Thomas Fuller
International Herald Tribune
LESS than four months after coming to power, Thailand's fragile government is facing a growing challenge from protesters loyal to its chief rival, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The turmoil threatens to return Thailand to the political paralysis that gripped the country last year and contributed to an ongoing economic crisis.
A party loyal to Thaksin lost control of power in December after some allies abandoned him.
But Thaksin loyalists are hoping that the country's financial woes, including accelerating layoffs in its vast industrial zones, will help them regain power.
In recent days, the opposition has been able to draw as many as 30,000 demonstrators, some of them newly-fired workers, to the offices of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, where they are blocking access to the seat of government.
The protests are reminiscent of the months-long sit-in that weakened the last pro-Thaksin government; it eventually fell when the constitutional court ruled that the governing party was guilty of election fraud.
"With the economy in crisis, everyone will want Thaksin to come back," said Nattawut Saikua, a Thaksin ally and charismatic speaker who has been rallying the demonstrators at night.
Thaksin, who is in self-imposed exile because he has been convicted of conflict of interest in a land deal, also addresses the festive crowds at night by video link.
The discontent has grown serious enough that the deputy prime minister offered on Wednesday to hold talks with Thaksin.
The economic crisis resonates loudly because Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, was seen by many Thais, especially lower-income workers, as a competent financial manager who paid off the country's debts to the International Monetary Fund and lifted rural incomes during his five years in power. He was ousted in a military coup in 2006, but his allies were later elected to run the government.
During his broadcast on Tuesday, Thaksin predicted that two million people would be laid off because of the country's economic slowdown and invited the unemployed to join the protest movement.
"The way out of this crisis," he told the crowd, "is to let the people choose someone who is competent enough to lead the country and solve the economic problems."
To loud applause, he said: "If you can't find someone competent enough, I'm willing to come back and do it."
The country's economy was damaged last year when anti-Thaksin demonstrators blockaded some airports, causing shutdowns that harmed the crucial tourism industry. The world economic downturn has caused further upheaval, leading to official projections that the economy will grow by an anaemic two per cent this year.
But economic issues are only part of the deep well of resentment driving the protests. Amid widespread anxiety over the succession of ageing monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, protesters are lashing out at his advisers, accusing them of meddling in politics.
They blame the advisers and the political elite for deposing Thaksin in the 2006 coup and for hounding his allies from power last year.
The duelling protests -- last year's anti-Thaksin ones and this year's pro-Thaksin rallies -- are the most visible signs of those deeper divides dogging the constitutional monarchy.
Last year, the royalists, who wore yellow to show their support for the monarchy, based their protests around the notion that one-person-one-vote democracy could not work in a country with so many poorly educated citizens and around accusations of corruption against Thaksin.
Thaksin's supporters, by contrast, fly the national red-white-and-blue flag, wear red and express more republican leanings: They support the monarchy, they say, but insist it should remain above politics.
"Democracy must have one prime minister, not two," said Pitak Kanjanawatthana, a 52-year-old owner of a Japanese restaurant in the resort town of Hua Hin, south of Bangkok, who drives three hours every evening to listen to the speeches.
Like many other protesters, Pitak directed his ire at members of the king's privy council. "The reason they are involved in politics is because the elite wants to maintain power."
This year's protests have not reached the intensity of last year's, when some of the demonstrations turned violent.
With satellite dishes, video projectors and rented tents, the latest protests appear to be well financed.
Nattawut said donations and sales of red shirts and other protest paraphernalia finance the protest, except for the broadcast equipment, which is paid for by Thaksin.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, says the protesters appeared to have staying power.
"People have underestimated the red shirts," he said. "They are very angry. And they have some genuine grievances."
A party loyal to Thaksin lost control of power in December after some allies abandoned him.
But Thaksin loyalists are hoping that the country's financial woes, including accelerating layoffs in its vast industrial zones, will help them regain power.
In recent days, the opposition has been able to draw as many as 30,000 demonstrators, some of them newly-fired workers, to the offices of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, where they are blocking access to the seat of government.
The protests are reminiscent of the months-long sit-in that weakened the last pro-Thaksin government; it eventually fell when the constitutional court ruled that the governing party was guilty of election fraud.
"With the economy in crisis, everyone will want Thaksin to come back," said Nattawut Saikua, a Thaksin ally and charismatic speaker who has been rallying the demonstrators at night.
Thaksin, who is in self-imposed exile because he has been convicted of conflict of interest in a land deal, also addresses the festive crowds at night by video link.
The discontent has grown serious enough that the deputy prime minister offered on Wednesday to hold talks with Thaksin.
The economic crisis resonates loudly because Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, was seen by many Thais, especially lower-income workers, as a competent financial manager who paid off the country's debts to the International Monetary Fund and lifted rural incomes during his five years in power. He was ousted in a military coup in 2006, but his allies were later elected to run the government.
During his broadcast on Tuesday, Thaksin predicted that two million people would be laid off because of the country's economic slowdown and invited the unemployed to join the protest movement.
"The way out of this crisis," he told the crowd, "is to let the people choose someone who is competent enough to lead the country and solve the economic problems."
To loud applause, he said: "If you can't find someone competent enough, I'm willing to come back and do it."
The country's economy was damaged last year when anti-Thaksin demonstrators blockaded some airports, causing shutdowns that harmed the crucial tourism industry. The world economic downturn has caused further upheaval, leading to official projections that the economy will grow by an anaemic two per cent this year.
But economic issues are only part of the deep well of resentment driving the protests. Amid widespread anxiety over the succession of ageing monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, protesters are lashing out at his advisers, accusing them of meddling in politics.
They blame the advisers and the political elite for deposing Thaksin in the 2006 coup and for hounding his allies from power last year.
The duelling protests -- last year's anti-Thaksin ones and this year's pro-Thaksin rallies -- are the most visible signs of those deeper divides dogging the constitutional monarchy.
Last year, the royalists, who wore yellow to show their support for the monarchy, based their protests around the notion that one-person-one-vote democracy could not work in a country with so many poorly educated citizens and around accusations of corruption against Thaksin.
Thaksin's supporters, by contrast, fly the national red-white-and-blue flag, wear red and express more republican leanings: They support the monarchy, they say, but insist it should remain above politics.
"Democracy must have one prime minister, not two," said Pitak Kanjanawatthana, a 52-year-old owner of a Japanese restaurant in the resort town of Hua Hin, south of Bangkok, who drives three hours every evening to listen to the speeches.
Like many other protesters, Pitak directed his ire at members of the king's privy council. "The reason they are involved in politics is because the elite wants to maintain power."
This year's protests have not reached the intensity of last year's, when some of the demonstrations turned violent.
With satellite dishes, video projectors and rented tents, the latest protests appear to be well financed.
Nattawut said donations and sales of red shirts and other protest paraphernalia finance the protest, except for the broadcast equipment, which is paid for by Thaksin.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, says the protesters appeared to have staying power.
"People have underestimated the red shirts," he said. "They are very angry. And they have some genuine grievances."
1 comment:
Table tennis ball(ping pong) power! Just good enough to drag the preah vihear issued unsolved, then grab it with another sub-agreement. The issue should be brought to UN Security council, period!
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