Font size: 
The Constitutional Court disbanded the three main parties in the ruling coalition on Tuesday, after finding them guilty of electoral fraud. It also banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years, along with other top party leaders, forcing the selection of a new head of government.
There is no doubt that PAD’s pressure was instrumental in bringing about this outcome. The group had upped the ante last month and vowed to push for a “final battle” campaign to remove the elected government. On Nov. 24 they were able to surround the Parliament building. The following day they took over a major airport in Bangkok. On Thursday they occupied Bangkok's second major airport, paralyzing air travel in the country. These actions stunned the world.
On Wednesday the protesters withdrew from the airports, after eight days of occupation, and air traffic began to flow again.
The airport takeover was bold but not surprising. The group that succeeded in mobilizing thousands of people in the streets for several months could surely manage to shut down the country’s airports. This is the same group that overran Thailand’s Government House last August.
That PAD and its leaders could continue their street actions despite the concerted efforts of different government agencies to undermine the group is solid proof of its organizational prowess. The persistence of its supporters to advocate for change and to act without fear is simply astonishing.
PAD was right in choosing the airport for staging its decisive battle against the government. The new airport was a pet project of Thaksin’s. During the 2006 coup, the poor construction of the airport was mentioned as one of the lapses of the Thaksin administration. Most important of all, occupying the airport would embarrass the Thai government. It would prove the ineptness of the leadership, its failure to properly implement the laws, and its lack of support from many sections of the population.
Bangkok is a major transport hub in Asia. The airport takeover stranded more than 100,000 passengers in Thailand. The travel plans of thousands of tourists from nearby countries were affected as well. The airport protest actions were not meant to elicit domestic support. PAD was aiming for a global audience. It wanted to convince world leaders that extralegal reform was needed to end the political crisis in the country.
PAD prepared well for the airport siege. It had adequate supplies, manpower and other emergency logistics needed to secure the airport facilities. A member of PAD claimed they could have remained inside the airport for many months without going hungry. But PAD did not anticipate one thing: The Mumbai terror attack.
On the same day Bangkok protesters occupied the airport, scores of gunmen unleashed a terror campaign in the city of Mumbai, India. Almost 200 were killed and 300 were injured. Bangkok’s airport surprise received less global attention than the Mumbai attacks. It didn’t help that the airport takeover was described by many as a terrorist act. PAD was compared to the terrorist group which claimed responsibility for the attacks in Mumbai.
PAD has been called many names but only a few have called them a terrorist group in the past. The Mumbai tragedy has somewhat influenced the vocabulary and sentiments of everybody. It is now difficult to imagine PAD protesters as peace loving, passionate and idealistic individuals. Disrupting public order is perceived as less romantic and revolutionary today.
Even if unconnected, the horrendous events in Mumbai can be indirectly linked to the airport chaos in Bangkok by many persons. Both were violent, illegal and they happened at the same time. This makes the airport takeover more unacceptable.
Assuming that PAD can defend its actions, it cannot deny its close ties to powerful sections in the military. PAD also has very rich supporters; it is not the political organization of the poor and exploited. The urban middle class, once the core supporters of PAD, are also beginning to distance themselves from the group. PAD has reinterpreted democracy by shunning free elections and asking the military to launch a coup.
PAD should be commended for having launched a series of big street actions in the past months. Organizing these actions is not easy even if there are available financial resources. The group was able to sustain its campaign by mobilizing thousands of ardent supporters. It succeeded in attacking several physical symbols of power like the Government House, Parliament building, homes of Cabinet ministers, and finally the airports. PAD has accomplished what any genuine revolutionary group would have done even in other places.
But there have been no solidarity statements for PAD from progressive organizations around the world. No human rights group has promoted its cause. Perhaps PAD failed to capture the imagination of radicals in other countries. Or maybe the radicals knew that PAD’s goals were not worth endorsing.
--
(Mong Palatino is an activist and regional editor for Southeast Asia of Global Voices Online. He can be reached at mongpalatino@gmail.com and his website is www.mongpalatino.motime.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)
