a blueprint for reconciliation in thailand

Transforming Political Conflict:

A Blueprint for Reconciliation in Thailand

Wootisan Tanchai

Deputy Secretary General of King Prajadhipok’s Institute

Topics

1

2

Critical Factors for Reconciliation

3

Background of the Study

Lessons Learnt from 10 Conflict Cases

Root Causes of the Conflict in Thailand

4

5 Conditions for Success

Background of the Study

1. Formal request from the Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives on the Study of National Reconciliation (November 2011)

2. The Approval from the Council of King Prajadhipok‟s Institute

3. Research Question – “What are the key factors that would make national reconciliation process successful?”

Research Methodologies

1. Literature review on theories and practices of conflict transformation and reconciliation

2. Document research/interviews with key persons related to 10 case studies

3. Document research on past major political conflicts in Thai society

4. In-depth interviews with key stakeholders through Delphi Technique (47 persons)

10 Case Studies

1. Succeed either in ending violence, significantly reducing violence, or initiating a process that leads to conflict transformation

2. Intrastate-political conflict that could be categorized into three groups a) aiming to change political structure or state ideology

b) aiming to change government in order to have power to govern

of allocate resources c) aiming to establish a new county or

South Korea

Aceh, Indonesia

Northern Ireland, UK

Bolivia

Chile

South Africa

Germany

Colombia Rwan

da

Morocco

6 Lessons Learnt – 4 Success Factors

Conflict

Feeling of being deprived/ refused to voice out grievances

Violence

Feeling of being treated unfairly by

those who are in power/ illegitimate use

of power

Feeling of no alternative

Lesson # 1

Lesson # 2

Inclusive dialogue process where all parties

could share and voice out their views, feelings,

What are the

conflicting issues/Root

causes?

What needs to be done or addressed? How should

the conflict be

transformed?

Etc.

Common understanding+ consensus

Future scenario/ Vision?

Lesson # 3

Truthon

violent incident

s

Truth Finding

Mechanism

Reliable explanati

on

Means Purposes

Revealed in an

appropriate time with a proper

process in consistence with the

social context

Healing

Preventing

repetitive atrocity

Lesson # 4

Amnesty/ Punishment for those who were involved in

political activities

Punish government leaders

and officials/ forgive

demonstrators

Forgive bothstate officials

and insurgent groups?

CONSENSUS

Context 1 Context 2

Government‟s suppression on

peaceful demonstration

Armed conflict between government and

insurgent group with political motivation

Lesson # 5

Healing Affecting

Individuals

ความทรงจ า

ขอโทษ

บอกเล่าประสบกา

รณ์Holocaus

t survivors

โครงการส่งเสริม

คุณภาพชีวิต

COLLECTIVE MEMORIES

APOLOGY

STORY TELLING

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

COMPENSATION

Lesson # 6

Politics

Economics

SocietyCultu

re

Structural/ Organizational Reform forConflict prevention – Justice – Peaceful

coexistence

Success Factors

รูปลีดเดอรชิพเจตจ านงทางการเมือง

รูปกระบวนการพูดคุย

มีพื้นที่และบรรยากาศ

รูปภาพอนาคตร่วมกันวิชั่น

แก้ไขอดีต มองอนาคต

ยอมรับผิด ให้อภัย

1 2 3 4Political Will Dialogue process

and environment for dialogue

Sincere apology and forgiveness

Common vision for the future

dynamics

Transformation Positive PeaceNegative Peace

Factor 3: Creating environment conducive to dialogue

Factor 4: Inclusive dialogue process

Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Process: Lessons Learned from 10 Cases

Process

- Dialogue

- Mediation

- NegotiationMindset: Violence cannot lead to sustainable peace

Process

- Truth-finding/ apology/ forgiveness

- Dialogue for improving relationship

- Negotiation for structural reform Mindset: Transitional justice and peaceful coexistence

Root Causes of Conflict

1) Feeling of injustice

politically, economically,

socially, and/or culturally

2) Imbalance of allocation of

power and/or resources

3) Different ideologies on the

form of governance

4) Different perspectives on

power over territory

Sufficient consensus from all stakeholders

Factor 1: Political Will/ Factor 2: The Empowerment of CSOs

Factor 5: Root causes are removed

Violent Conflict (Casualties)

