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วันที่ 29 พฤษภาคม 2557 16:43 น.1,009 views

ดร.สมเกียรติ อ่อนวิมล"Stop Thaksin Regime and Restart Thailand”

February 11, 2014 at 9:12pm

คำปราศรัย เวทีปทุมวัน 

โดย สมเกียรติ อ่อนวิมล

21:00 น. 11 กุมภาพันธ์ 2557

 

"Stop Thaksin Regime and Restart Thailand”

 

*

 

[Introduction]

 

Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the international community.

 

I have a dream.

 

I dream of Thailand being a prosperous and peaceful country.

 

I dream of Thailand being a true democratic society.

 

I dream of Thailand being the Kingdom of brotherly love where all loyal subjects care and share with each other.

 

My dream has been chattered when ทักษิณ ชินวัตร (Thaksin Shinawatra) and his clans came into the business and political scenes.

 

Thaksin used his wealth buying his way into politics and finally took over the country under the pretense democratic voting, when in truth it was vote-buying.

 

Direct vote-buying is done in plain sight.

Indirect vote-buying has been done through various expensive populist schemes.

 

The most obvious and destructive one being the rice-buying scheme which resulted in a financial disaster creating great sufferings among Thai rice-farmers  nationwide today.

 

The crooked rice scheme affects the livelihood of farmers all over the country. It threatens to destroy the whole culture of agriculture in Thailand.

 

But it has created massive wealth among Thaksin-Yingluck’s collaborators and cronies overnight.

 

Regardless of the suffering of farmers the Yingluck Government continues to hold on to power.

 

The present Yingluck government continues to hang on to power disregarding the constitutional court’s recent decision against them.

 

The เพื่อไทย Party (Pheu Thai) which runs the government came out defying the constitutional court decision.

 

This, under a normal democratic society where respectable politicians have ethical code of conducts, should be more than enough reason for the Yingluck government to resign an return the power to the people.

 

There are numerous other instances which could have made the Yingluck government resign and return the power to the people.

 

When they were caught red-handed trying to sneak in the infamous Amnesty Bill aiming to set the Prime Minister’s Big Brother free of all criminal penalties and offenses.

 

-        This was when Yingluck should have resigned if she had any democratic sense of public trust and responsibility.

 

When the people began a mass rally in protest against the Yingluck-Thaksin government demanding resignation, it was the true voice of the people that the government should listen to, but they did not!

 

When the voice of the people against the government became so strong numbering between 5 to 10 million and more.

 

-        This was when Yingluck should have resigned if she had any democratic sense of public trust and responsibility.

 

The people has then formed a formal organization called “The People Democratic Reform Committee” or the “PDRC” calling for not only the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck and her government, but the people demand a comprehensive reform of the country’s democratic infrastructure.

 

Into the 4th month of peaceful protest both in Bangkok and in provinces around the country, the people are now demanding a complete overhaul of Democracy in Thailand.

 

And I wholeheartedly support the people.

 

By “The People” I shall from now on call by its original Thai name “มวลมหาประชาชน” or “The Great Mass of the People of Thailand”

 

Yes, we strongly condemn the the present corrupted Yingluck-Thaksin Government and the whole systematic corruption destroying Thailand under the name of “Thaksin Regime”.

 

I use the term “Yingluck-Thaksin” government because Sister Yingluck is running the government in Bangkok by daily commands from Brother Thaksin who is abroad.

 

Thaksin commands Sister Yingluck from Dubai, from Hong Kong, from Singapore, now from the Chatrium Hotel in Yangon.

 

Thaksin openly admitted that Yingluck is his clone.

 

She is not the real Prime Minister of Thailand.

 

She is not really a true person.

 

As a clone,

 

Yingluck is merely living and breathing Thaksin’s orders.

 

I am ashamed of my country for having such a prime minister like Yingluck, who has taken Thailand into the world-class international embarrassment.

 

Khun Yingluck shoud be ashamed of herself and should have resigned the first time she heard Thaksin said that “She was his clone”.

 

This is not democracy.

 

This is crazy!

 

After finishing my education from the University of Delhi and the University of Pennsylvania I taught Political Science and International Relations at Chulalongkorn University for 14 years.

 

I later joined the media profession as television news reporter and presenter.

 

Representing my province of Suphanburi, I was elected to draft the 1997 People’s Constitution.

 

I was directly elected a Senator from Suphanburi in 2000.

 

I was also appointed member of the National Legislative Assembly in 2007.

 

I know my DEMOCRACY!

