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Recently, UDD supporters pelted former Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai with rotten eggs, and forced the new Democrat prime minister to change venues for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in February.
A major UDD personality, Wira Musikaphongse – who was prosecuted for lèse majesté, or insulting the royal family – appeared on TV on Jan. 7, citing how an Asoke branch Buddhist monk providing guidance on the People’s Alliance for Democracy TV was not really a monk nor qualified to wear orange robes.
Thailand’s infighting is getting hot and heavy, with little sign of slacking off. While players give lip service to the need for national unity and understanding, behind the scenes government opposition members and unknown backers of the current government make plans to either govern the nation or make sure the other party is not able to.
ASEAN leaders, for example, have expressed bewilderment as Thailand has several times changed the venue for this year’s ASEAN meeting. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s stand-in prime minister and brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat told ASEAN leaders earlier that the summit would be in Thaksin’s northern stronghold of Chiang Mai. Later, the new Democrat-led government said it would host the meeting in Bangkok. Then, facing UDD protests and possible interference, the government decided to hold it in Hua Hin, where the king has a palace.
Casual observers following Thailand’s less-than-unified political developments over the past three to four years will have noted how the PAD earlier interrupted government plans. The group’s first big takeover was Government House. As if that was not enough, it then invaded Thailand’s international Suvarnabhumi Airport, incurring an estimated 200 billion baht (US$5.72 billion) in losses for the country as a result.
The UDD in all likelihood considers anything it does, up to and including forcing the government to change the venue for the inaugural parliamentary session – which it did – as fair play. However, unlike the PAD, the UDD seems to have forgotten a fundamental principle of such protests – there should be a reason for them, other than demanding the return of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to power.
Even before the government of current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was sworn in last month, UDD supporters were already declaring that they would not permit the government to operate, that the government was illegitimate and more or less created by a military clique.
If the UDD’s current record is any indication, the immediate political future of the Land of Smiles is not much to smile about. If regional leaders are not even certain when and where a major summit hosted by Thailand will be held, and if the people of Thailand are not given a fair assurance that their government will operate, then talk of unity is as useless as asking Israel to acquiesce to a formal declaration for a state of Palestine.
Thailand may be on the precipice of a major sociopolitical upheaval – which is being discussed in quiet corners and on a plethora of websites. It has to do in part with royal succession, as the Thai king, at 81, is reportedly ailing. He is also a marked contrast to others who may succeed him, a subject of considerable private concern. Apart from the succession issue, the very nature of democracy in Thailand seems to be taking a back seat to a coordinated effort to keep everyone “unified.”
The political instability is accompanied by resurgent measures to protect the monarchy. In December 2008, Thai authorities indicated that in addition to police powers to arrest and investigate those deemed guilty of affronting the monarchy, the Thai military has also been told to look out for monarchy-defaming behavior and report it to the police.
There is thus a definite fear factor being created in the kingdom, and a serious clash between royalists and supporters of true democratic principles seems inevitable.
No one in Thailand, despite the king’s own words in December 2005 that he is not beyond criticism, seems willing to allow such criticism to take place. The purpose of glorifying the highest institution in the land is not clear, however. It is officially stated that enhanced lèse majesté regulations are to further protect the king, since multiple recent “affronts” have occurred in the international media and on Thai-based websites.
Opponents of such draconian measures instead cite inroads against freedom of speech and democratic ideals by a ruling elite that cannot accept democratic change. If this is the case, it is not only Thailand’s immediate political instability that is of concern, but the country’s possible veering away from democracy in the long term.
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(Frank G. Anderson is the Thailand representative of American Citizens Abroad. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Thailand from 1965-67, working in community development. A freelance writer and founder of northeast Thailand's first local English language newspaper, the Korat Post – www.thekoratpost.com – he has spent over eight years in Thailand "embedded" with the local media. He has an MBA in information management and an associate degree in construction technology. ©Copyright Frank G. Anderson.)
