Panic in Bangkok

This week saw a fresh bout of sharpened attacks on the present political setup in Thailand. Ex Prime Minister Thaksin’s supporters donned their bright red and organised the boycott of a ASEAN summit, after which tanks and armoured vehicles pursued them on the streets of Bangkok, finally leading to yet another arrest warrant for Thaksin and his followers.

The country is a monarchy under the benign kingship of Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX ever since he ascended the throne in 1946. Although King Bhumibol is a constitutional monarch, he has made several decisive interventions in Thai politics when there was bloodshed or when Thailand was in turmoil. He was credited with facilitating Thailand’s transition to democracy in the 1990s; although in earlier periods of his reign he supported some military regimes, and more recently, the Council for Democratic Reform. He is reported to be one of the richest monarchs in the world, with a personal net worth of $35 billion. The king is revered as a semi-divine figure by the Thais. Although the King is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by l'se majesté laws which allow critics to be jailed for 3 to 15 years. It is almost mandatory to place the King's photographs at practically every conceivable public place. Many of these bigger than life size portraits adorn highways, matching the trend with Tollywood Heroes in South India, though the one's of the Thai king are much more regal and permanent. It is almost the law to worship the King and the Royal family, and any protest is taken as an attack on the king and the entire Thai nation.

Thailand has a vibrant history, with close ties with India. The ruling Chakri dynasty came to power in 1782, has strong Hindu traditions, and has ruled the country with an almost iron hand. Thailand has had a fragmented democracy for more than 60 years, but this has been marked and marred by army men capturing power, coups, overthrows, with the throne getting away with most of its will and desire. The present trend of clamour for real democracy began with the Asian financial crisis of 1999, when it was felt that a more modern polity was needed to leapfrog the economy and the country out of the morass it was sinking into.

The present wave of unrest had its beginning with the elections of 2001, won convincingly by Thaksin Shinawatra of the new Thai Love Thai party. Allegations of vote-buying forced partial re-run of poll. Thaksin formed a coalition government. Months later a plane Thaksin was due to board exploded, fortunately Thaksin was unharmed. In 2005 Thaksin begun a second term as PM after his party won the elections by a landslide. In 2006 a snap election, was called by the PM amid mass rallies against him. These were subsequently annulled, leaving a political vacuum. The PM took a seven-week break from politics. Later the same year Military leaders stage a bloodless coup while Prime Minister Thaksin was at the UN General Assembly. Retired General Surayud Chulanont was appointed as interim prime minister. Policeman-turned-tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra transformed Thai politics but was ousted in a military coup In 2007 Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party was banned.

Voters in a referendum approved a new, military-drafted constitution. General elections were held marking the first major step towards a return to civilian rule. The People Power Party (PPP), seen as the reincarnation of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, won the most votes but was denied power. However there was no respite for Thaksin. A corruption trial of his wife Pojaman Shinawatra began two weeks after her return from exile. 2008 February marked a tentative return to civilian rule. Samak Sundaravej was sworn in as prime minister.

Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra unexpectedly returned from exile. In 2008 July a corruption trial of Thaksin begun. Thaksin’s wife was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to three years in jail. She was granted bail pending an appeal. In 2008 August Thaksin flee to Britain with his family after failing to appear in court to face corruption charges. In 2008 September State of emergency was declared in Bangkok after clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators. The clashes followed a week of mass protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, and the occupation by protesters of Bangkok’s main government complex. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was dismissed by Constitutional Court for violating a conflict of interest law by hosting two television cooking shows while in office.

Somchai Wongsawat chosen by parliament as new prime minister, but the street protests against the government continued In 2008 October sixteen were killed and hundreds injured in Thailand’s worst anti-government protests in 16 years. Thai Supreme Court gave fugitive former PM Thaksin a two-year jail sentence after finding him guilty of corruption over a land deal. In 2008 November an opposition grouping called the People’s Alliance for Democracy rallied tens of thousands for protest around parliament building in what it called a “final battle” to topple the current government. Flights from Thailand’s main airports were suspended after anti-government protesters blockade terminal buildings. Thousands of foreign visitors are left stranded. In 2008 December Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was forced to quit from office by a Constitutional Court ruling that disbanded the governing People Power Party for electoral fraud and barred its leaders from politics for five years. Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva secured a coalition within parliament to become Thailand’s new prime minister, the third new leader in three months.