 

I had high hope that my dream of a real democracy in Thailand will some day be a reality.

 

My dream has been broken by the taking-over of the country by the Thaksin Regime.

 

The Thaksin Regime buys votes,

 

buys self serving civil servants,

 

buys power-seeking local governments,

 

buys members of the parliament and their votes to enable the passing of laws benefiting Thaksin and his clan’s personal wealth.

 

The Thaksin Regime steals the “Wealth of the Nation” in broad living-daylights.

 

 

The Thaksin Regime buys the media,

simply by taking over as big share-holder,

or by offering big advertisement budget to newspapers and television.

 

As the government in power, the Thaksin Regime dictates state media both in propaganda contents and in making appointments of all key positions in the state-controlled media.

 

Top positions in the Public Relations Department and the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand has to be approved by Khun Thaksin in Dubai.

 

Khun Thaksin, at one time, even managed to be on the cover of TIME magazine for the edition reaching the Thai readers while the rest of the world got a different versions, reading different cover stories.

 

Illegal and systematic corruption was practiced, being practiced, and will be practiced by the Thaksin Regimes in the future if the มวลมหาประชาชน cannot stop it.

 

That is why we are here today.

 

That is why we have been here for that past four months.

 

The มวลมหาประชาชน have been staging this mass protest

going through heat and cold, and hunger, and fear. And the people will continue to be here for as long as needed to bring down the Yingluck Government and the Thaksin Regime.

 

Thanks to the People’s Democratic Reform Committee who is considerate enough to provide us enough food and water and a few rare relaxing moments in between.

This is a superb organization I have never seen anywhere else but here in Thailand.

 

Thanks to the generosity of donors…

 

particularly the people of Bangkok, who not only donate generously to กำนันสุเทพ (Kamnan Suthep) for the cause of the Reform of Democracy in Thailand,

 

They also happily allow us to occupy Bangkok, their loving home.

 

The citizens of Bangkok wholeheartedly support the cause of  the reform of Democracy in Thailand and always come out and join มวลมหาประชาชน in full force - days and nights.

 

And I hope that Khun Yingluck will understand how powerful the people’ power truly is.

 

If Khun Yingluck cannot understand this, I am sure the international community will understand and tell the world about what the people of Thailand is demanding right now!

 

The มวลมหาประชาชน do not demand a non-democratic society. The campaign against the general elections on February 2nd was not against democracy.

 

The people demand nothing less than a full democracy.

 

This is when The มวลมหาประชาชน’s demand and my dream converges.

 

We are here demanding a full democracy, fully functioning under a truly democratic constitution.

But this cannot be done unless we bring down the Yingluck-Thaksin Government and completely dismantle the Thaksin Regime.

 

I demand a full democracy and I demand Khun Yingluck to resign immediately and return the power to the people.

 

I demand nothing less than a full democracy for Thailand.

 

According to the Democracy Index of 2012 recently published by The Economist Intelligence Unit,

 

Thailand is a “FLAWED DEMOCRACY”

not a “full democracy”

 

We rank 58 among 167 countries in the world.

Our system of government is inferior to South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, India, Timor Leste', and Indonesia.

 

 

We do badly in all categories…..

 

    The electoral process and pluralism;

    Functioning of Government;

    Political Participation;

    Political Culture;

and

    Civil Liberties;

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the International community.

 

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”1

 

But if a man and a lesser woman plays angels running a country, It is about time to bring the them down.

 

BRING THEM DOWN! NOW!

 

Thaksin and Yingluck has no business running my country. They have no idea about democracy. They have given Thai Democracy a bad name.

 

They are a couple of IDIOTS

running a government of IDIOTS.

 

………….

 

Ladies and gentlemen…

 

The word “IDIOT” is in fact not such a harsh word or an abusive expression at all.

 

154 Years ago,

John Ruskin in his famous book, “UNTO THIS LAST”,

the book that changed Mahatma Gandhi’s life,

the book that Mahatma Gandhi loved so much that he translated it into Gujarati,

 

John Ruskin said that “IDIOT” is a Greek word, meaning

 

“a person entirely occupied with his own concerns.”

 

 

 

John Ruskin said in 1860:

 

“When a government is not disciplined, or abused, valueless to the state, and capable of only continuing the private or single existence of the individual - the Greeks called such a body an ‘idiotic’ or ‘private’ body, from their word signifying a person employed in no way directly useful to the state; whence finally, our ‘idiot’, meaning a person entirely occupied with his own concerns.”2

 

“IDIOT” actually means a “SELFISH PERSON”.

