Posted by llurpsienoodle on December 2, 2008, at 18:42:46
In reply to Re: Thailand Prime Minister resigns » Sigismund, posted by Partlycloudy on December 2, 2008, at 16:51:03
Thaksin Shinawatra was elected in a flurry of bright optimism, because the disenfranchised Thai working-class/peasants had a leader that supposedly represented them
Thai Rak Thai, his party, translates as "Thais loving Thais"
Except, uh oh, Thaksin had a billion dollar monopoly on cell phone and media satellites in SE Asia. Bummer. So, he became increasingly greedy, and the Thai intelligentsia (who never much liked him in the first place) banded together with the urban elite, and made a big deal out of his corruption, insisting that his party had used Shinawatra's massive fortune to buy peasant's votes. Not that this is anything new in Thailand, but it was made into a big deal. Then there was a military coup. Then there was the new prime minister, widely recognized as a puppet of Thaksin, who remains in exile.
This all plays out in a relatively non-violent fashion, however, there continues to be ethnic unrest in the South of Thailand, along the Malaysian border. This is where the ethnic Muslims clash with the majority buddhist government and society of greater Thailand.
To some degree these happenings are unrelated. However, one can always argue that a proper government with legitimate authority would be able to bring some resolution to the disarray and violence in the south.
The airport closure is a spectacular gesture, especially since it was turned into a festival by some spectators/demonstrators. Again, for the size and disruption caused by this civil unrest, there are suprisingly few casualties. Thai Rak Thai?
poster:llurpsienoodle
thread:866259
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20081115/msgs/866313.html