BANGKOK – Democracy superstar Aung San Suu Kyi’s highly-anticipated, upcoming headliner speech at the World Economic Forum was marred by a scandal caused by a comment posted to her Twitter account yesterday which suggested that Thailand was a clearinghouse for fake democracy.
“Can’t wait to meet fans in Bangkok, maybe get massage, experience some fake democracy :>,” was posted at 3:55pm to Suu Kyi’s verified Twitter account at the handle RealSuuKyi1945. Although the message was offset with a smiley emoticon, the response from Thais on Twitter and Facebook was swift and negative.
“Suu Kyi love your politics so y the h8?” asked SiamNat555, while journalist Voraween Chainatipan demanded “How dare you criticize our Kingdom?”
Several posters on Suu Kyi’s official Facebook fanpage even suggested that she deserved to be placed under house arrest again.
“Our democracy is a milion (sic) times better than yours bec our army loves our KING,” noted one poster.
The uproar comes on the eve of the Nobel laureate’s arrival in Bangkok as part of her first trip abroad in over 20 years, on a world tour that has seen both mobs of supporters and protests by hardline groups. In Manila and Seoul, Christian groups protested against Suu Kyi’s Buddhist faith, labeling her a “heretic” who didn’t deserve to be admired by young people, while in Jakarta a planned appearance was cancelled when the sometimes-violent Muslim Brotherhood threatened to rally against her because she had spoken in support for women’s equality.
Suu Kyi’s blockbuster appearance in Bangkok’s Shangri-La Hotel was supposed to be a welcome respite from controversy, as the famed democracy leader was extremely popular among both young people and even older, conservative Thais.
However, government officials this morning were already expressing dismay at Suu Kyi’s remarks, including Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit who said “Ms. Suu Kyi does not know how we do things in Thailand. We are a very democratic society that respects almost all election results.”
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva noted, “There is nothing fake about Thai democracy, it simply requires guidance.”
For other Thais, however, Suu Kyi’s remarks inspired some soul-searching and even a bit of humor.
“Aung is right, Thai democracy is 4 sale, just ask Thaksin,” Tweeted Yellowbird112, while RedRightHand noted “You’ve been locked up too long Suu, all democracy is fake now.”
For most fans of Suu Kyi however, the chance to see their idol in person after years of listening to her speeches hasn’t been dampened by the incident. Organizers of the World Economic Forum insist that the speech will go ahead as planned, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Police have promised an increased presence to handle any possible protests against Suu Kyi – as well as the thousands of fans who have bought tickets to the sold-out event.
Dozens of fans have already started camping out at the doors of the Shangri-La Hotel, hoping to secure a good spot for the speech, which is expected to adhere to the WEF’s 2012 theme of “Shaping the Region’s Future through Connectivity.”
Many fans have dressed up in plain-colored saris and conservative pant-suits to pay homage to their political idol.
