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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> On November 14, 2006, Khun
Sondhi Limthongkul spoke on the campus of the University of Washington in
Seattle about the Thai political situation. His visit was arranged by Thai
students at the University. An audience of approximately 350 people attended the
event; most were Thai by origin who live in the Seattle area, although some came
from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia. There was also a scattering of
non-Thai in the audience, including the former US Ambassador to Thailand, Darryl
Johnson, who is currently a lecturer at the Jackson School of International
Studies at the University of Washington.<BR> Khun Sondhi first
spoke in English for about 45 minutes and then took questions from the audience
for another 20 minutes. He then turned the microphone over to Khun Karun
Saingam, a former MP and former senator from Buriram. Khun Karun spoke in Thai
for about 45 minutes. After a break, Khun Sondhi then spoke and answered
questions in Thai for another hour.<BR> A few Thai students,
led by Khun Anusorn Unno, a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of
Washington, distributed a handout in both Thai and English, entitled “9 Myths
about the September 19, 2006, Coup.” Although a brief dispute arose because the
organizers demanded that the protestors not have their signs in the foyer
outside the lecture hall which had been booked for the event, this was resolved
when the protestors moved outside the front door of the hall. A photo of Khun
Sondhi, Khun Karun, and Khun Anusorn appeared with the story published the next
day in the online edition of the Thai newspaper <EM>The Manager</EM>. (For this
story, see
http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000141271).
<BR> Khun Sondhi said that while he was not happy with the
coup, he was very happy it had happened. He reiterated the reasons he has
presented many times before about why former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
had so abused power that only a coup could remove him. He said that if the coup
had not happened on September 19th there would have been bloodshed the following
day in a confrontation between those attending a rally to protest his continuing
in office and Thaksin’s supporters.<BR> He argued that there
cannot be electoral democracy in Thailand such as is found in the West because
most people outside the middle class lack sufficient knowledge to understand how
power can be abused. The rural people only vote, he claimed, for those who pay
them either directly through party organizers (<EM>hua khanaen</EM>) or
indirectly through the populist programs. He compared the populist programs of
Thaksin to those of Peron in Argentina. Khun Sondhi said that in the future he
himself will work only with the middle class who have sufficient education to
truly understand how populist politicians can abuse power. He added that while
the middle class is found primarily in Bangkok, it is also represented in the
urban areas of each province.<BR> Khun Sondhi said that
politicians of all parties in Thailand are characterized by <EM>kilet</EM>, a
Buddhist term that in Thai means greed for power, wealth and fulfillment of
sexual passion. He was quite dismissive of a written constitution as the basis
for governance in Thailand. He said that only if the people have a spirit of
democracy can democracy truly exist. Without a constitution, the only
institution that can assure good governance is the monarchy. He said that ‘royal
prerogative’ (<EM>phraratchamnat</EM>) is deeply respected and embodies the
spirit of the nation.<BR> The audience was generally very
receptive to Khun Sondhi’s interpretations.<BR> My own
assessment is not so positive. I am aware that I am not a Thai, but I have been
involved in studying Thai society, particularly in rural areas, for many
decades. I find very disturbing Khun Sondhi’s assumption that rural people are
ignorant and are not capable of making good political choices unless they are
‘bought’. I have found just the opposite. Rural people today are not the
peasants of yesteryear and it is a myth that they are ignorant (<EM>ngo</EM>).
Villagers today are very much aware that unless political leaders are chosen who
will respond to their needs for government services such as healthcare,
education and government-sponsored loan funds they will continue to be very
disadvantaged in Thailand’s capitalist economy. Khun Sondhi’s position seems to
me to contribute to the growing class division of Thai society. I also found his
dismissal of a written constitutional basis of governance and emphasis on ‘royal
prerogative’ to, in effect, turn back the clock on the governing of Thailand to
the system that existed prior to the revolution of 1932. <BR>
I am happy, nonetheless, that Seattle and the University of Washington should
have been put on the map of Thai politics through Khun Sondhi’s
visit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Charles (Biff) Keyes</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>