True people power, not new charters, is key to reconciliation

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/True-people-power-not-new-charters-is-key-to-recon-30267624.html

THE NATION August 28, 2015 1:00 am

Thammasat University academic Theerayut Boonmee delivers a speech on the

WRITING NEW constitutions or issuing orders can never bring about national reconciliation, Thammasat University academic Theerayut Boonmee declared yesterday.

“Reconciliation takes place when people are willing to make it happen and when there is righteousness and justice, not when we are forced to reconcile or when we sing together. To solve political problems, we have to attack them at their roots,” Theerayut told a seminar on “Rights and Powers of the People” at the university.

He said that since 1997, politicians and activists believed that to end political crises, the country had to appoint a committee to write a new constitution. The 1997 charter, the 2007 charter and then the 2015 charter draft were the results of this concept.

He said he would like to talk to the military, the yellow shirts, the red shirts or politicians to discuss solutions to the country’s political crises.

“I want to encourage them to find solutions with an open mind. But I know it is difficult because people are still attached to old, conventional ways of thinking,” he said. He said different groups had different outlooks and approaches to solutions. The military is focusing on national security and lacks perspective on reforms, but he wants to look at the whole country, meaning society and the people.

“When we have different outlooks, we come up with different solutions. When we focus on the people, our outlook will become wider. We have to solve problems by making people enthusiastic and responsible for the country,” he said.

Theerayut said the big question was how to give power to the people so they become a base or foundation for the country.

After 1957, Thais looked down on themselves because they were oppressed by the central government. After the culture of local identity was promoted, people became more acceptable to those living in the central culture. He said locals must now learn that their rights and powers are still with them after an election. This trend must be pushed further until everybody is capable of living a democratic way of life.

“I do not want to call this decentralisation, but more a distribution of locals’ rights,” he said.

The academic said that if the country could not achieve a democratic way of life, local people would continue to suffer under nepotism.

“I believe achieving local identity and empowering locals by giving them rights will be a solution to the country’s crisis and help bring about reforms,” he said.