On making a silk purse

Yesterday, we posted on how the Bangkok Post had been slapped down by the judiciary. Today, we were surprised to see that the Bangkok Post, now back to a real editorial, appears to be engaging in junta petting.

Banging on about the election now having a date that is probably unlikely to change, it declares: “All stakeholders … have a duty to ensure the freedom, fairness, and therefore the success of the election.”

This is granting the junta’s election more legitimacy than it deserves. This “election” is as rigged as it gets. While the junta’s preferred outcome – The Dictator and pro-junta parties ruling for years to come – may not be fully realized, this does not mean that the election is anything other than but free, is unfair and very much rigged in the military junta’s favor.

Yes, we understand that the Post is seeking to make a silk purse of a sow’s ear and warning against even more blatant cheating, this is a dangerous strategy. It risks having people think that the poll was not rigged. It may even allow the junta to claim legitimacy following the “election.”

And, using a new logo for the “election,” the Post seems to claim that a junta’s election equals a return to “democracy.” That is a cart load of buffalo manure.

As a footnote, without ever having questioned the real reasons for the most recent delay, the Post suggests that the “circumstances” warranted this. Such pandering to a palace that is testing the usual boundaries of what is right and lawful for a monarchy that is meant to be constitutional is also a grave error, albeit understandable given Thailand’s horrendous lese majeste laws and the recent torture and murder of several who were anti-monarchy.

The Post’s final word is also worrying. It declares that a return to “normalcy” will be achieved if “all stakeholders agree to give democracy a chance and are willing to do their best to ensure the election is fair, the goal is within reach.” That is all but impossible. And, it says nothing of post-election rigging of the rules and the coup threats made by the current military boss.