In the midst of a contentious and idiosyncratic election season in the U.S., it can be easy to forget what a privilege it is to live in a Western democracy where rule of law reigns supreme. The talk of Trump’s dictatorial qualities can cloud how a real dictatorship functions. Sad case in point: Thailand’s referendum on a new constitution which will take place this Sunday.
To lawyers especially, a constitutional referendum sounds so democratic, but Thailand is a land of many coups, including the one in 2014 that brought the current military junta into power. And this referendum is still technically a vote of the people (most of whom do not support the military government). But, they are forbidden by law to engage in spirited debate, and can face criminal charges for so much as a misplaced “like” on Facebook.
Verapat Pariyawong is a Thai lawyer, a political commentator and currently a visiting scholar at the SOAS School of Law, University of London. He has spoken out against the referendum and the current military government, and he agreed to join me today (and this weekend) on ATL to share his country’s story. I don’t usually ask this from my readers, but please share this story.
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