Page 19 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL11

Read the United Nation’s tenets and you will find key tenets of democracy from the right of self- determination, rightsfor freedom of speech, and so on. These are universal values, not American valuescountry has always maintained that independence, free from colonial influences and outside influences, and that is good because we want Thailand to be a strong and indepen- dent leader in ASEAN.“I am not sent here to tread softly in order not to lose Thailand to China, because there is nothing about Thailand to lose. Thailand is going through a period of internal retrospection. Politically it is no secret, and even Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says Thailand is working to return to democracy and Thailand needs to do that by itself.”He says he understands the breadth of Thai-style democracy and is not here to “prescribe Thomas Jeffersonian democracy”. The US does have high expectations for Thailand because the country has always shown its resilience.“What we want, what we need asweplaceabetonyou,asyouputa bet on us, two centuries ago, nine generations, we want you to be strong, stable, prosperous and your children’s lives to be more wonderful than yours. And we think, because we are Americans and with our experiences, that can be achieved through a direct form of democracy.”He insists, however, he does not impose American views on others.“I understand the Thai style of democracy as well. But democracy has universal principles. Read the United Nation’s tenets and you will find key tenets of democracy from the right of self-determination, rights of people to choose their own leaders, rights for freedom of speech, and so on. These are universal values, not American values.”The ambassador is an advocate of direct democracy, freedom of expression and free media to serveElite+ 17