Thaksin's Record
Posted by Stuart at 10:37 AM on March 14, 2006Today has seen another major anti-Taksin protest. This time, the demonstrators marched from Suan Luang near the Grand Palace to the Parliment House. They are still there, and are still demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister. A play-by-play report is being filed by the Nation newspaper.
But it's not like the whole city of Bangkok is up in arms. In fact, it doesn't seem like anything is out of the ordinary in most of the city. The protests are confined to one part of the city -- the historic center with many symbolic sites like the Democracy Monument and government offices like the Parliament House. The article Tale of two cities in protest-hit Bangkok does a nice job of explaining how it's business as usual in most of Bangkok (including the area that I live and work).
Of course every story has two sides. It seems to me that Thaksin's government have done a lot of good for Thailand over the past 5 years. But in other ways, perhaps the ends haven't justified the means. Another article I read had a very good breakdown of the pros and cons of Thaksin's populist policies. It goes a long way in explaining the situation that has led to the current problems. It says Thaksin's record on the following issues are:
Village development
- For: cheap loans and healthcare have revitalised villages
- Against: Has left the rural poor with a burden of debt and created dependency
Human rights
- For: campaign against drug dealers wiped out a corrosive social problem; tough approach in south has shown an intolerance of terrorism
- Against: drug war has been pretext for thousands of extrajudicial killings
The media
- For: TV reflects his overwhelming popularity
- Against: TV channels under control of Thaksin supporters have stifled critical coverage
The Government
- For: practical "chief executive" style has brought much-needed decisiveness
- Against: has appointed cronies and undermined independence of the State
(The above quote was from 100,000 descend on billionaire leader to seek his resignation.)
dee jai! finally i got to read something that doesnt obviously take sides (esp, against Mr. Thaksin). I agree that Thaksin has done a lot of good to Thailand too. everybody lies and cheats anyway... oops! :P
Hmmmm....The Political now is very busy, busy, and confusing... Agree with the two sides.