Thai Protesters Push for Eradication of Shinawatras From Politics http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304744304579248082960865314 By James Hookway Dec. 9, 2013 1:31 p.m. ET
Thai Premier Yingluck Shinawatra's call for fresh elections isn't likely to appease her opponents, according to Siam University's Jate Donovanick. BANGKOK—Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra<http://topics.wsj.com/person/S/Yingluck-Shinawatra/6805>'s sudden decision to call new elections has done little to diminish the swelling protests against her family's political and economic power. More than 150,000 people took to the streets Monday to demand that Ms. Yingluck and her brother, self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra<http://topics.wsj.com/person/S/Thaksin-Shinawatra/5960>, remove themselves from politics entirely, underscoring the starkly diverging views here of just what kind of country this prosperous Buddhist kingdom— and key U.S. ally—should be in the 21st century. Key Players Read more about some key Thai political figures. Photos: Protests Escalate Timeline: Legacy of Turmoil A decade and a half after Thaksin Shinawatra founded his 'Thais Love Thais' party, antagonism prevails. View Graphics <http://online.wsj.com/news/interactive/1202THAILAND?ref=SB10001424052702304744304579248082960865314> <http://online.wsj.com/news/interactive/1202THAILAND?ref=SB10001424052702304744304579248082960865314> In one camp, Ms. Yingluck's opponents streamed out of homes and offices carrying red-white-and-blue national flags and vivid royal yellow banners at the set hour of 9:39 a.m.—the number nine is especially lucky in Thailand —and set out toward her headquarters among the gilded temples and shady canals of downtown Bangkok. The hatred for Mr. Thaksin, a brassy populist who ran the country until the army removed him in 2006, was palpable among the well-heeled crowd. Many also accuse Ms. Yingluck of acting as her brother's puppet, a charge amplified by her recent attempt to introduce amnesty legislation that would clear her brother's corruption conviction and allow him to return home a free man from his base in Dubai. "This isn't over yet," said one, 45-year-old Chadathon Viseskol. "She's still prime minister, for now." Another, Sontaya Worawong, 32, said Ms. Yingluck "should leave Thailand, too, just like her brother." Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister, is demanding an end to election-based politics, at least for the time being. He wants Ms. Yingluck to step aside to allow a royally appointed prime minister to take charge of the country and eradicate the Shinawatra clan's influence, saying the family woos votes with expensive subsidies and tax rebates. Mr. Suthep's allies in the opposition Democrat Party said they have yet to decide whether to take part in the polls. All the party's lawmakers in Parliament resigned en masse Sunday, stirring speculation the party would boycott a new election, driving down voter turnout and thereby forcing Thailand's courts to void the result. However, Ms. Yingluck's supporters in the Pheu Thai, or For Thais, Party are confident of repeating their 2011 landslide election win and are eager for the vote to go ahead. They aim to build on the Shinawatras' continuing appeal among the farmers and traders in Thailand's bustling market towns and agricultural heartlands. The broadly pro-Thaksin Red Shirts, a grass-roots movement that helped Ms. Yingluck get elected in 2011, said they would mobilize their supporters to make sure the election, provisionally slated for Feb. 2, goes ahead. "We will not give up this country to Mr. Suthep," one of the group's main leaders, Jatuporn Prompan, told a news conference. Thailand's tussle between its authoritarian-leaning establishment and a new wave of populist politicians is being amplified to potentially dangerous levels by a pervading sense of unease about the declining health of the revered constitutional monarch, 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej. There is also the question of whether his heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, would be able to exert the same stabilizing influence as his father during previous stress points in Thailand's history. "There is a lot of what I call Thaksin-phobia among the people of Bangkok in particular," said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University in Japan. "But it's being magnified by the uncertainty about what a royal succession would bring. The anxiety levels have really been heightened." Enlarge Image Thai anti-government protesters on a bulldozer shouted slogans after breaking through barricades Monday to enter the compound of Government House in Bangkok. European Pressphoto Agency Already, four people have been killed and dozens injured in clashes between pro- and antigovernment factions in recent weeks. There is widespread concern that the level of violence could escalate, as it did in 2010 when more than 90 people were killed, mostly by security forces attempting to quell pro-Thaksin protesters who occupied Bangkok for nine weeks. For decades, power in this country at the heart of Southeast Asia alternated between short-lived civilian governments and military-appointed administrations. Much of the moral authority centered on the armed forces and, especially, the American-born, Swiss-educated king. But as Thailand's economy boomed in the 1980s and 1990s, the wealth that previously had been concentrated in Bangkok began to ripple out to other parts of the country, raising incomes as manufacturing businesses and commercial farming techniques spread. That created opportunities for a new breed of politician to emerge, the most successful of which was Ms. Yingluck's older brother, Mr. Thaksin. A former policeman and self-made telecommunications mogul, Mr. Thaksin entered politics with a bang and became prime minister in 2001. He transformed Thai politics with his pro-poor policies and slick branding, building a large national power base where most other parties that handed out money were essentially local affairs. Mr. Thaksin's Thais Love Thais Party made it easier for farmers and small businesses in far-flung areas get access to credit and health care, and provided them with a powerful political voice. In 2005, Mr. Thaksin was re-elected in a landslide. It was the first time that a Thai civilian leader had been returned to office. It was also the beginning of the end of his time in power. Critics said that Mr. Thaksin took too many short-cuts, sometimes governing by executive decree instead of passing laws through parliament. Human-rights activists complained about large losses of life in a crackdown on the country's drug trade.Many in Bangkok's middle classes were outraged that his family sold its multibillion dollar telecommunications business to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Ltd. in a manner that allowed the family to avoid paying any tax. Alarmed that Mr. Thaksin's growing influence was beginning to eclipse that of Thailand's establishment, and even stepped on royal prerogatives—a claim Mr. Thaksin has often denied—the army removed him in a bloodless coup,alarming the U.S., which until then had upheld Thailand as a model for democratic growth in a region where China's influence is quickly gaining. Since then, Thailand often has swung between pro-Thaksin governments elected overwhelmingly with votes in the countryside versus administrations backed by the establishment and the Bangkok middle-classes. This friction between the voters who elect Thailand's populist governments and the protesters who have repeatedly chased them from office with military or judicial help was again all too clear on the streets of Bangkok on Monday. "We have overthrown prime ministers before, and we are excited to see Ms. Yingluck be the next," said Sakchai Harirakdamrong as he waved a tall flag from a pedestrian bridge. "I don't know how we're going to get out of this," said Mr. Pavin, who is Thai, at Kyoto University. "The Bangkok elites can't see the fact that the people in the villages have the same voice as them. They refuse to recognize how much Thailand has changed." -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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