Editorial
The unending crisis in Thailand
Elected government must not be run out of office
The political crisis in Thailand appears to have taken on increasingly serious overtones. Ever since the army overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, Bangkok has gone from one governmental experiment to another, with of course the soldiers playing a clear role in the process. The fact that the judiciary at one point banned Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party did not deter his followers from quickly forming another and romping home to victory in a new election. But that was swiftly followed by an opposition campaign aimed at toppling the new government. Eventually, it was on a technicality (the prime minister was found guilty of conflict of interest by taking part in a television culinary programme) that the courts ordered the head of government out of office. Meanwhile, Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, having travelled to China on bail to watch the Olympics, suddenly made their way to Britain, where they have now sought political asylum.
It all is a sign of how confusing politics remains in Thailand. The present prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, has for days been battered by a rising opposition movement aimed at forcing him from office. But the prime minister has defiantly refused to quit, even as 5,000 supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy marched in Bangkok calling for him to go. Obviously, their anger had been aroused by the police action on protesters on October 7, when two persons were killed and close to 500 were injured. But what seemed to be giving the opposition fresh ammunition against the government was the hint from the army chief the other day that the prime minister needed to go in the national interest. Which brings up the interesting question of the future of Thai democracy given that the military continues to play a dominant role in determining the nature of politics. A nurturing of democracy demands that politics and political parties be given the opportunity to shape the course of governance in Thailand. In the past too, the country's attempts to carve a pluralistic future for itself were scuttled by the army. Today, it appears that the soldiers are still loth to give up control.
That will not bode well for Thailand. When an elected government is in place, it is patently unhealthy and dangerous to try to run it out of power.
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