The political divisions in Thailand are frequently portrayed in western media as a struggle between the Bangkok middle class and the rural poor. But in fact matters are not at all that simple. At the 'top level' there are two small, wealthy, and powerful groups contending with each other for power. One group we can loosely call ‘the King’s men’, (the royal court, the traditionalists, the yellow shirts) ; the other we can call ‘the new money’(red shirts).
The King’s men are, to a great extent, clustered around the King and his allies. Yes, Thailand has a king, and this king has tremendous social, political and economic power. Don't confuse him with royalty like Queen Elizabeth of England, whose power is largely ceremonial these days. The Thai king has real power (although illness and infirmity has restricted his exercise of it and we should not forget the 1976 slaughter of Thammasat Uninversity students by royalists) – the kind possessed by kings in days of old, including power within the Thai military whose leaders’ first loyalty is arguably to him. It is a criminal offense, punishable with a jail sentence of up to ten years to criticize the king in any way in Thailand. And this law is enforced. So Thai people seldom discuss the King’s real role, preferring to let pass in silence the public claim that the King is a 'politically neutral and beloved figure', as is also frequently repeated in western media. Allied with the king and his circle is a network of traditionalist and neo-traditionalist elites, including most of the large land owners; parts of the top echelons of the military and government bureaucracy; and the owners of most of the industry, banks, and other large enterprises in Thailand. This 'King’s group', though economically and politically powerful, is numerically quite small. It is therefore compelled to mobilize another more populated social class if it wants to enforce its interests and views on Thai society. Its instrument in this regard is the Thai upper-'middle class’, comprising of professionals, small and medium sized business owners and the like. These are the people (the 'Yellow Shirts') who are currently demonstrating in large numbers in the streets of Bangkok for the overthrow of the present elected government. The principal strategist for their street actions is not, however, a ‘middle'-class person. It is Suthep Thaugsuban, a corrupt capitalist, currently indicted for mass murder because of Thaugsubans' direct orders - given when he was deputy prime-minister of a non-elected, military-supported government - led in 2010 to the brutal killing by the military of 80 red-shirt pro-democracy demonstrators. One might well wonder why a person charged with mass murder is free to organize mass demonstrations in Bangkok, and is frequently written up favorably in media. The explanation is simple: The 'traditionalist elite' wields tremendous power over the economy, bureaucracies and the courts of Thailand.
‘The new money’ supporters are known in Thailand as the 'red shirts'. They are headed by the self-made mobile phone and media billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, a Thai business mogul, who founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. Thaksin is no saint and has enriched himself, his friends and family and he too oversaw the killings of innocent demonstrators. Based on democratic elections, he served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was overthrown in a military coup. Since then, Thaksin has been in exile, and was convicted in absentia of abusing his position as prime minister. Thaksin is said to continue to exercise enormous influence in Thailand. First, through a government led by his brother, elected on a 'Thaksin program' but overthrown by another military coup. And now through the democratically elected government of the Pheu Thai party with his sister Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister. Thaksin’s group trump card. and advantage over the traditionalists is it can rely the sympathy of the vast majority of the 47 million Thai voters, the workers and farmers of Thailand, having won this support through a series of popular social reforms dismissed as hand-outs to farmers by his critics. Thaksin brought universal health care to all Thailand's' farmers and workers. Any Thai citizen can visit any hospital and receive medical care, including serious operations, by paying just 30 bht (about $1 US). Large tracts of unused land were taken away from wealthy Thais, some belonging to traditional elites, and distributed to poor and landless farmers who had no jobs or little income. What's more, a student loan program was introduced, which for the first time allows students from villages or working class families to go to university and pay the money back later. Also introduced was a program of easy micro-loans for people wanting to open small businesses. Taxi drivers, who previously had to rent their taxis, could now make long-term monthly payments to buy and eventually own their own taxis. Taxi drivers are a significant part of the workforce and the economy in tourist-oriented Thailand.
These are the reasons that Thaksin’s proxies has won every election contested, the last with a landslide win for his sisters' party. The reforms are also the reason for red-shirt pro-government counter-demonstrations. Those anti-government demonstrators are often thought to be pro-democracy demonstrators but their goals are anything but democratic. The protesters from the inaptly named Democrat Party are demanding the end of electoral democracy, saying it is a dictatorship by the majority that came to power buying votes and is ruling the country through corruption. They are calling for a rule instead by “moral” people whom they would select without a popular election. When Yingluck Shinawatra called the up-coming general election they have called for a boycott, and blocked candidate registration sites.
