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Stories
Thailand
braces for fresh political instability (3 February 2010)
Thailand is entering a new phase of political turbulence, bracing for a key court ruling on the frozen fortune of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra amid rumours of another coup. On February 26 the Supreme Court will decide whether the 2.2 billion dollar fortune of the telecoms tycoon -- frozen in the months after he was deposed in 2006 -- can be seized by authorities. And that deadline, concerning a man who still deeply divides Thai society, is stepping up the political pressure. Supporters of Thaksin, who now lives abroad to escape a jail term for corruption, have held small rallies almost daily since the start of 2010, and promise to swell their ranks ahead of the verdict. These "Red Shirt" demonstrators -- many from the rural north and northeast -- want to pressure the judges over the decision and overthrow the government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. In recent months their biggest protest has numbered around 30,000. But there were 100,000 of them last April when they disrupted a major Asian summit and rioted in Bangkok, where clashes with authorities left two people dead. "There continues to be divisions and there continues to be a number of people who are pursuing their agenda of unseating the government," Abhisit told AFP over the weekend. The 45-year-old premier came to power in late 2008 when the previous pro-Thaksin government collapsed after protests by the ultra-royalist "Yellow Shirts", who are aligned with the traditional Thai elite. He heads an increasingly shaky six-party coalition. But Paul Chambers, a Thailand specialist at Heidelberg University in Germany, said his downfall would lead to an early election that none of his allies can afford. "The coalition is more likely to stay afloat rather than cave in," he said. "The dangers to Abhisit currently exist more in terms of violent attacks on his person, rather than his forced removal from the prime ministerial chair." On Monday, bags of human excrement were thrown into Abhisit's residential compound -- an act of aggression the government attributed to the Red Shirts. The Oxford-educated PM has also warned of a growing risk of political violence in Bangkok in the coming weeks, especially as the army, historically united in defence of the Thai monarchy, has shown unusual signs of discord. A grenade was thrown at the national army headquarters in January, causing no casualties but widely reported by the Thai press to be aimed at the office of the army chief, General Anupong Paojinda. On Monday, Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, an outspoken supporter of Thaksin, was charged with illegal possession of weapons and confirmed by police as the main suspect in the attack. The affair has whipped up speculation in the Thai press about possible disaster scenarios: an explosion of Red Shirt violence, splits in the army and even a military coup. "Political life in Thailand is immature," said one Western analyst, requesting anonymity, who downplayed rumours of an imminent putsch. "I see nothing that would suggest that the Thai army is divided. It is an army that obeys," he said. "There are Red Shirts in the military but in 2006 they participated in the coup because these were the orders." But this obsession with coups illustrates the difficulties Bangkok has faced since Thaksin's ousting in 2006, an incident that removed the only premier ever to have been re-elected. "Thailand entered a new phase of civil-military relations after the 2006 coup," said Chambers. "Soldiers were granted more institutionalized prerogatives and, simultaneously, began to exercise more informal clout." Jacques Ivanoff, an anthropologist at the Research Institute on Contemporary South-East Asia, said he thought Thai democracy as it currently operates has reached its limit. "It's an explosive scenario, with a lot of tensions in every direction, and a government that does not move and cannot move," he said. "And when Thailand asks too many questions about itself and does not know where to go, the only institution that works is the military." AFP Return to Top of Page Back to Home Page Thai custody for arms plane crew (14 December 2009) A Thai court has ordered the crew of a plane suspected of carrying 30 tonnes of weapons from North Korea to be held for a further 12 days without bail. The five men, four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus, have been charged with illegally possessing heavy weapons and misstating details of the cargo. They were detained on Saturday after requesting a stop in Bangkok to refuel. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has hailed the affair as a model for putting UN sanctions in action. "We were very pleased to see the strong action taken by the Thais and it would not have been possible without strong action in the United Nations," she told reporters in Washington. "I think there's a lesson there for people around the world to see when it comes to Iran." As a result of their nuclear activities, both North Korea and Iran are under UN Security Council sanctions forbidding other UN member-states to import weapons from them. Thai media have been reporting that Saturday's detention of the plane resulted from a US tip-off. Destination unknown When the aircraft was inspected, it was found to be carrying rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and missile components. The aircraft is believed to have started its journey in Central Asia, making several stops on its way to North Korea, including a brief stop in Thailand on Friday. But when it returned on Saturday morning to the same Bangkok airport to refuel, the plane was searched and the huge cache of weapons discovered. The crucial question which remains unanswered is where the plane was ultimately heading, the BBC's Rachel Harvey reports from Bangkok. Several local reports suggest that Sri Lanka may have been the next scheduled re-fuelling stop. But beyond that, theories vary wildly from Pakistan to Yemen, our correspondent says. 