Bangkok Post

THAKSIN: THE MAN WHO DIVIDED A NATION

The past 11 years are a testament to bitter polarisati­on, with no true reconcilia­tion in sight, writes Anucha Charoenpo

-

Thailand has been engulfed in political crises over the past 11 years that have led to two military coups that leaders claimed were designed to break the deadlock. The army seized power from two government­s run by Thaksin Shinawatra and his younger sister Yingluck, claiming it wanted to end conflicts between the anti-Thaksin yellow shirts and the pro-Thaksin red shirts that exploded on the streets, crippling the economy and costing many lives.

The putsches in 2006 and 2014 have largely failed in their goals to restore reconcilia­tion but at least have kept a lid on simmering tensions.

One of the fiercest critics to emerge of the Thaksin regime was media mogul Sondhi Limthongku­l.

Back in September 2005, initial political tensions were ignited by a decision by MCOT Plc, Modern Nine TV’s operator, to cease broadcasti­ng its Muang Thai Weekly programme hosted by Mr Sondhi.

MCOT’s executive board said the late Friday night programme provided biased informatio­n to the public and did not provide room for debate, but Mr Sondhi believed his programme was taken off the air because of his heavy criticism of the Thaksin government.

This drove Mr Sondhi to start his own talk show online via a satellite TV channel, hosting the

Muang Thai Rai Wan daily programme at Lumpini Park. His show became a platform for opposition to the Thaksin government.

Mr Sondhi used his own media outlet to criticise Thaksin and his cronies. This was ironic, as Mr Sondhi once praised Thaksin as “the best prime minister ever” but eventually turned into his bitter foe.

Observers believe parts of the conflict stemmed from Thaksin’s dismissal in 2005 of Viroj Nualkhair, then managing director of Krungthai Bank, from his post after the bank incurred more than 40 billion baht in problemati­c loans.

Mr Viroj is a close friend of Mr Sondhi who, according to a source, once helped Mr Sondhi clear his financial debts.

Mr Sondhi also criticised Thaksin over the 2006 sale of the Shinawatra family’s shares in Shin Corporatio­n to Temasek Holdings, arguing the sale was a conflict of interest for someone who was prime minister. Moreover, Thaksin was said to be exempt from paying any capital gains tax from the sale in which the Shinawatra family netted about 73 billion baht.

Political tensions increased when several practices by Thaksin and his family were brought to light. In one case, he illegally helped his then wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, buy state land in the Ratchadaph­isek area.

Thaksin was later found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders. He fled the country before the court’s verdict.

In 2005 and 2006, Thaksin’s allegedly corrupt practices continued to be exposed to the public.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-Thaksin group using the yellow colour, was formed to overthrow the Thaksin government.

At the same time, Thaksin’s supporters in several provincial stronghold­s such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen began their own political movements. They planned to travel in bus caravans to Bangkok to provide moral support to the government.

However, their plans fell through when army chief Sonthi Boonyaratg­lin staged a coup on Sept 19, 2006, seizing power from Thaksin, who was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A Post reporter accompanyi­ng Thaksin’s delegation reported that no Thai or foreign media were allowed to interview him. He disappeare­d from the meeting immediatel­y after being informed of the coup.

The next morning, the Post’s headline read: “COUP D’ETAT: Armed forces and national police take over government”.

Post reporters filed stories on the putsch covering most of the national pages.

Shortly after the coup, the PAD aborted its activities and claimed success in participat­ing in the overthrow of the Thaksin regime.

The PAD was to take to the streets again after the Dec 23, 2007, elections when the Thaksinaff­iliated party, the People Power Party (PPP), won with 233 seats, compared with the Democrat Party’s 165 seats.

Samak Sundaravej, the party leader and Thaksin’s proxy, was appointed prime minister on Jan 29, 2008, and vowed to amend the charter so that Thaksin would be granted an amnesty. The PPP said it wanted to revise the new charter to make it more democratic.

On May 25, 2008, the PAD renewed its protests, rallying to seize government offices including the National Broadcasti­ng Services of Thailand, the Public Relations Department, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They subsequent­ly occupied Government House and were encamped there for several months.

Meanwhile, the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorsh­ip (UDD) gathered at Sanam Luang. At the height of the protests, one demonstrat­or was killed and prime minister Samak declared a state of emergency on Sept 2, 2008, later revoked on Sept 14.

On Sept 9, the Constituti­onal Court disqualifi­ed Mr Samak from the premiershi­p in line with complaints lodged by the Senate and the Election Commission because he hosted a television cookery programme. Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin’s brother-in-law, was subsequent­ly elected by the PPP and its coalition parties to replace Mr Samak.

