Monday 4 July 2011
Thai election is over but the hatred remains
The much-anticipated election has passed in Thailand and “the people have spoken”. The biggest problem, however, remains unsolved, and it has nothing to do with how to have a workable government, or how to handle the potentially explosive issue of “amnesty”, or how the Thai military should behave.
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Thai election is over but the hatred remains
The Nation (Thailand)
04 July 2011
The much-anticipated election has passed in Thailand and “the people have spoken”. The biggest problem, however, remains unsolved, and it has nothing to do with how to have a workable government, or how to handle the potentially explosive issue of “amnesty”, or how the Thai military should behave.
Thailand remains divided, and not between Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thaksin Shinawatra or between Sondhi Limthongkul and whoever is his enemy-of-the-moment. The division is between Thai people, the real casualties of the years-old political war, which has crippled the country.
The election outcome is one thing. Every poll is supposed to reflect splits in opinion on welfare, economy, ideology, etc. But not every election has people flocking to polling stations with hatred in their hearts. Again, it’s one thing if they hate politicians, but it’s another if they hate those voting for “the other side”.
We are a strife-torn nation. Thai people have been hating each other for political reasons, and this is simply sad. Not everyone is hateful, and there are plenty who are able to feel love for the “other colours”, but the scale of citizen-against-citizen revulsion is a marked phenomenon. Check out the web boards or social media networks. There is enough material on them to break our hearts.
Hatred has taken away many things, and one of them is the ability to be true to ourselves. “Double standards” have spread from the political sphere to ordinary Thais, who condemn violence only when “the other side” commits it, who deplore “injustice” only when their camp suffers, and who will turn a blind eye to “corruption” if it involves their adored politicians. We go about our business doing two things - accusing others of being hypocritical while ignoring our own hypocrisy.
Can this be stopped?
True “reconciliation” cannot come from any one political side, whose ultimate interests may even be threatened if Thais start to love one another again.
Our nation can only get back to normal when Thais truly accept their compatriots’ difference of opinion as a human right and a natural part of a diverse society. The division was started by politicians, but reconciliation will have to come from the real people. The “fighting elephants” spun the hatred and nearly tore the country apart, and we simply cannot trust them to heal the wounds. If we do, the healing will only go as far as it suits them.
It will not be easy. The rival camps have spent years recruiting people to their sides. The line between “this is just ideological difference, so it’s no big deal” and “we have to squash the enemies” has been blurred. The people of Thailand have been poisoned and they will have to find their own antidote. We simply can’t expect any good cure from those responsible for our sickness in the first place.
We need to look around and de-politicise our relationships, friendships and other connections with fellow Thais. Let the politicians continue to drum up their own “reconciliation” programmes, but we must know that no new law or propaganda can fix the broken ties between families or friends. “Reaching out” is always a nice phrase to use, but it means nothing if no one really acts on it.
People talk about lost years, lost lives and lost property. The ultimate casualty of this war is lost love, the bonding that made Thailand so warm and harmonious. It will take time to rebuild what once existed so naturally.
Politics is accountable for the destruction, so while the general election was part of the ongoing effort to restore the old Land of Smiles, the whole work cannot be left to the political side.
We have done our job politically by casting our votes Sunday (July 3), so, to prevent that going to waste, we must take the real first step toward reconciliation.
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