Quo Vadis Prathet Thai

Call me a coward. Ain’t no sacrificial lamb. Yes, I take this very personally. For the sake of peace of mind and good night’s sleep I avoid an analysis of The Times’ Thaksin interview that created a furore the moment it was published. According to the interviewer the Thai government warned not to report the contents of the interview and hinted at the use of the country’s draconian lèse majesté law, thereby counting on the Thai media’s own shock & awe antics. It’s all water under the bridge now and up to Thais to decide how much they can put up with. It’s up to Thais to speak up or not, and not to the odd farang.

But then again, allow me to sum up in a few words what the whole furore over the interview means in a wider context. You may have stubbornly refused the writing on the wall, but current Thailand is clearly on the cusp of a police state and regime of fear. Still has a long way to go though. The Sukhumvit ambiance continues to be civilized, well-developed and incredibly pleasant. Still, the furore reminds me of the falling Soviet Union. People were too scared to say anything. But they wanted to talk. So people developed an own ingenious language to say in the open what couldn’t be said in the open.

It was an intellectually and socially most challenging time. Theaters were at the center of the action. Politically highly sensitive plays were played to full houses. Everyone understood the hidden messages and symbolic language. The authorities couldn’t do much as you can’t charge anyone for hidden messages and symbolic language. In Thailand today it’s completely different. There are hardly any theaters and you run the risk of even being charged for hidden messages and symbolic language. That is bitter. Especially in a place calling itself Land of the Free. Prathet Thai quo vadis.

When the Soviet Union fell and suddenly everything was allowed to be said without fear of intimidation and incarceration, theaters became empty shells, little more than caricatures of their former selves. Being allowed to say everything was boring, language all of a sudden felt empty and plain. Thailand lacks the old Soviet Union’s intellectual sublimeness. The Thai world is much rougher. For fear of social and indoctrinated religious punishment today neighbors and even family members don’t trust each other.

Dog eat dog. Solidarity has become a dirty word. It is this very suppression of a citizen’s own power of judgment, this brainwashing on a monumental scale that not only kills any constructive debate within a society. The complete lack of constructive engagement allowed the Thaksin interview to go viral and spread like a wildfire.

On the one hand you have the government saying parts of the interview warrant seven generations of beheading. You have Thais flooding the website of The Times with patriotic comments swearing allegiance to the Thai nation and crown while cursing Thaksin as power-hungry madman who stops at nothing to satisfy his thirst for money and revenge.

On the other hand you have the people who say that probably for the first time a Thai leader has offered a candid description of Thailand’s inner workings. The interview will be translated into Thai and read all over the kingdom and also broadcast on the thousands of community radio stations.

Emailed a reader:

It’s kind of like Martin Luther and Calvin in Catholic Europe. Will the reaction be people burned at the stake as in Catholic Europe? Thaksin is kind of the accidental hero/messenger in all this despite his many faults. He is the first leader of Thailand to tell the Thailand people how their country is actually organized and run … and it ain’t no fairy tale.

I myself don’t think Thaksin planned this one carefully. At first glance it looks like a classic divide et impera.

At second glance he’s gotten impatient. A recipe for mistakes.

C’est le son qui fait la musique, the French say. It’s the sound that makes the music. Not the notes.

Fine tune your instruments Mr. Thaksin. Or face the music.

Emails another reader:

Thailand is a world away from the place we used to live in – sad to see.

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7 Responses to “Quo Vadis Prathet Thai”

Tweets that mention Quo Vadis Prathet Thai -- Topsy.com on November 10th, 2009 10.48 am

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Greg on November 10th, 2009 10.52 am

Nice post, sums it up very well, even if I can’t read French or Latin.

I really have a lot to say on this, some of it hysterical and alarmist, some of it reflective and thoughtful, but the hardest thing to do is not say anything at all. But you’re right, it’s time to just sit back and let them handle it. It would all be fascinating theater in an of itself if there wasn’t so much at stake. It’s always funny and/or tragic to see what an intense fear of truth and knowledge can do to an institution.
StanG on November 10th, 2009 11.38 am

First ever description of Thailand’s inner workings? You gotta be kidding.

Reds been banging about it for what? Three years now?

Question – how do you think people who oppose Thaksin and his red army feel? He doesn’t even acknowledge their existence.

(BD: First ever description by a Thai leader, quote the whole thing. StanG you’re the record-commentator on aB.com these days, we don’t mind substance!)
Peter on November 10th, 2009 11.59 am

(…)

(BD: Unsubstantiated accusations, sorry Peter aka Khun A., not here, not publishable.)
Steve on November 10th, 2009 1.05 pm

I share your misgivings about how and where this is heading. One starts to wonder how long it’ll be before Thaksin utterances and comments about them will be banned for Thai audiences just as they were in the immediate post-coup aftermath.

For now, it suits the government to shine its coloured spotlight on what they can portray Thaksin as saying/doing – but it’s not a big switch from doing that to blacking him out completely.

BTW, in his Straits Times piece Nirmal Ghosh quotes Thepthai Senpong (Abhisit’s personal spokesman) as saying Thaksin’s comments MAY warrant “seven generations of beheading – not that they DO. Typical Thai understatement …
uberVU - social comments on November 10th, 2009 4.20 pm

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Rich on November 10th, 2009 4.28 pm

As many others have, I read the published full transcript. There was nothing whatsoever in it which was disrespectful of the monarchy or the king or anyone in the royal household.

This is a beat-up, pure and simple. Froth and bubble from a government that is running very scared indeed.

(BD: Completely agree with you, the headline’s unfortunate, but most likely the unfortunate work of an unaware editor who wanted a catchy phrase.)

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