End of Violence/ Negotiated Agreement

(Order)

Just Society

(Peace)

Conflict Transformation

1) Inclusive dialogue and

negotiation process for

possible solution

2) Peace agreement

3) Implementation of the

agreement

4) Shared future of the society

Truth-Finding and Justice

1) Truth finding commission/

mechanism

2) Apology/ retribution/

forgiveness

3) Healing and compensation

Structural Reform and

Building Conditions for Peace

1) Reform/ establish

organization or mechanism to

ensure justice

2) Process to transform hostile

attitude and relationship into

better understanding and

tolerance

3) Social reintegration

4) Peace culture

Factor 6: Fair mechanism for truth-finding, apology, and forgiveness

Lessons learned from the past political conflicts in

Thai society

2 major mechanisms

Contexts Mechanisms

• conflicts among

elite groups

• laws and regulations

enacted by the

winner groups

• conflicts were

expanded and

brought about

ordinary people to

be involved

• the reforms of

political institutions

and socioeconomic

structures

3 critical events in Thailand’s

political history

•The 1973 student uprisings

•The massacre of 6th

October 1976

•The Black May 1992

• A coalition of workers, farmers, students, and members of the middle class began to mobilize for democracy

• The nation’s top military leaders, who were forced to go into exile, after the use of violence to

What’s happen:

The 1973 student

uprisings

• The 1974 Amnesty Act to Students and Democratization Movement Involvers

• The Act for Repealing the Order of the Revolutionary Leader No. 36/1973

• The initiative of new constitutional drafting were implemented in order to restore the

How’s the conflict solved:

The 1973 student

uprisings

• Protesting students, who gathered to oppose Field Marshal Thanom’s return from his exile, were killed or imprisoned by the right-wing Village Scouts and the military.

• Many of the students fled to the “jungle” to join the

What’s happen:The massacre

of 6 October 1976

• The promulgation of the Thai Prime Ministerial Order 66/23 anti-communist insurgency policy

• The Thai state came to terms with several facts: that these insurgents are Thais; that they are products of gross injustice and obscene violence,


The massacre of 6 October

1976

• Suchinda’sappointment as PM accompanied by the appointment to his cabinet of almost the same corrupt politicians who were ousted in the 1991 coup resulted in massive demonstrations in Bangkok and a few other cities in May

What’s happen:The Black

May 1992

• (1) Royal intervention

• (2) Constitutional amendment

• (3) the Amnesty Act to Democratization Movement Involvers


The Black May 1992

Root Causes of Thai Political Conflict• The core of political conflict

- conflicting views on democracy

(majority rule versus morality and ethical behavior)

- context

(strong socio-economic inequalities)

• Beliefs Interests

• Both parties consider that the use of power by the other one is not legitimate

Root Causes of Thai Political Conflict

Basic Assumptions on Protracted Conflict

• Each side has its own version of “truth”

• Each side is both „right‟ and „wrong‟

In order to move from conflict to peace, each

side needs to be aware of these assumptions

–> some concessions are necessary to possible

solution.

EXIT

Perceptions on “TRUTH” in Reconciliation

ส่วนรูปนี้ ไม่ว่าจะมองเป็นหญิงแก่หรือหญิงสาว มันก็ยังเป็นความจริง อยู่ที่คนเราจะมองเห็นในมุมไหน

จากไหน

รูปนี้มีความจริงอันเดียว คือ เป็นเส้นตรง ไม่มีเอียง แต่ท่ีคนเห็นเอียงเพราะเข้าใจไปเองว่ามันเป็นความจริง

These two pictures reflect different perspectives on truth

The Work of Truth for Reconciliation of Thailand

The Work of KPI

The preliminary condition is to create an environment conducive to dialogue and

reconciliation

Initiate a safe and inclusive dialogue process

where all parties could legitimately participate and voice out their needs for better understanding and

possible solutions. Reconciliation cannot be

realized through Parliament and majority vote.

