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| Southeast Asia |
| Thailand's Political Drama Spirals Into Violence, Financial Crisis |
| 2008-10-10 |
| Thailand's political stalemate erupted into open conflict this week, but far from being the "final battle" that the government's opponents anticipated, it has left the country even more divided and further than ever from a solution. The dim hopes of compromise that Prime Minister Somchai Wangsawat had carefully nurtured since taking office three weeks ago were abruptly snuffed out when police armed with tear gas grenades clashed Tuesday with protesters carrying sharpened sticks and iron bars, leaving at least one person dead and hundreds injured. The protesters, from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), were picketing parliament in an attempt to prevent Somchai from presenting his address to the opening session. On the surface, the protest was part of the group's attempts to force Somchai, whom they accuse of corruption and cronyism, to resign. But many analysts believe the alliance's underlying hope is to create a state of violent political paralysis that will provoke the military into launching its 19th coup since the country became a democracy in 1932. "Some PAD members would like the military to intervene," said Somchai Pakapaswiwat, a political scientist at Thammasat University. "But this is normal. When people are fighting a big power they want another big power to intervene," said Somchai, who believes any armed military intervention would be a retrograde and dangerous step. |
| Posted by:Fred |