Thai Royalists Protests Turn Deadly

Posted by admin on November 25, 2008 under Politics, news | 3 Comments to Read

In Bangkok Thailand the Peoples Alliance for Democracy have further upped the stakes in the months long protest against the government, by opening fire on pro-government demonstrators. Thai PM Wongsawat is out of the country at the APEC summit, but has thus far resisted using military force to quell the demonstrations.

The twists and turns of the Thai uprising are a bit confusing, but in brief, the PAD accuses the former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, of corruption and disloyalty to the Thai King. Shinawatra was ousted from power in 2006 by the Thai military and fled to Britain. Samak Sundaravej took over the reins of government and vowed to put down the protests. However Samak Sundaravej was forced from power on an un-related legal matter (getting paid to do a TV cooking show while in office – I kid you not) and subsequently Shinawatra’s brother-in-law became the new Thai Prime Minister.  The current Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat, is believed by the PAD to be merely Shinawatra’s puppet.

PAD’s movement was founded around royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class who have felt threatened by Shinawatra’s populist policies.

Despite their name the Peoples Alliance for Democracy aren’t feeling very democratic, and have proposed appointing members of parliament because rural voters have been “duped” in to backing the PPP, Wongsawat’s party which emerged from the ruins of the old Thai Rak Thai party of Shinawatra following it’s dissolution.

The PAD proposes to scrap Thailand’s one-man, one-vote electoral system with one in which at least some MP’s are chosen by professionals and other social groups rather than the general electorate. (Source) The PPP won handily in the last election, which no doubt factors into the PAD’s un-democratic sentiment.

In the last few days the PAD has mobilized nearly 20,000 people in Bangkok and virtually shut down the government.  They have succeeded in closing Parliament, as well as the international airport.