דער טאָג טיילאַנד ס דעמאָקראַטיש יראָוזשאַן איז געווען באוויליקט און די וועלט איז געשטאנען שטיל

18 June 2015 is set to become a momentous date in Thailand’s history for all the wrong reasons. For millions of Thai citizens, 1932 will forever represent the end of absolutist monarchy and the introduction of parliamentary government. Meanwhile, 1973 is etched on the collective Thai memory as the moment when military dominance gave way to popular rule. And while these pivotal moments in Thai history are remembered with pride, 18 June 2015 will likely come to represent a dark day of national infamy. It is the date on which Thailand’s National Assembly באוויליקט the country’s new constitution, crafted by General Prayuth Chan-ocha (פּיקטשערד) and his cohorts to entrench their military autocracy. In doing so, parliament has effectively signed its own death warrant and that of Thai democracy. But equally shameful has been the world’s deafening silence as Thailand sinks ever deeper into unchallenged repression.

Naturally, General Prayuth has טעסטעד his constitutional reform as a necessary measure to ensure both political stability and economic recovery. All in the national interest, of course. However, the junta-appointed Constitutional Drafting Committee made the new charter’s central purpose crystal clear, ווערטל that it would end “parliamentary dictatorship”. Such disdain for the Thai electorate is duly reflected in the document itself. Ominously, it allows for a non-elected official to assume prime ministerial powers in times of ‘crisis.’ And another clause would see just 77 elected members in the 200-seat Senate, Thailand’s upper chamber, the rest hand-picked regime appointees. Even the 77 ostensibly popular representatives would need to be vetted by the country’s military rulers in advance, excluding any genuine opponents of the regime. Prayuth’s new constitution is nothing more than a wholesale power grab, stripping Thai governance of the basic checks and balances essential to any democratic system.

The warnings were there for all to see. Thailand’s old constitution existed to protect the rule of law. General Prayuth abused it to make sure that he is the law. In March, Prayuth ended the state of martial law which had been in place since he seized power from Thailand’s elected ruler Yingluck Shinawatra in May 2014. However, he replaced it with the constitution’s rarely used אַרטיקל קסנומקס, which has been dubbed the ‘dictator’s law’ and with good reason. Essentially, it grants Prayuth unlimited power over issues of governance, law and order in the nebulous, wholly undefined interests of ‘security’. Article 44 represents less of a slide into dictatorship and more of a headlong dive straight into autocracy. Parliament’s recent decision to approve the junta’s new constitution may be its last act of any real significance.

And although constitutional change may appear at first glance little more than a technocratic process, its impact is very real indeed. The constitution has already been wielded as a crude instrument with which to silence opposition to the military regime. In March, 250 MPs from the Pneu Thai Party, the political home of former-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin, another former Thai premier, were אָנגעקלאָגט פון attempting to “unlawfully” amend the constitution. Incredibly, their apparent offence was an attempt to make the Senate fully, rather than partially elected. Their impeachment not only strikes a powerful blow to democracy, but also effectively criminalizes the political voice of Prayuth’s most potent opponents. Between them, Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra have triumphed in each one of Thailand’s elections since 2001 and maintain a strong support, especially in the country’s rural areas.

However, the generals’ repressive rule transcends political rivalries, impinging everyday Thai life. Criticising the government has become a dangerous business. An estimated 166 people have been ערעסטיד during the last year for expressing anti-government sentiments. Meanwhile, freedom of speech has been further curtailed by an increasingly ruthless application of the country’s lese majeste law which is meant to protect the revered royal family from defamation. There are at least 46 ongoing פּראָקוריעס under this somewhat obscure measure, in comparison to just two pre-coup cases. After having seized power, the junta promptly banned public gatherings of more than five people. With the characteristic paranoia that only a dictatorship can muster, the regime has found all manner of creative ways to enforce the regulation. When university students organised a low-key “sandwich party” at lunchtime on campus, in defiance of the new measure, they were ערעסטיד under the fanciful charge of “eating sandwiches with intent.” More worrying perhaps, Orwellian plans are afoot to ensure that such disobedience is rooted out way before Thailand’s youth reach university. Since September, Thai schoolchildren have been required to recite on a daily basis the “12 core values of the Thai people” which Prayuth himself composed. And just in case Prayuth’s creed should slip their mind, the government for good measure issued a set of child-friendly '12 core values' mobile phone icons.

Although Prayuth insists that he himself is not interested in power, he is steadily laying the groundwork for his own never-ending authority. It should come as no surprise that Prayuth recently אַדמיטאַד the election which was promised in early 2016 would happen in August or September “at the earliest.” In another recent interview, he ominously געווארנט that a “rush” to elections could prevent “underlying problems” from being resolved.

Of course, Thailand’s real rush is to beat the clock which is ticking on democracy. And it can be done, but not without the help of the international community. Quite rightly, world powers אויסדריקן דייַגע when the generals overthrew Bangkok’s elected government. However, with democracy becoming a sadly distant memory, the time has come to intervene in the only language the military men understand – power. In this case, economic and financial power. Thailand’s נעבעך economic performance has alarmed the junta, which is also facing the prospect of a טריקעניש hitting rice production. Western powerhouses are a crucial lifeline, with the United States and the European Union constituting Thailand’s צווייט און דריט largest trading partners respectively. Their silence must now be decisively broken to send Prayuth a clear message that continued repression will inevitably be followed by economic regression. Failure to do so will see these global powers become accomplices to the death of Thai democracy.

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

שער דעם אַרטיקל: