The continuing crisis in Thailand
THE political crisis in Thailand does not show any sign of ending any time soon. With Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's rejection of the demand by the opposition Red Shirts for fresh elections within thirty days, the stage now seems set for an exacerbation of a situation that has already claimed 26 lives. The prime minister has made it known that the demand cannot be accepted because, in his opinion, the Red Shirts, all followers of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra, have been using violence and intimidation in support of their political goals.
There is a huge sense of irony here. Mr. Abhisit has conveniently refrained from reminding people that the very revolt his government is now besieged with is a lesson he and his Yellow Shirts taught Thais not long ago when they forced elected governments out of office in Bangkok. The fact remains that after Thaksin was forced from power and his party outlawed by a judiciary regarded as less than independent, his supporters banded together, formed a new party and won fresh elections. But that government too was removed, under pressure from Abhisit's supporters, with clear backing from the military and the royalists.
Against such a background, it was only to be expected that the Abhisit government would have a difficult time in office. There are two clear reasons for this. The first is that the government is not an elected one, having been imposed on the country. The second, following from the first, is a perception of its illegitimacy as an administration. Mr. Abhisit has every reason to believe that he and his friends could well lose the election, whenever it is held, because of the wide support Mr. Thaksin and his loyalists enjoy in Thailand's rural regions. This is in no way a suggestion that Thaksin's government was free of the corruption it has regularly been accused of. But Thaksin did enjoy popular support, especially among the rural poor, to a degree never before enjoyed by politicians in Thailand.
And yet the ground appears to be shifting from under Abhisit Vejjajiva and his followers. The army chief has already suggested new elections as a way out of the crisis. The United Nations and foreign governments have called for a peaceful resolution of the problems. For the monarchy, the military and the prime minister, the goal should now be to hold elections without delay. More importantly, it should be made clear that if Thaksin followers win the voting, the army, the courts and Abhisit supporters will not again do the unconstitutional thing of turfing out a legally constituted government. Democracy ought not to be made a mockery of.
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