Thailand's crisis is about more than power alone

With two protestors dead and over 100 injured




Over at Open Democracy Tyrell Haberkorn writes that

Thai citizens are again living under a state of emergency and the threat of bloodshed. The successive mass mobilisations by supporters of the "yellow" and "red" camps could in other circumstances be seen as evidence of a vibrant engagement with democratic politics; in the context of the near-meltdown of Thailand's constitutional order, they are more symptoms of a dangerous crisis.

and asks where the country go from here?

but despite

The most convenient and perhaps plausible way is to see what is happening in Thailand as a straightforward contest for power between Abhisit Vejjajiva's government and Thaksin Shinawatra, symbolised in the colourful struggle between yellow and red shirts.

The problem with this view is indicated by the fact that both groups claim to be supporting and embodying "democracy". The passionate appeals to principle and ideals cannot be ignored or dismissed. Thailand's crisis is about more than power alone.

Thakin is not finished just yet

It appears that deposed Prime Minister of Thailand and former Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra is not planning on retiring just yet.

In a interview by phone from Dubai to Time magazine's Southeast Asia Bureau Chief Hannah Beech he says the following when asked of his plans

[My political opponents] have been bullying me politically nonstop since then. I already declared that I wanted to retire. I wanted to spend my life with my family. But they were bullying me. The rule of law is not there [in Thailand]. The democratic process is not there. That is too much. All of my supporters urged me: 'you have to come and fight back politically.' They want [Thailand] to come back to a mature democracy.

and asked whether he was definitely planning a political comeback?

I don't have to come back politically, but I would like to do something that will help the people of Thailand. There must be a process under which I can come back. I want to come back to clear the chaos in Thailand, the civil war in Thailand. I want Thailand to be a peaceful country. If it's not necessary, then I will not run. But if it's necessary for the good of the country, then I'll do it. If [current Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vejjajiva can solve the problems, and the people support him, then that's fine.

The end of the road

I see that ex Prime Minister Thaskin is going to seek political asylum in the UK.

The move will come as no surprise to most people.Thaksin fled his native country for the second time after failing to appear in the latest corruption trial and with it lost an estimated $385,000 in bail bonds.He claimed that his life was in danger and that the courts in Thailand were rigged against him.

Thaskin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and accused of corruption relating to the sale of the Shin Corporation,a telecommunications company that he and his family started before he went into politics.His career as Prime Minister of Thailand was dogged by allegations of corruption.

The middle classes of the country turned against the populist prime minister whose basis of support was the rural masses who saw him as the champion of the poor.But as well as corruption his tenure in office was marked by an escalation of religious violence in the south of the country, a war on drugs where he was accused of taking the law into his own hands as well as the tax free windfall.
When the army intervened,few took to the streets to protest against the removal of democracy.

He has left a reported $2.3m in frozen assets which will no doubt interest supporters of Manchester City.These were the proceeds of the Shin sale.

This move will probably be the end of his political career.The mood in Thailand is angry,especially his accusations about the authenticity of an independent judiciary.There were demonstrations in Bangkok last week demanding his return.