Taken from here
The choice being offered the Thai people is one of cholera or smallpox. A plague on both houses.
The King’s men are, to a great extent, clustered around the King and his allies. Yes, Thailand has a king, and this king has tremendous social, political and economic power. Don't confuse him with royalty like Queen Elizabeth of England, whose power is largely ceremonial these days. The Thai king has real power (although illness and infirmity has restricted his exercise of it and we should not forget the 1976 slaughter of Thammasat Uninversity students by royalists) – the kind possessed by kings in days of old, including power within the Thai military whose leaders’ first loyalty is arguably to him. It is a criminal offense, punishable with a jail sentence of up to ten years to criticize the king in any way in Thailand. And this law is enforced. So Thai people seldom discuss the King’s real role, preferring to let pass in silence the public claim that the King is a 'politically neutral and beloved figure', as is also frequently repeated in western media. Allied with the king and his circle is a network of traditionalist and neo-traditionalist elites, including most of the large land owners; parts of the top echelons of the military and government bureaucracy; and the owners of most of the industry, banks, and other large enterprises in Thailand. This 'King’s group', though economically and politically powerful, is numerically quite small. It is therefore compelled to mobilize another more populated social class if it wants to enforce its interests and views on Thai society. Its instrument in this regard is the Thai upper-'middle class’, comprising of professionals, small and medium sized business owners and the like. These are the people (the 'Yellow Shirts') who are currently demonstrating in large numbers in the streets of Bangkok for the overthrow of the present elected government. The principal strategist for their street actions is not, however, a ‘middle'-class person. It is Suthep Thaugsuban, a corrupt capitalist, currently indicted for mass murder because of Thaugsubans' direct orders - given when he was deputy prime-minister of a non-elected, military-supported government - led in 2010 to the brutal killing by the military of 80 red-shirt pro-democracy demonstrators. One might well wonder why a person charged with mass murder is free to organize mass demonstrations in Bangkok, and is frequently written up favorably in media. The explanation is simple: The 'traditionalist elite' wields tremendous power over the economy, bureaucracies and the courts of Thailand.
‘The new money’ supporters are known in Thailand as the 'red shirts'. They are headed by the self-made mobile phone and media billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, a Thai business mogul, who founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. Thaksin is no saint and has enriched himself, his friends and family and he too oversaw the killings of innocent demonstrators. Based on democratic elections, he served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was overthrown in a military coup. Since then, Thaksin has been in exile, and was convicted in absentia of abusing his position as prime minister. Thaksin is said to continue to exercise enormous influence in Thailand. First, through a government led by his brother, elected on a 'Thaksin program' but overthrown by another military coup. And now through the democratically elected government of the Pheu Thai party with his sister Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister. Thaksin’s group trump card. and advantage over the traditionalists is it can rely the sympathy of the vast majority of the 47 million Thai voters, the workers and farmers of Thailand, having won this support through a series of popular social reforms dismissed as hand-outs to farmers by his critics. Thaksin brought universal health care to all Thailand's' farmers and workers. Any Thai citizen can visit any hospital and receive medical care, including serious operations, by paying just 30 bht (about $1 US). Large tracts of unused land were taken away from wealthy Thais, some belonging to traditional elites, and distributed to poor and landless farmers who had no jobs or little income. What's more, a student loan program was introduced, which for the first time allows students from villages or working class families to go to university and pay the money back later. Also introduced was a program of easy micro-loans for people wanting to open small businesses. Taxi drivers, who previously had to rent their taxis, could now make long-term monthly payments to buy and eventually own their own taxis. Taxi drivers are a significant part of the workforce and the economy in tourist-oriented Thailand.
These are the reasons that Thaksin’s proxies has won every election contested, the last with a landslide win for his sisters' party. The reforms are also the reason for red-shirt pro-government counter-demonstrations. Those anti-government demonstrators are often thought to be pro-democracy demonstrators but their goals are anything but democratic. The protesters from the inaptly named Democrat Party are demanding the end of electoral democracy, saying it is a dictatorship by the majority that came to power buying votes and is ruling the country through corruption. They are calling for a rule instead by “moral” people whom they would select without a popular election. When Yingluck Shinawatra called the up-coming general election they have called for a boycott, and blocked candidate registration sites.
Taken from here
The choice being offered the Thai people is one of cholera or smallpox. A plague on both houses.
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