For the past four years, Thailand has been under military rule, after the junta deposed of Yingluck Shinawatra from power in 2014. The current prime minister, Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, is a career military man who has repeatedly postponed elections. But pressure grows as Thailand enters its fifth year without a democratically elected civilian government. "There’s a phrase in Thai that says 'Len kan meung." It means to play in politics, and it implies that politicians, whether democratically elected or not -- they do their own thing. They are not us; they are their own cast, they are their own people that do their own thing, so we better stay out of the way." GUEST: Saksith Saiyasombut is Channel NewsAsia's Thailand correspondent. Before he joined CNA in 2016, he was a political blogger and contributing writer for Asian Correspondent.

Southeast Asia, etc.

Dene-Hern Chen

Southeast Asia, etc. #4 Thailand: Democracy in a Military Regime

JUL 31, 201835 MIN
Southeast Asia, etc.

Southeast Asia, etc. #4 Thailand: Democracy in a Military Regime

JUL 31, 201835 MIN

Description

For the past four years, Thailand has been under military rule, after the junta deposed of Yingluck Shinawatra from power in 2014. The current prime minister, Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, is a career military man who has repeatedly postponed elections. But pressure grows as Thailand enters its fifth year without a democratically elected civilian government. "There’s a phrase in Thai that says 'Len kan meung." It means to play in politics, and it implies that politicians, whether democratically elected or not -- they do their own thing. They are not us; they are their own cast, they are their own people that do their own thing, so we better stay out of the way." GUEST: Saksith Saiyasombut is Channel NewsAsia's Thailand correspondent. Before he joined CNA in 2016, he was a political blogger and contributing writer for Asian Correspondent.