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Dead chickens force government
openness
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - From being one of Asia's most
sought-after meats, chickens have now been assigned a
new role - that of a political symbol that underscores
the need for an open, transparent society. The avian flu
spreading quickly across the continent is, of course,
the reason for this feathered symbol of significance.
Thailand's handling of the bird flu - 29 of its
76 provinces had reported cases of the avian flu by
Friday, and a third death was confirmed on Monday - has
exposed a glaring weakness in the style of government by
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The bird-flu
crisis has already prompted Thaksin to venture into a
role unimaginable just over a week before. He admitted
last week at the start of a crisis meeting involving 10
Asian countries affected by the bird flu that "errors"
and "mistakes" were made in the way Bangkok had handled
this escalating crisis.
The earliest cases of
bird flu, which has now undercut Thailand's
dollar-earning exports in chickens, were reported as
early as October, but not until the flu had become much
worse did the Thai government acknowledge its existence.
Besides his mea culpa, Thaksin's speech at
Wednesday's international talks contained language that
went against the image he has created of himself since
his party won a thumping electoral victory in January
2001. "Transparency and disclosure of information are
essential to bring back confidence and trust to the
general public," he said.
This sea change is not
lost on his critics, who see the Thai premier as an
increasingly authoritarian leader who has instilled fear
in the bureaucracy and other institutions of government
and believes he has all the answers to the country's
woes.
"His style of government, where debate and
constructive criticism [are] stifled, has backfired on
him this time. It is a big blow," said Thitinan
Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's
Chulalongkorn University. "This episode should teach the
government that running Thailand is different from
running a corporation."
Newspaper columnists too
are making the case that Thaksin's political philosophy
- that chief administrators like him should pursue their
role as chief executive officers of companies do for
maximum efficiency - has come back to haunt him.
"Almost all of a sudden, his political fortune,
built up strongly over the past three years, seems to be
losing significant ground," Thanong Khanthong said in
his weekly column in Friday's edition of The Nation
newspaper. "People are beginning to question the
credibility of the government in handling the crisis."
Until January 22, Thaksin stuck to his usual
script, denouncing the chorus of criticism that the
rising number of dead chickens was due to the dangerous
bird flu virus. In dismissing those who have accused the
government of trying to "cover up" the truth of the
plague, Thaksin delivered lines such as: "Please put
fantasy and imagination to rest."
But by last
week the government had changed its tune, admitting that
it had a problem on its hands. Thailand was also forced
to calculate the economic setback due to a worldwide ban
on its US$1.2 billion chicken-export industry and its
loss of credibility due to the Thaksin administration's
failure to show transparency.
The dead birds
have in fact achieved what the platoon of human-rights
activists and champions of democracy here have failed to
do - force the government on to the defensive and bring
into relief how a lack of openness can have disastrous
consequences to society.
More than 10 million
chickens have either been culled or have died because of
the avian flu in Thailand. In addition, at least three
people have died of the disease. Further, health
authorities are conducting tests on others who died
since the first signs of bird flu were detected late
last year to assess whether they had succumbed to this
disease too.
"The initial public reaction after
the truth became known is not good for the government,"
Sunai Phasuk, an analyst at the Bangkok-based regional
human-rights lobby Forum Asia, said in an interview.
"People are feeling that the government does not live up
to its promises of wanting to help the public but is
only working for its economic interests."
The
Thaksin administration is not the only Asian government
paying the price for keeping the lid on the spread of
avian flu in their back yards. Vietnam, where eight
people have died from the deadly H5N1 strain of bird
flu, is among them. Among the charges that Hanoi is
encountering is that the first strains of the flu were
detected last July. Yet by the week's end, there was
hardly a sign that the ruling Communist Party would be
moved to see the virtue in a transparent political
culture, even as it continued to struggle to contain the
spread of the deadly disease.
China's communist
leaders, on the other hand, appear to have recognized
the need for transparency in quelling this rampaging
virus. Beijing's initial reaction after cases of bird
flu were detected in China - to admit that the problem
exists and to keep the public informed - was a stark
contrast to the lack of transparency at the height of
the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak
last year.
However, this early record of good
political behavior has been tainted by a charge in the
latest issue of Britain's New Scientist journal that the
bird-flu outbreak originated in China a year ago.
Beijing has denied both this revelation and also the
accusation that it had covered up the early signs of the
disease.
Indonesia has also fallen short of
internationally recognized standards in its handling of
the bird flu.
"Indonesia's lack of transparency
and attempts to cover up [have] more to do with the
problems in the bureaucracy and the political chaos that
exists there. It is not like Thailand, where a strong
party governs," said Withaya Sucharithanarugse, an
Indonesian expert at Bangkok's Institute of Asian
Studies.
"But whatever the political
differences, what we see here is that the significance
of transparency has been underscored by this crisis," he
added. "Too much government domination, like we have in
Thailand, can lead to the damage we are witnessing."
(Inter Press Service)
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