2007年VOA标准英语-Thailand's Coup Stalls Southeast Asia's Democra

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
15 February 2007

Democratic gains in Southeast Asia came to a halt last year, experts say, largely due to Thailand's September coup¹. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, regional analysts² say there is more to democracy than elections - but elections are still vital.

Soldiers on the streets of Bangkok following the coup

After steady gains over the first half of this decade, political experts say efforts to strengthen democracy in Southeast Asia stalled last year when Thailand's military ousted³ the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra.

Carl Thayer, political science professor at the University of New South Wales, says that even before the Thai coup, 2006 saw few democratic developments in the region. Communist governments still rule Laos and Vietnam, Burma's generals remain in charge after 40 years, and Cambodia has effectively become a one-party state.

"If we look at 2006 and made an assessment⁴, we have to say there was no major progress in the region because of the setback⁵ in Thailand and a slow process everywhere," he said. "No change in Myanmar, no change in Brunei, Cambodia. Laos would also be in those sorts of categories."

Just a few years ago, there were rising expectations of greater democracy in the region.

Several Southeast Asian countries held successful elections and changed governments peacefully. That was a big change from the previous three decades, when strongman leaders dominated the region's governments - holding office for more than 20 years.

In 1998, Indonesians forced out President Suharto, who had led the country for 31 years, and now the country is a functioning democracy.

Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, recently said he sees Indonesia as proof that democracy can succeed even as impoverished⁶ countries try to grow economically.

"We're now familiar with the dictum that democracy cannot precede economic development - without economic development there can be no democracy. That is to say that democracy can wait even if it means waiting forever," he said. "This of course is the logic⁷ of autocrats⁸ and dictators. And with the fall of Suharto, Indonesia's rapid emergence⁹ as a new democratic nation gives the lie to the excuse."

But some countries in Southeast Asia define democracy differently than do most Western nations. For instance, although Singapore and Malaysia hold elections, they have been dominated by a single party for four decades. Both countries restrict the media and activity by the political opposition¹⁰.

Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim, who hopes to run in his country's next elections, says genuine democracy requires several crucial elements that go beyond voting.

"We want governments to respect fundamental freedoms of all citizens including minorities and the marginalized," he said. "Government must be accountable to the people, decision making must be transparent¹¹, judiciaries must be independent, the press must be free and there must be rule of law."

Many people were alarmed by the military coup in Thailand, because of fears it could encourage other governments in the region to retreat from democracy. But some Thai advocates of democracy argue that Mr. Thaksin had used the ballot¹² box to move the country toward a one-party system. They say he tried to quash criticism in the media and had managed to so dominate parliament that his policies faced little scrutiny¹³.

Anand Panyarachun, a former Thai prime minister, says Mr. Thaksin used populist policies, such as aid to farmers, to build voting support. This enabled him to brush off criticism from democracy advocates.

"Thaksin was able to say 'If you don't like me why don't you play by the rules? Let's return power to the people and let's have an election,'" said Anand. "[But] the issues that were raised against him should not and could not be decided¹⁴ by a popular vote."

The government Thailand's military installed promises new elections by the end of this year, and Professor Thayer thinks after that, Thais will build a stronger democracy.

"Once elections are held and power devolves back to civilians¹⁵ I think we'll see the Thai middle class coming back with a vengeance¹⁶ to try to make up for the mistakes that would allow such a popularly elected prime minister to ruin the system - they will have learned from that," he said.

Eventually, Thayer says, all of Southeast Asia will become more democratic - and leaders will meet public demands for accountability and political progress.

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

6 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

8 autocrats   

n.独裁统治者( autocrat的名词复数 )；独断专行的人

参考例句：

• Still, the widespread pessimism doesn't explain the relatively high scores enjoyed by the autocrats. 不过，普遍的悲观情绪并没有解释为何独裁者得到相对较高的分数。 来自互联网

9 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

12 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

16 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。