Stop all mass mobilizations that

might be perceived from the other side as a threat or insincerity

Refrain from all activities/ gestures that might lead to

mistrust among key stakeholders i.e. establishment of “Red Village”

Balanced and comprehensive news coverage from medias

Political will and commitment from

leaderships of both sides

Task – What are the factors that could lead to

national reconciliation?Findings – 6 critical issues to be publicly debated in order to

pave the way to reconciliationShort-term issues (to normalize the situation) 1) Truth findings on violent incidents and reveal them in an appropriate time to prevent recurrence of violence 2) Amnesty for political protesters who were charged due to the Emergency Decree B.E.2548 (2005) 3) Restore confidence in the judicial process in accordance with the rule of law and redress perceived injustice: cases initiated by the defunct Assets Examination Committee (AEC)4) Jointly define social contract and political norms/ rules that could address root causes of the conflict and are acceptable to all parties Long-term issues (to move forward to the future) 5) Reflect and design the future of the “Thai Democratic Regime with the King as Head of State”6) Lay the foundations for social and economic justices through structural reforms

Truth findings on violent incidents

and reveal them in an appropriate time to prevent recurrence of

violence

1

Some Critical Questions related to the Issue1) “How far is Thai society ready to face and accept

the truth?

2) “When would be the appropriate time to reveal the truth to the public so that it will not intensify the conflict?”

3) “What will be proper healing measures/ mechanisms to ensure justice?”

1

Option 1: Issue an amnesty bill covering both charges related to the infringement of the Emergency Decree and regular criminal law when motivated by political aims

Amnesty for political protesters who were charged

due to the Emergency Decree B.E.2548 (2005)

2 • Both options exclude the issuance of an amnesty for cases related to defamation of the monarchy, which shall still be subject

Option 2: Issue an amnesty bill covering only charges related to the infringement of the Emergency Decree

1) “Forgiveness/ amnesty (if any) should be done before or after the truth findings?”

2) “Whether or not should amnesty bill include criminal cases which were politically motivated?

3) “Advantages and disadvantages of these options”

2Some Critical Questions related to the Issue

• Option 1: process cases within the existing regular judicial framework by transferring the cases from the AEC to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further processing

• Option 2: nullify all legal decisions stemming from the work of AEC an transfer all cases to the regular judicial system without consideration of possible time prescription

• Option 3: nullify all legal

Restore confidence in the judicial process in accordance

with the rule of law and redress

perceived injustice: cases initiated by the defunct Assets

Whichever option is to be chosen, there should not be any prosecution of the AEC considering that its actions were in line with its announced mandate at that time

3

1) “Advantages and disadvantages of these options”

2) “How different do parties and stakeholders perceive and define „Rule of Law‟ and what would be the common understanding on this concept?”


All parties should participate in searching for solutions to improve the country‟s level of democratization and abidance by the rule of law while cautiously avoiding imposing “The Winner‟s Justice”

Jointly define social contract and political norms/ rules that could

address root causes of the conflict and are acceptable to all parties

4

1) “Any political rule or norms that led to the conflict?”

2) “Any political rule or norms that contradicted to the rule of law and democratic principles?”

3) “Any legitimate process that could deal with the revision of the rules”


Reflect and design the future of the “Thai Democratic Regime

with the King as Head of State”5

1) “How do relevant parties and society in general define the “Thai Democratic Regime with the King as Head of State?”

2) “How would desirable democracy be like in Thai society? Any consensus on its characteristics?”

3) “What would be the roles of and the relationship between the relevant institutions related to power and resource allocation in Thai society under the democratic regime with the King as Head of State?”


Lay the foundations for

social and economic

justices through structural reforms

6

1) “How do relevant parties and Thai society in general perceive and define social and economic justices?”

2) “Any issues affecting quality of life that must be addressed”

3) “What would be the consensus on the characteristics of desirable society?”


- Condition of Success -Two Levels of an inclusive dialogue

processto reach sufficient consensus on the

issuesLeadership level (political parties as people representatives)

Various interest groups/ communities level1) Victims

2) Opinion leaders3) Constituencies4) Supporters5) Silent majorities

- 6 critical issues- Future Thailand

- 6 critical issues- Future Thailand- Story telling as healing mechanism

a blueprint for reconciliation in thailand

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