I talked about the ongoing problems in Thailand a few weeks ago, albeit somewhat flippantly. However with tensions, between Govt loyalists (yellow shirts) and the protesting red shirts, continuing to rise I thought the of the situation deserved another, more serious look.
If you’ve been following the UK news you’ll know that the FCO have closed their embassy in Bangkok today. Although the majority of the mainstream news is superficially doing its best to make the move sound like an extreme reaction to an extreme situation, the current reality is (as the Independent points out) that the embassy is being closed as a temporary measure because of it’s proximity to the ongoing protests in central Bangkok; from some of the news headlines floating around you’d think that the embassy’s closure was almost a breaking off of diplomatic relations between the UK and Thailand, but then I suppose good news never sells as well.
Still, despite the media games the situation over in Thailand is pretty severe at the moment, with tensions between the Govt supporters and the Red Shirts at an all time high. The troubles go back to 2006 when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military coup only weeks before an election was due. Although an election was later held, in 2007, the country’s constitution had been rewritten by the Junta in the mean time, and charges that the Thailand’s current political system pays only lip service to democracy are at the root of the troubles we’re currently seeing.
As someone from a country with a well established (if quirky in its own right) democracy where a military coup is pretty much unthinkable, it can be all too easy to pre-judge what is a complicated, and very different, culture. Thailand’s govt was an absolute monarchy up until 1932, and, although the exact form of govt has changed several times since, it has retained a constitutional monarchy throughout. Indeed, the Thai monarchs seem to have remained a far more important and respected part of Thai life than our own constitutional monarch.
My point is that, although superficially there may be similarities between the UK and Thailand’s systems of Govt, we’re talking about a very different culture with very different traditions, and one which is relatively new to the ideal of democracy; as such it could be all too easy to see those who enacted the military coup as the bad guys of the piece, and while I’m not condoning coup d’etat as a method of forming a govt, it must also be noted that some serious charges of corruption and abuse of power were made against Thaksin Shinawatra, and used as the excuse to remove him from power.
So, were the coup-masters patriots serving the best interests of their country, or power hungry generals overthrowing a benevolent, democratically elected PM? Unfortunately the answer seems to depend on who you ask; even four years on Thaksin Shinawatra remains an incredibly divisive figure in Thai politics with large portions of the country’s populace polarised, either supporting their former PM, or the men who overthrew him.
The question is that with the Thai people, and popular opinion, so divided how will it be possible to find a lasting, peaceful solution to the troubles which currently plague not only Bangkok, but many of Thailand’s other provinces? It’s hard to see an answer, even yesterday both journalists and Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, a prominent figure amongst the Red Shirts, were shot, alledgedly by Govt forces; developments which are almost certain to fan the flames!
In the end it’s likely to be the ordinary Thai people who suffer most from these troubles, regardless of the side they’ve taken; if nothing else the tourism industry is worth a substantial amount to the Thai economy and it’s hard to see this unrest not dissuading people from visiting the country. Even our own FCO is now advising against all but necessary travel to the country, and although Bangkok doesn’t sound like the ideal holiday destination at this very moment, it appears that the troubles are mainly effecting the central and northern regions of Thailand rather than the southern peninsula which has been unaffected so far, and is a destination of choice for many tourists seeking a relaxing beach holiday.
So, while flights to Thailand continue, one has to wonder how empty they are at the moment; most people will (wisely) take notice of official govt advice, but in these days of over-accountability and media witch-hunts you can see why the FCO would feel obliged to issue a warning for the whole country, rather than risk the bad press which would come if they said the country’s south was pretty safe, only for a UK tourist to later come to some harm.
Tags: Thailand