Interview with Pita Limjaroenrat
Insights from Thailands Opposition Leader

It is a struggle between the politics of the masses and the politics of the unelected. We represent the masses, while there are those unelected, institutionalized counter-majoritarian mechanism like the Senate and the judiciary system.

Currently, there are cases against Move Forward Party in both the Constitutional Court and Criminal Court. The Party is at imminent risk of being dissolved, and I could be banned from politics for life. Given the historical record of the past 20 years, a party dissolution would start the fifth vicious cycle in Thailand.    

However, there are hopes. This is much more than just me or the Move Forward Party. Our election victory is a testament to the awakened public. All in all, I think we have brought about change even without being in the government. With our victory, the establishment has to think much more about how they will adapt to the changing expectations of the people. They no longer have a free hand in running Thailand any way they want.

The political awareness is there. There is a political awakening. The people are awakened and ready for change. They have suffered under a form of authoritarianism for so long. And in the most recent elections, it is important to note that it is not just the young people who voted Move Forward. What explained the victory was that the swing voters from different and broad political bases turned to vote for the Move Forward because they want change. Among these are centrists and even conservatives who are not so happy with the old regime.

In Thailand, judicial harassment remains one of the critical issues that hinder the work of the members of parliament. I was unduly suspended for six months during the prime ministerial vote in the parliament, for example. Some members of parliament in Thailand are charged with different forms of criminal defamation for criticizing public institutions and are at risk of being imprisoned should they be found guilty.

Thailand is not alone in this, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) has been documenting the rise of the use of reprisals, intimidation, and judicial harassments against members of parliaments in ASEAN for carrying out their duties, for acting as human rights defenders and for ensuring checks and balances against the governments in the region.

ASEAN at Risk Report is important because, in a democratization process, international scrutiny and international linkage could help act as checks and balances to autocracy when the domestic institutions have been usurped by the power and failed to perform their roles independently.

I see it in a few elements. The first is on the political issues. Amid the wars, great powers rivalry and world’s geopolitical risks that all of us must maneuver through nowadays, it is crucial that democratic forces around the world stand in solidarity with each other.

Democracy in Thailand is not dying through guns and tanks, but in the courtroom. It is important to recognize this. The right of the people to participate in public affairs through their free and elected representatives and with robust, credible opposition is of fundamental importance for any democratic society. Germany-Thailand future relations should be underpinned by such shared democratic values. I truly agree with what the German government wrote in its Policy Guidelines for the Indo-Pacific, and I quote, “peace, security and stability can only prevail in the long term in countries where human rights and fundamental rule of law principles are respected.”

The second is on the economy. German companies are among the best of class in terms of standards and good governance. We hope German companies continue to see Thailand as potential investment destination and viable market to operate in. We could serve as a choice for de-risking amidst the great power tension for German companies to establish production hubs to target the Asian market. But in any case, Thailand needs to recalibrate and reform its economic structure in order to grow at a faster rate, which would make ourselves attractive as a choice for investments once again.

Lastly, another key to German relations with Thailand is not only through official channels. The work of the German political foundations in helping build the capacity of the country by working with the government, the CSOs and other actors in Thailand has been crucial in the Thai-German relations. These issues range from democratic development, environmental sustainability, security sector cooperation, among others. Activities like this that connect people outside the official channels are important in maintaining good relations.