'Oil-drilling equipment' The five men say they had no idea they were carrying a cargo of arms. "They thought it was a civilian freight flight, carrying oil-drilling pipes and other equipment for oil drilling," said defence lawyer Somsak Saithong. "They have delivered such equipment a few times," the lawyer said, adding that three of the crew were trained pilots. If convicted, the five face prison terms of up to 10 years. The plane, a Soviet-designed Il-76, is registered in Georgia, Thai officials say. The US embassy in Bangkok said it could not confirm or deny any US role in the interception of the plane. BBC Bomb kills three, injures nine in Thai south (10 December 2010) A bomb exploded in Thailand's restive Muslim south late on Wednesday, police said, killing three people and injuring nine after a visit to the troubled border region by the Thai and Malaysian prime ministers. Five bombs had earlier injured 14 security forces in Yala province and in neighbouring Narathiwat as Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, toured the region in a bid to end the violence. In the latest incident, two suspected insurgents on a motorcycle fired into a restaurant in Narathiwat's main town. A remote-controlled bomb, concealed in a second motorcycle, then detonated, killing three women. Separatist tension has long simmered in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces since the rubber-rich region, once an independent Malay-Muslim sultanate, was annexed by Buddhist Thailand a century ago. More than 3,700 people have died in six years of violence in the deep south, but no credible group has claimed responsibility. Most attacks come in the form of drive-by shootings and bombings, though there have been cases of beheading. Abhisit this week ruled out dialogue with the shadowy rebels but said a political solution was urgently needed [ID:nBKK529461]. Najib favours some form of autonomy for the predominantly ethnic Malay region. He backed efforts by the Thai government while urging residents to support efforts to restore peace. BBC Return to Top of Page Back to Home Page Fugitive Ex-Thai Premier Thaksin Arrives in Cambodia (10 November 2009) Fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in neighboring Cambodia on a visit that threatens to fuel a row between the two and cloud weekend talks between regional leaders and U.S. President Barack Obama. Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, is visiting Phnom Penh in his capacity as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s economic adviser. That appointment, made last week, prompted Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to downgrade diplomatic ties and review business deals with its Southeast Asian neighbor. Abhisit’s actions were an “uncivilized overreaction,” Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said today in a telephone interview. “Thaksin doesn’t need Cambodia as a springboard for politics. He can be heard in Bangkok, right in the heart of the city, every day with modern technology.” This weekend’s meeting in Singapore will be the first between a U.S. president and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Abhisit is set to co-chair the gathering with Obama on Nov. 15, with Hun Sen also in attendance. Thaksin is staying in a “special residence” and will address an economic seminar on Nov. 12, Phay Siphan said. The former Thai leader is not permitted to conduct political campaigns from Cambodia, he said. Deteriorating Relations Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since July 2008, when a Thai court ordered a pro-Thaksin government to withdraw support for Cambodia’s bid to list a temple near a disputed border as a United Nations World Heritage site. Abhisit, opposition leader at the time, opposed Cambodia’s effort. Gun battles in the area since then have killed at least six soldiers. In September, protesters in the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy tried to expel Cambodians from land near the temple. Thailand said last week it would end a 2001 agreement with Cambodia that sought to reconcile 10,422 square miles (26,992 square kilometers) of disputed waters. Cambodia imported more goods from its neighbor last year than any other country. Bilateral trade reached $2.13 billion, with Thai exports such as sugar, cement and oil accounting for 96 percent of the total, according to Thailand’s Commerce Ministry. Thaksin accused Abhisit of “igniting nationalism,” according to comments posted on his Web site. ‘Stop Finding Scapegoats’ “It’s time to stop finding scapegoats and start solving the nation’s problems,” said Thaksin, who lives in Dubai after fleeing a two-year prison sentence for abuse of power last year. He has orchestrated anti-government protests from abroad, including demonstrations in April that turned violent and led to the cancellation of a regional summit. Cambodia has rejected extradition proceedings because it considers the charges against him to be politically motivated. “As Thaksin is there, the officials here will proceed by sending the letter” to the Cambodian government requesting extradition, Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. Cambodia should not question Thailand’s justice system, he added. The military accused Thaksin of rampant corruption and undermining the monarchy when they ousted him. Thaksin or his allies have won Thailand’s past four elections. Since the coup, courts disbanded two parties linked to him, including the winner of the 2007 election, paving the way for Abhisit to form a coalition government. The Thaksin-linked Puea Thai party remains the largest in parliament. ‘Nationalistic’ “We are as nationalistic as anyone but we also love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves,” Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, 77, Puea Thai’s leader, told reporters in Bangkok today. “Therefore we want to create a new atmosphere.” Chavalit, a former army chief and prime minister, made an Oct. 21 visit to Cambodia, shortly before Hun Sen offered Thaksin refuge in the country. “Thais are good at fighting among themselves, but like all other people, once you have outside intervention you close ranks,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. “Thaksin, siding with an outside force, may see this boomerang on him.” The People’s Alliance for Democracy today said it will hold an anti-Thaksin rally on Nov. 15 in Bangkok. “We want to condemn Thaksin and show that we love the nation,” spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said. “We have a very high-quality justice system in Thailand, and we can’t accept that Cambodia disrespects it.” Bloomberg
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