However, on Oct 6, the PAD blocked the entrance to parliament, preventing Mr Somchai from delivering a statement of his government’s policies. The group wanted Mr Somchai and the PPP to leave office as both were Thaksin’s nominees.

On the morning of Oct 7, while PAD demonstrat­ors surrounded the parliament building, the government ordered police to use force and tear gas to disperse the crowd, leaving one protester dead and more than 300 injured.

Between early November and Dec 3 that year, the PAD seized both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhu­mi airports, stranding thousands of travellers and underminin­g the country’s investor confidence.

On Dec 2, 2008, the Constituti­onal Court dissolved the PPP and banned its 39 executives from politics for five years, while the PAD ended its seizure of the city airports.

The court found Yongyuth Tiyapairat, parliament­ary speaker and deputy leader of the PPP, guilty of electoral rigging on Dec 23, 2007, forcing Mr Somchai to step down as prime minister. The PAD immediatel­y disbanded itself while the majority of former PPP MPs defected to the Pheu Thai Party.

In December 2008, the political situation began to heat up again. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat Party leader, was endorsed as new prime minister by MPs of five PPP coalition parties who later formed a Democrat-led coalition, leaving Pheu Thai MPs as the opposition. The UDD was dissatisfi­ed and staged protests to remove Mr Abhisit from office.

From January 2009 to May 2010, Mr Abhisit faced massive anti-government protests that forced the cancellati­on of the Fourth East Asia Summit. On May 19, 2010, the government used force to disperse UDD demonstrat­ors at the Ratchapras­ong intersecti­on. Eighty-five demonstrat­ors were among the 92 people killed, while 1,378 people were injured.

On July 3, 2011, Pheu Thai won the general election and Ms Yingluck became premier. The party attempted to draft a bill granting an amnesty to all sides, particular­ly Thaksin. Pheu Thai MPs voted in favour of the bill, which lawyers and academics believed contained a hidden political agenda to help Thaksin get away with his crimes.

In October 2013, Suthep Thaugsuban and some Democrat MPs quit the party to form the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) to block the bill.

Rallies against the Yingluck government, led by Mr Suthep, quickly spread, drawing huge numbers of protesters to the streets.

On Jan 13, 2014, Mr Suthep took the demonstrat­ions a step further by calling on supporters to join his “Bangkok Shutdown” campaign, with at least seven locations closed down for months.

Ms Yingluck eventually dissolved the House as the rallies became i ntense and widespread.

However, the decision drove UDD supporters onto the streets of Bangkok. The rallies on both sides gathered steam and the army feared a confrontat­ion could take place.

On May 22, 2014, army chief Prayut Chan-ocha formed the National Council for Peace and Order and staged a coup to seize power from the Yingluck government. The headline on May 23, 2014, read: “Charter suspended”.

Soon after, Gen Prayut was endorsed as prime minister. In his first two years in office, he has been criticised for violating human rights and freedom of expression.

The junta’s image has taken a beating with its arbitrary detention and arrest of critics, summoning outspoken politician­s and red-shirt supporters for “attitude adjustment”.

However, his popularity among supporters has remained strong as many believe he is leading the country in the right direction.

Gen Prayut and the government have laid down a roadmap that is due to lead the country to elections in July next year.

The premier says his government is working hard to mend divisions and narrow social disparitie­s in the hope of “returning happiness to the country”.

 ??  ?? Red shirts gather at the Ratchapras­ong intersecti­on during rallies to support Thaksin Shinawatra.
Red shirts gather at the Ratchapras­ong intersecti­on during rallies to support Thaksin Shinawatra.
 ??  ?? Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, leads anti-Yingluck government protesters to the Democracy Moment.
Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, leads anti-Yingluck government protesters to the Democracy Moment.
 ??  ?? Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva gives a speech at the anti-Yingluck government rallies against the amnesty bill.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva gives a speech at the anti-Yingluck government rallies against the amnesty bill.
 ??  ?? Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gives a speech on the day he received the royal command, insisting the coup makers had no desire for power but needed to take control of national administra­tion to steer the country forward.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gives a speech on the day he received the royal command, insisting the coup makers had no desire for power but needed to take control of national administra­tion to steer the country forward.
 ??  ?? Yingluck Shinawatra pleads emotionall­y with anti-government protesters to treat her family fairly.
Yingluck Shinawatra pleads emotionall­y with anti-government protesters to treat her family fairly.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Thailand