PCIJ WebAlert #31.2008

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W H A T ' S N E W @ www.pcij.org
16.September.2008


---------------[ i Report )------

PERSPECTIVES
That Bumpy Ride Called Democracy
by Johanna Son

OVER two decades ago, “people power” became a buzzphrase for emerging
democracies when the Philippines ousted the late dictator Ferdinand
Marcos. Today in Thailand, the phrase has again caught fire, with
months of anti-government protests finally leading recently to the
ouster of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Oddly enough, Samak belongs to a political group called People Power
Party (PPP), although his supporters favor the color red, which was
worn by Marcos loyalists. The anti-government rallyists, meanwhile,
sport yellow, which happens to be the unofficial Filipino color of
protest.

As Thailand prepares to vote a new prime minister into office on 17
September, Johanna Son, a Filipino journalist based in Bangkok and
director of Inter Press Service Asia-Pacific, notes how, despite their
fairly different histories and cultures, the Philippines and Thailand
have wound up with similar political experiences. In a special
Perspectives piece, Son comments on the Thai and Filipino journeys to
democracy that have been marked by detours, divisiveness, and bad
directions.

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