 

So, Kamnan Suthep, You can call Thaksin and Yingluck “IDIOTS”. It is a polite word. You will not be accused of being abusive.

 

This is well within the principle of “อหิงสา” (Ahimsa)

 

Yingluck and Thaksin, these two leading idiots, have been leading Thailand down the drain.

 

According to the 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index,

 

Thailand ranks 56th among 142 countries in the world, dropping down 4 positions from the previous year.

Number 4 in ASEAN after Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

 

Singapore is at the top of ASEAN prosperity, ranking number 19 in the world.

 

For Safety and Security index we rank 99th in the world.

In ASEAN we are number 7. People in Singapore, Lao, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia enjoy safer and more secured lives.

 

As for Personal Freedom, Thailand stands at number 129 among 142 countries and at the bottom of ASEAN ranking.

 

People in Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Lao, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, all enjoy greater personal freedom than us in Thailand.

 

All these has happened to us during the present IDIOT GOVERNMENT.

 

There are more embarrassing stories to show the world.

 

The WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT 2013-2014 tells the world that the :

 

Quality of the Education System of Thailand is number 78 among 148 countries, and we are number 8 in ASEAN.

 

 

Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Lao do have better education systems.

 

Thailand and Cambodia are at the same low level of Quality of education.

 

Our primary education quality ranks 86th, again inferior to Lao’s primary education.

 

Now listen to this, my IDIOT GOVERNMENT:

The World Economic Forum reports that:

 

For Transparency of Government Policy Making, Thailand is number 93 in the world and number 6 in ASEAN.

The governments of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia perform better that us.

 

For Public Trust in Politicians,  Thailand is number 127 in the world and at the Bottom most of ASEAN.

All other 9 ASEAN countries have way better politicians than Thailand.

 

This Government of IDIOTS is so shameful,… too shameful to live with!

 

Yes, there are more:

 

On the topic of corruption…concerning…

 

Irregular Payments and Bribes, Thailand numbers 77 in the world and number 4 in ASEAN.

 

On Diversion of Public Funds we ranks 101 in the world and 9 in ASEAN

 

On Favoritism in Decisions of Government Officials

Singapore is the best in the world as number 1

Thailand is number 93 in world ranking and number 9 in ASEAN, only better than Myanmar!

 

On Wastefulness of Government Spending, We are at number 107 in the world and at the bottom most in ASEAN.

This GOVERNMENT OF IDIOTS is the champion of wasteful spending.

 

Finally, the Reliability of Police Service:

Thailand ranks 109 in the world of 148 countries,

 

number 8 in ASEAN.

 

The police services in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Lao, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are much better than the Thai police.

 

Kamnan Suthep is right in calling for the reform of the Thai police. And we must do it urgently.

 

There is no denying that all these shameful sorrow state of affairs of Thailand has been the work of the Yingluck-Thaksin Regime.

 

The GOVERNMENT OF IDIOTS has destroyed the infrastructure of DEMOCRACY IN THAILAND almost completely.

 

And we must stop it before it is too late.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the international community,

 

I still have a dream.

I dream of a full democracy in Thailand.

 

I dream of Thailand being a prosperous and peaceful country.

 

I dream of Thailand being a true democratic society.

 

I dream of Thailand being the Kingdom of brotherly love where all loyal subjects care and share with each other.

 

 

For us the มวลมหาประชาชน in the 4th month of fighting in a peaceful way,

 

the fight may end either in a few days ahead or it may take longer. 

 

But I am sure it will end with the victory of the people.

 

For the cause of our fight is righteous,

 

our will is strong,

 

our determination is limitless.

 

Our hearts is full of love for our fatherland, our Kingdom.

 

We are here fighting for the complete reform of Democracy.

We do not demand anything less.

 

We want to stand head and shoulder with the civilized world.

 

We demand the resignation of acting Prime Minister Yingluck.

 

We are here to dismantle the Yingluck-Thaksin Regime.

 

STOP THE YINGLUCK-THAKSIN REGIME.

 

Then we can RESTART THAILAND.

 

Thank You and Good Night.

 

—————————————————————————————

 

 

 

References:     

 

1. The Federalist Paper, อ้างจาก Bob Blaisdell (Editor), The United States Constitution, The Full Text With Supplementary Materials, Dover Trift Edition, Dover Publications, New York, (p. vii)
2. John Ruskin: Unto This Last and Other Writings, Penguin Books, London, 1985, 1997, 362 หน้า, ISBN: 978-0-14-043-211-4, (p.211)