Tear Gas in Thailand...Getting a Handle on the Current Political Situation

Before I left for Thailand there was a little concern about the current political demonstrations, etc. Resting assured that Fulbright would not walk me into a war zone or anything, I came Bangkok with little reservation. It is the nature of the Thai, it seems, to be peace-loving and easy-going. However, the most recent demonstrations, government house take-overs, tear gassings, and even deaths are deviations from the Thai norm. These sorts of things, to us in the US, are reasons for concern, discussion, and worry. The opposite is true in Thailand. Because opinions differ so widely across the population, little is talked about, and people seem wary to speak to us openly about what’s going on. For those of you at home, here’s what I understand so far.

The current situation is a struggle between (as it’s been described to me) two parties, two different ideas of democracy. The protesting party, Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD), has beef with the majority party in Parliament, the Peoples’ Power Party (PPP). The PPP, for all intents and purposes, finds its origins in the first democratically elected prime minister to ever serve a full term in office – a businessman turned politician, Thaksin. A populist party, the PPP worked to try and bridge the gap between the Bangkok wealthy and the upcountry poor through a mixture of farming initiatives, healthcare policies, and provincial handouts. As such, it finds much of its support in the Northern and Northwestern Provinces, where most of us Fulbrighters will be stationed to teach. The PAD boasts a constituency of mostly middle- and upper-class urbanites and educated folk who struggle, supposedly, for the good of the monarchy and “Thai-style” democracy.

Some time ago, the leaders of the PAD occupied the Thai equivalent of the White House and kicked out the current PPP Prime Minister. The PAD cites a laundry list of problems against the PPP, including corruption, failure to properly respect the role of the monarchy, human rights abuses, and vote buying. Many, if not all, of these accusations are true. However, as a few lecturers have explained it to me, these crimes are common among all parties and past governments, including PAD governments. The event that seems most infamous is former PM Thaksin’s sale of this telecommunications company to a group in Singapore. This sale came after Thaksin pushed new business laws through Parliament to make the sale possible. Capping it all off is the fact that Thaksin never paid taxes on his sale.

At the real heart of the issue, however, seems to be the classic struggle between the rich and poor, the powerful and underrepresented. Since we can basically call all charges of corruption and vote-buying equal across parties, the main struggle here is evident. Thaksin has become, it seems to me, the scapegoat for the PAD, the object of demonization that all charges from the PAD emanate from. The educated, powerful, and wealthy are growing tired of policies that favor the poor over them, I would guess.

Attempting to persuade popular opinion, the PAD sells propaganda on its 24-hour cable channel, claims to be representing the monarchy, plays up the PPP’s corruption while downplaying their own, and asserts that it’s fighting to traditional Thai democracy. Unfortunately, their protests seem to be undoing democracy rather than building it. The past three PPP prime ministers have been democratically elected, and the PAD is attempting to force out elected officials. PAD plans for future government include a Parliament that is 70% appointed and 30% elected. They seem to assert that the uneducated, provincial poor lack the ability to decide and vote intelligently. Contrary to reason, the poor vote for the candidates that will help them out…

So, despite the popular opinion among those Thais closest to us in the Fulbright group, I think that the PPP is the lesser of two evils right now. Understand, though, that my opinion is something much less than informed. This information is gleaned from some very timidly-shared opinions in I’ve received.

Currently, the PM is the brother-in-law of Thaksin. I think the PPP could have made a wiser decision on whom to nominate as party candidate in the last election, given that Thaksin and all those associated with him are the primary targets of the PAD. Electing Somchai only fuels the fire for the PAD. There seems to be no real end to the conflict in sight. Most likely it will end in a relatively bloodless coup. I say “relatively” because at least two people have already died in the government house occupation and many others have been wounded. Tear gas and other crowd control implements have been used. As foreigners (in Thai, Farang) we are not advised to go near the demonstrations at all. Taxi drivers won’t go near the place.