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Some highlights:
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... the key to ending this bitter struggle is reform. And no party or person has yet offered a successful (and inclusive) reform agenda to make the political process more representative, transparent, and accountable.
...The major obstacle to political reform in Thailand is its law of lèse-majesté. . .
In fact, the law has been applied broadly to intimidate and – where expedient, to imprison – critics of the current political system. That presents a significant problem: It becomes impossible to talk about political reform. There can be no open, frank, and direct exchange of views on how to politically deal with the monarchy as an institution. And without that ability to speak freely, reform becomes near impossible.
Lèse-majesté laws throw a cloak of quasi-religious adulation around the institution. This contradiction between democratic and god-king visions of governing must be resolved. Reform in Thailand can find no traction within the existing political system that rests, in part, on a sacred institution that cannot be discussed or questioned. . .
To be sure, dropping lèse-majesté laws means opening Thailand’s government up to discussion on succession and the political process. For a government that is used to almost total control, that could be hard to swallow at first. But by getting rid of this arcane law, the government would be opening itself up to democracy, growth, and the respect of its citizens.
Instead, demonstrators are being treated increasingly like heretics. The rhetoric of pro-government forces is growing fiercer and uncompromising, and some within the ranks of the government are baying for blood. Red shirts have been demonized as terrorists and traitors in the eyes of the government and its backers.
Sadly, given the Thai people’s long history with strongmen military leaders, many have high tolerance for and, even expect, strong measures from government and military in the name of security even if it requires bloodletting to accomplish that goal. Until lèse-majesté laws are repealed and the political space is opened to discussion, extremists on both sides will dig in for a long, bitter struggle."
...The major obstacle to political reform in Thailand is its law of lèse-majesté. . .
In fact, the law has been applied broadly to intimidate and – where expedient, to imprison – critics of the current political system. That presents a significant problem: It becomes impossible to talk about political reform. There can be no open, frank, and direct exchange of views on how to politically deal with the monarchy as an institution. And without that ability to speak freely, reform becomes near impossible.
Lèse-majesté laws throw a cloak of quasi-religious adulation around the institution. This contradiction between democratic and god-king visions of governing must be resolved. Reform in Thailand can find no traction within the existing political system that rests, in part, on a sacred institution that cannot be discussed or questioned. . .
To be sure, dropping lèse-majesté laws means opening Thailand’s government up to discussion on succession and the political process. For a government that is used to almost total control, that could be hard to swallow at first. But by getting rid of this arcane law, the government would be opening itself up to democracy, growth, and the respect of its citizens.
Instead, demonstrators are being treated increasingly like heretics. The rhetoric of pro-government forces is growing fiercer and uncompromising, and some within the ranks of the government are baying for blood. Red shirts have been demonized as terrorists and traitors in the eyes of the government and its backers.
Sadly, given the Thai people’s long history with strongmen military leaders, many have high tolerance for and, even expect, strong measures from government and military in the name of security even if it requires bloodletting to accomplish that goal. Until lèse-majesté laws are repealed and the political space is opened to discussion, extremists on both sides will dig in for a long, bitter struggle."
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinio...ould-happen-now
