No need to add much because it sums up in a very good and blanced way what I have been talking and writing about myself these last weeks, here and on the Phukett Gazett forum.... my words being based on what I saw myself, heard thei talk about and explain to me, as well as I heard from the experiences of families in Kiks hometown and from his own family and himself.
Recognising them in the words of Dr. Pavia, fellow of the Institue of Southeast Asian Studies, made me decide to share them with you... specially because, ofcourse, he says it sooo much better then I could have, with more fact and less gut feeling then my own words sofar ;-)
Opinion » Opinion
SOCIETY
From the chaos may emerge a new Thai identity
Published: 19/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The fatal face-off between the red shirts and security forces in which at least 24 people were killed and more than 800 injured is the latest evidence that Thailand's "glory" days have come to an end. The position of power, long dominated by the Bangkok elite, is on the verge of collapsing.
The bloodbath on the Bangkok streets conveyed a firm message to the established institutions that their days of monopolising state power are over. Some local media are reluctant to use the term "civil war" to describe the ongoing brutal confrontations. Whatever one wants to call it, the conflict, with its deep roots in ideological polarisation, is on its way to generating political changes.
Already the violence that has erupted in the course of countless political battles has redefined the essence of the Thai nation. State-crafted national identity is under threat. Apparently, many Thais are in the process of finding a new meaning to being Thai.
Traditionally, Thailand has been a country proud of its perfection. It is the only country in Southeast Asia that successfully escaped colonialism, it is often claimed. The success, as past Thai leaders saw it, was made possible because of the trait of unity imbued in every Thai. This attribute also made some people feel that Thailand is supposedly more superior to its neighbours. This is how many Thai people perceived themselves. It is this same perception exploited by the state as it tried to construct a national identity.
In many ways, Thailand did have "glory" days. Over the past few decades, Thailand, despite being ruled by numerous despotic regimes, has enjoyed a certain level of political stability. The Thai two-faced strategy, being rebranded more appealingly as a shrewd bending-with-the-wind diplomacy, allowed the country to survive various kinds of threat. Political stability was buttressed by long years of impressive economic growth. There is no doubt Thailand is far ahead of its once war-torn neighbours.
It was the period when the political elite began to re-engineer Thailand's national identity, not only as part of identifying the Thai "self" in the face of supposedly inferior neighbours, but also strengthening the regime of the day by setting certain social rules in order to demand social obedience. Thailand became the "Land of Smiles" because Thais were seemingly happy under the benevolence of the elite in Bangkok. The Thai character, as echoed in the Thai national anthem, was strenuously promoted. "Thailand unites the flesh and blood of Thais. This is the nation that belongs to Thais in all respects ...The Thais are peace-loving", so goes the lyrics of the national anthem.
Beneath the Thai smiles, however, political domination in the hands of the Bangkok elite continued. Poor villagers in far-flung regions were told to remain subservient even when they were left in poverty and politically crippled. For many of them, being Thai was to be politically submissive. The leaders in Bangkok made decisions. The perceived uneducated khon ban nok (upcountry residents) followed them. The elite called this a "social contract". All Thais seemed to live happily in unison. Cashing in on this deceitful image, Thailand even declared to the world that they were welcome to come to "Amazing Thailand".
Throughout the Thaksin Shinawatra period, however, the billionaire prime minister shifted the political consensus. He did this with a series of populist programmes, such as cheap universal health care and ample village development funds. In a sense, he managed to put a genuine smile on people's faces, especially those in the North and Northeast regions. During his six-year administration, not only did they taste a more comfortable life, but they were also offered a chance to elect their favourite leader in a ballot box. Suddenly, their political voice became meaningful.
But their smiles seriously threatened the power interests of the Bangkok elite. Three years after the military coup, the Bangkok elite is fighting back against the khon ban nok who are now labelled as simply unintelligent and easily manipulated. The bloody confrontations during the previous weekend revealed that these villagers, in red T-shirts, are no longer subservient. They are seeking to reinvent a national identity of their own. They are eager to reject the top-down process of identity making, while campaigning for a bottom-up way of how Thais should express their nationhood.
The message of the rural residents is clear: a new Thailand with a new identity which is no longer submissive but one in which the Thais know their rights. The relentless demonstrations confirm the emergence of such a new identity which fiercely contests the traditional one created by Bangkok leaders. Occasionally, this new identity allows Thais to behave unconventionally, as seen in the Bangkok riot of April 2009 and the incident last weekend. It also reveals the unattractive truth behind certain Thai images. That is, the Thai nation no longer unites Thai blood and flesh, that this society is not homogeneous but comprises many different races, and that the people profess different political ideologies. They do not need to pretend to be same.
Thailand is now entering a new political landscape. Recent developments strongly suggest the anti-government forces are yearning to rebuild Thai society and make it more equal. While it will be impossible to remove class divisions, they just hope that the rapidly expanding membership of the "underclass" will be able to access politics without state obstruction.
How will this shape the future of Thailand? The state will have to come to terms with the shift in the people's perception of their identity. They will demand their rights and will protest more. The state will be assigned a new responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected, that their welfare is to be improved and that emerging human rights organisations be strengthened.
Thailand has long lived in a fairy tale world in which the supposed ideal of perfection effectively eclipsed the huge differences and fragmentations in society. The deadly conflict between the red shirts and the state authorities may demonstrate the ugliness of the real Thailand. But it also exposes its other side - the side that values the people's love of democracy and a more equal and just society.
Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a Fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
About the author
Writer: Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Position: Reporter
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