On the weekend, former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was ousted from office by a military coup in September 2006 and is currently living in London and seeking asylum, spoke by video link to supporters. According to news reports “tens of thousands” of Thaksin supporters (the UDD) gathered at a stadium here in Bangkok to listen to him speak.
Here is an excerpt from a Bangkok Post article talking about the effect of this broadcast.
Thammasat University law lecturer Prinya Tevanaruemitrkul predicted the political conflict could escalate into civil war now that supporters of Thaksin and the government, led by the UDD, have come into play.
He called on the two sides to stop provoking violence and to restrict their movements to avoid the possibility of clashes.
Mr Prinya said the armed forces and the police may now realise that the UDD and its supporters are a force to be taken seriously and that they are ready to step forward to oppose another coup.
He also urged parties in the coalition government to delay the process to amend Article 291 of the constitution, to allow a new drafting assembly to be formed.
“If the government and the House play a fast game, the conflict will escalate and edge closer to breaking point,” he said.
Pibhop Dhongchai, a leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), said Thaksin’s remarks were meant to get the royal institution involved in politics and to discredit the judiciary.
Mr Pibhop criticised Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat for allowing Thaksin, who was convicted for abuse of power while in office, to use the state media to address the public.
Mr Pibhop said in the PAD’s view, Thaksin will not give up the fight easily.
In a country that is already deeply divided, this speech by Thaksin seems to do nothing but make things worse. He has always expressed his love for Thailand, but this speech seemed to be only self-serving — perhaps stroking his own ego and giving some fresh energy to his supporters, but doing nothing to lessen the political crisis the country is facing. Instead, his remarks can only drive the wedge deeper.
3 responses so far ↓
absolutelybangkok // Monday, 3 November 2008 at 11:06 am |
Big question that would solve everything but that nobody can truly answer – how guilty is the man really?
MSB // Monday, 3 November 2008 at 12:42 pm |
strange but the country was not this divided when he was in power….. In fact we had the best period of sustained economic growth since the early 90’s boom.
Sad where it is going….
angryirishman // Wednesday, 5 November 2008 at 5:06 am |
The country was not divided? How about the thousands murdered? How about the billions stolen? As for you nightlife lovers, Thailand before Thaksin was a good time friendly place. Apparently him and his henchmen were upset by the ghought of their worker serfs having a good time after work. So they closed it. And keep closing it. Pretty soon Bangkok will fade into memory as a fun place just as Chicago, Paris, and Saigon have. Mr. T is simply a greedy jerk who thinks he can replace the king – but no one can do that.