at the time, Suthep Thaugsuban, the leader of the current protests, was also expected to face charges Thursday, though he has asked that his hearing be postponed until January.