M & G Asia-Pacific News
Jun 20, 2008
Bangkok - Thousands of anti-government protestors surrounded the Thai cabinet's headquarters Friday, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his ministers.
The demonstrators, organized by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which led similar mass protests against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, broke through police blockades to force their way to Government House which they had surrounded by Friday afternoon.
'We will stay here,' PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang said, after persuading hundreds of police to take down barricades to allow the protestors to lay siege the government headquarters.
The demonstrators, swelling to more than 10,000 strong by Friday evening, shouted, 'Put Thaksin in prison,' as they took their places outside Government House, which cabinet ministers abandoned.
The PAD vowed to camp outside Thailand's seat of government until Samak and his cabinet resign, accusing them of mishandling the economy and diplomacy, and of acting as 'nominees' for Thaksin and his cronies, who were barred from power by a Constitutional Tribunal ruling last year.
Whether the confrontation leads to violence depends on the politically powerful Thai military, which has thus far shown no inclination to crack down on the protestors.
Some opine that the military is backing the mob.
'I think the PAD's backing goes very high up and involves military elements, because otherwise they would not be so rabid,' opined Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Thailand's prestigious Chulalongkorn University.
A similar siege on Government House in 2006 when Thaksin was prime minister ended with tanks rolling on the streets of Bangkok. The military staged a coup against Thaksin on September 19, 2006, charging him with corruption, undermining the monarchy and dividing the nation.
After 15 months under a military-appointed government, on December 23, 2007, Thailand held a general election that was won by the People Power Party (PPP), that promised to return Thaksin's populist policies. PPP leader Samak, a rightwing politician, was chosen to head the party because of his close ties with Thaksin.
'We want Samak and his cabinet to get out,' said Janikha Korkhalong, 45, one of the protestors. 'Just what this government has done on the Phra Viharn issue is enough reason for them to go.'
The Thai government this week backed a Cambodian proposal to list the Preah Vihear Hindu temple, the subject of a bitter ownership dispute more than 40 years ago, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site next month.
The decision has irked many in Thailand who still believe the ancient Khmer border temple - called Phra Viharn by Thais - belongs to their country although the International Court of Justice in The Hague passed it to Cambodia in 1962.
There is a widespread belief that the cabinet approved the Cambodian proposal as part of a Thaksin business deal. Thaksin on Wednesday announced plans to invest in a hotel-casino project on Cambodia's Koh Kong island.
The PAD began its anti-government protests May 25 after the cabinet launched a motion to amend the 2007 constitution, leading to speculation that its intent was to undermine several corruption cases against Thaksin and pave the way for his return to power.
Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 before he was toppled in a bloodless coup.
Thaksin, whose Thai Rak Thai party won widespread backing from the rural poor through a host of populist policies, lost the trust of Bangkok's middle class and political elite in early 2006 and soon found himself the target of a military coup.
Outrage against Thaksin exploded in January 23, 2006, when his family sold its 49-per-cent equity in the Thaksin-founded Shin Corp conglomerate to the Singapore government's Temasek Holding for a tax-free 2 billion dollars.
That sale gave the PAD the ammunition it needed to mount an anti-Thaksin campaign that finally led to the military coup. Now the PAD is back on the streets for similar reasons, accusing the Samak-led government of being a proxy cabinet for Thaksin.
The PAD movement, aimed primarily at uprooting Thaksin's lingering influence in Thai politics, has gained momentum with Thailand's deteriorating economy.
Inflation peaked at 7.6 per cent in May, pushed up by rising fuel and food prices, which have sparked a series of protests and demands for subsidies.
Jun 20, 2008
Bangkok - Thousands of anti-government protestors surrounded the Thai cabinet's headquarters Friday, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his ministers.
The demonstrators, organized by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which led similar mass protests against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, broke through police blockades to force their way to Government House which they had surrounded by Friday afternoon.
'We will stay here,' PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang said, after persuading hundreds of police to take down barricades to allow the protestors to lay siege the government headquarters.
The demonstrators, swelling to more than 10,000 strong by Friday evening, shouted, 'Put Thaksin in prison,' as they took their places outside Government House, which cabinet ministers abandoned.
The PAD vowed to camp outside Thailand's seat of government until Samak and his cabinet resign, accusing them of mishandling the economy and diplomacy, and of acting as 'nominees' for Thaksin and his cronies, who were barred from power by a Constitutional Tribunal ruling last year.
Whether the confrontation leads to violence depends on the politically powerful Thai military, which has thus far shown no inclination to crack down on the protestors.
Some opine that the military is backing the mob.
'I think the PAD's backing goes very high up and involves military elements, because otherwise they would not be so rabid,' opined Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Thailand's prestigious Chulalongkorn University.
A similar siege on Government House in 2006 when Thaksin was prime minister ended with tanks rolling on the streets of Bangkok. The military staged a coup against Thaksin on September 19, 2006, charging him with corruption, undermining the monarchy and dividing the nation.
After 15 months under a military-appointed government, on December 23, 2007, Thailand held a general election that was won by the People Power Party (PPP), that promised to return Thaksin's populist policies. PPP leader Samak, a rightwing politician, was chosen to head the party because of his close ties with Thaksin.
'We want Samak and his cabinet to get out,' said Janikha Korkhalong, 45, one of the protestors. 'Just what this government has done on the Phra Viharn issue is enough reason for them to go.'
The Thai government this week backed a Cambodian proposal to list the Preah Vihear Hindu temple, the subject of a bitter ownership dispute more than 40 years ago, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site next month.
The decision has irked many in Thailand who still believe the ancient Khmer border temple - called Phra Viharn by Thais - belongs to their country although the International Court of Justice in The Hague passed it to Cambodia in 1962.
There is a widespread belief that the cabinet approved the Cambodian proposal as part of a Thaksin business deal. Thaksin on Wednesday announced plans to invest in a hotel-casino project on Cambodia's Koh Kong island.
The PAD began its anti-government protests May 25 after the cabinet launched a motion to amend the 2007 constitution, leading to speculation that its intent was to undermine several corruption cases against Thaksin and pave the way for his return to power.
Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 before he was toppled in a bloodless coup.
Thaksin, whose Thai Rak Thai party won widespread backing from the rural poor through a host of populist policies, lost the trust of Bangkok's middle class and political elite in early 2006 and soon found himself the target of a military coup.
Outrage against Thaksin exploded in January 23, 2006, when his family sold its 49-per-cent equity in the Thaksin-founded Shin Corp conglomerate to the Singapore government's Temasek Holding for a tax-free 2 billion dollars.
That sale gave the PAD the ammunition it needed to mount an anti-Thaksin campaign that finally led to the military coup. Now the PAD is back on the streets for similar reasons, accusing the Samak-led government of being a proxy cabinet for Thaksin.
The PAD movement, aimed primarily at uprooting Thaksin's lingering influence in Thai politics, has gained momentum with Thailand's deteriorating economy.
Inflation peaked at 7.6 per cent in May, pushed up by rising fuel and food prices, which have sparked a series of protests and demands for subsidies.
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