Q&A: Bangkok protests

For months, a paralysing political crisis has gripped Thailand - a crisis which pits protesters allied to Bangkok's elite against the government and its largely poor, rural supporters.

Tensions have escalated in recent days, after protesters occupied Bangkok's international and domestic airports, dealing a blow to Thailand's tourism-dependent economy and leaving tens of thousands of travellers stranded.

Now a court has banned dozens of members of the ruling coalition from politics, in another apparent victory for the anti-government protesters.

What are the details of this latest court ruling?

The constitutional court ruling finds that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's People's Power Party (PPP), the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party were guilty of fraud in December 2007 elections that brought a six-party coalition to power with a large majority.

It bars Mr Somchai and 59 executives in the three parties from politics for five years. Of these, 24 are lawmakers who will have to resign their parliamentary seats.

But other lawmakers from the three parties who escaped the politics ban can join other parties, or create new ones, and could then select a new prime minister. In fact, a new "shell" party - Puea Thai (For Thailand) - has already reportedly been established to act as their new home.

Could this mean an end to the crisis?

The ruling appears to have opened the way to the end of the airport occupations. The protesters had demanded the dissolution of the ruling party and the ejection of Mr Somchai from office, so to a certain extent they have got what they wanted.

Their wealthy backers may also have urged an end to the airport occupations, shocked by the dramatic lengths the PAD were prepared to go to, and the damage inflicted on Thailand's economy through their actions.

But the ruling may also create fresh confrontation. Despite Mr Somchai's apparent acceptance of the ruling, it has enraged pro-government groups, among them the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD).

Ultimately the PAD has always insisted a change of faces in government is not enough; it has said it will not be satisfied unless it achieves a complete overhaul of Thailand's political system, to create a "new politics". These differences could lead to more clashes in the future.

What happens now?

In the short term, Deputy Prime Minister Chaowarat Chandeerakul will become caretaker prime minister, a government spokeswoman said. And parliament will then convene to pick a new prime minister within 30 days - as long as PAD protesters do not prevent that.

Who is protesting?

The protests are led by the avowedly royalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which claims the government is corrupt and hostile to the country's much-revered monarchy.


The PAD is a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class opposed to Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted from power in 2006.
After months of camping outside government buildings, the PAD shifted the location of its protests to the airports last week.

It accused Mr Somchai - Thaksin's brother-in-law - of being a puppet of the ousted premier.

The protesters hated Thaksin because his populist policies attracted enormous support from rural areas, and the old elite felt threatened. His power base was too wide, they believed, and they accused him of corruption and nepotism.

Despite Thaksin's recent conviction in absentia on a corruption charge, and the fact that he is in exile, the protesters insist he remains a powerful figure behind the scenes in the ruling party.

What do the protesters want?

The PAD has vowed to continue protests until their demands for a government independent of Thaksin are met.

It complains that rural voters have either been duped or bribed into backing the PPP.

Despite the apparent commitment to democracy implied by the PAD's name, it is in fact calling for restrictions on the democratic system in Thailand, with the one-person, one-vote system to be replaced by a system in which parliament is part-appointed.

Although Thaksin and his successors retain strong support among the rural poor, other groups, including many state employees, have joined the PAD's cause.

Thai society is deeply divided, and observers say that in the long term there are many hurdles in the way of a resolution of the crisis.

Meanwhile, what is the situation at the occupied airports?

There is now an end in sight to the week-long blockade of Bangkok's two main airports, which has crippled the Thai economy and left tens of thousands of frustrated travellers stranded.

Protest leaders now say the airports will be cleared by Wednesday, and it is hoped that flights will begin to leave Suvarnabhumi international airport on Friday. Officials have not commented on when flights will resume from the smaller domestic terminal, Don Mueang.

There were initial fears that damage to the international airport could have seen operations suspended for up to another two weeks, said the official in charge of Thailand's airports, but inspections suggest that it is not damaged.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7584005.stm

Published: 2008/12/02 17:50:33 GMT