People around here talk about politics nonstop, but no one ever talks about Thai politics. I guess it's because it doesn't affect most of the world, but I think it's important to examine revolutions and protests to see what works and what does not. Recently I've been reading The African Dream, so it's nice to read about a current revolution that doesn't read like a balance sheet of failures.
Ok, so here's my explanation of what seems to be going on (I don’t claim accuracy):
Thailand is currently the longest ruling monarchy we have in the world. That means that the king has been king longer than any other king or queen that currently reigns. Of course the king doesn't do too much, much like in England. He is simply respected by everyone and if you watch a movie in Thailand expect to stand up before the previews and put your hand on your heart while watching a PowerPoint presentation about the king, set to what sounds like a Thai rendition of Tears in Heaven.
In 2001, Thaksin (actually pronounced like toxin), was elected prime minister. He quickly lost favor with the people when he couldn't deliver on his promises that he could turn the economy around. It turned out that he was a supreme a-hole and was basically Thailand’s George bush for a couple years. When I went there about three years ago there were tons of protests and nice graffiti involving thaksin and the toxic waste symbol (sometimes you just go for the obvious). Instead of 'pulling an America' and idly sitting by, everyone started protesting, camping out in streets, stopping business, etc.
it worked. The military ended up pulling off a bloodless coup when thaksin was visiting another country on business. He was brought up on charges of corruption and was so dirty that even his lawyers were arrested. He now lives in exile and bought football (soccer) team in England.
Now the protestors claim that he is 'pulling a Putin' and the new Prime Minister, Somchai, is simply a puppet of thaksin. There seems to be plenty of evidence to support this, and so the protesters took over parliament and have been squatting in it for months now! They have been a consistent wrench in the political system and all they want is proper representation and a leader that looks out for their interests.
So parliament had to start holding sessions in the airport. Today the protesters basically took over the airport! They are successfully stopping/terrorizing cars leaving the airport, which is where most people traveling to/from anywhere in SE Asia have to fly into.From the AP wire "Opponents and supporters of Thailand's government clashed with guns, knives and slingshots late Tuesday, in the latest sign that the country's long-running political crisis may be veering toward open violence in the streets."
Being so close to Cambodia, I’m sure a lot of people there have reservations about a revolution taking place but I find this all intensely fascinating. Especially experiencing thai culture and seeing first hand how laid back and non confrontational they all are by nature.
But why is this important? America is facing a severe economic crisis and we just elected a leader who has made a lot of promises, very similar to Thaksin. There are a lot of people expecting a lot, and there are a lot of people wanting to see him fail. The odds are clearly stacked against him and he may have no choice but to not deliver on some of the promises, given the situation he is inheriting. So what happens if the extreme right wants to protest? What happens if they are supported by radicals/hate groups/misguided militias? What happens, if by lack of funding, he makes the military his enemy?
I obviously do not want any of this to happen, and i have an absurd amount of faith in our new leader, despite the fact that he is a politician, but what if? Are you willing to take up a slingshot?
Either way - don't plan any trips to Southeast Asia and read more international news.
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