So I am sure this is old hat for many people who live in Thailand, as this was announced months ago, but I just have to get it off my chest… When the EU offered to help administer and mediate the elections in Thailand, I thought that finally, Thailand will be able to have a clean and honest time at the polls. Unfortunately, the military overlords that be seemed to think differently. A lot of people were saying that Thailand was a sovereign nation and is more than capable to handle our own elections; we don’t tell the EU how to do their elections, so why should we expect them to meddle with ours?
The delicious irony in these people’s statements are that if Thailand is so great at Democracy, and if Thailand has no problems in running elections, then why was it necessary to have a coup in the first place? In fact, shouldn’t people be more concerned that Thaksin’s government, you know, the one that got kicked out by the coup, was the first ever democratically elected government in Thailand to last a full 4 year term? If anything, if I were to take a look at Thailand’s political history, I wouldn’t blame the EU for offering help; Thailand is just plain awful at democracy.
More importantly, having the EU offer to monitor Thailand’s elections would have brought legitimacy to the election results. Considering that even Thais don’t trust the election results when they vote, it is amazing to see a means to gain instant recognition and acceptance on the world stage for the upcoming election was turned down so readily and blindly all due to a sense of falsely fortified national pride.
Wake up Thailand! We are a backwater third world country that desperately needs help. When the tsunami strikes, you are more than happy to take the help (and money) from foreigners, but when they ask to help with our elections you feel that we are a sovereign nation that is more than capable to take care of itself? You hypocritical asses. Stop acting like a little brat with two black eyes trying to act all tough; when something like the EU wants to help us transition back from a military dictatorship back to democracy, take the help!
