View Single Post
  #2  
Old February 26th, 2010, 02:18 AM posted to soc.culture.thai,rec.travel.asia,soc.culture.malaysia,soc.culture.singapore
prince al Waleed bin Talal
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Thailand on high alert for trouble brewing

let ' s hope Allah will protect the Thai people from
senseless killings .



On Feb 25, 9:29*am, none wrote:
More than 20,000 troops and police have been placed on high alert
across Thailand, ahead of a supreme court decision on the assets of
Thaksin Shinawatra, the country's ousted former prime minister.

In its ruling, due on Friday, the court is expected to confiscate at
least part of Thaksin's $2.3bn fortune.

The former prime minister's assets were frozen after he was ousted in
a 2006 coup, amid claims of corruption and abuse of power.

But Thaksin's supporters, known as the Red Shirts, have said they will
stage mass protests if the court rules against him, raising the
possibly of violent confrontation.
With tensions high ahead of the ruling, Thai media has labelled the
verdict "judgement day".

Over the last four years the country's politics have been dominated by
a bitter and sometimes violent rivalry between the allies and foes of
the former telecommunications tycoon.

The conflict pits the military, the urban elites and the so-called
Yellow Shirts, against the Red Shirts who are mainly rural Thaksin
supporters who claim disenfranchisement.

The court will rule on whether Thaksin illegally transfered his
fortune to family members because he was prohibited from holding
company shares while prime minister, and whether his administration
implemented policies that enriched his business.
A nine-judge panel at the court's special Criminal Division for
Political Office Holders will begin reading their ruling at 1pm local
time (06:00 GMT) and are expected to finish after the market closes,
ahead of a three-day holiday weekend. Technically the court decision
is final, though defence lawyers have 30 days after the ruling to
submit new evidence deemed significant to the case.

The verdict is timed to minimise the blow to Thailand's stock market,
which like the economy and tourism industry, has suffered through the
instability.

But there are concerns that the risk of renewed civil unrest could
damage the country economically.
Abhisit Vejjajjiva, the Thai prime minister, called for calm on
Wednesday, saying: "If everybody remains calm and accepts the
[ruling], Thailand will get through this situation."

Thaksin's supporters say no protests are scheduled for Friday but a
peaceful "million man march" will be held March 14 in Bangkok.

The Red Shirts, known formally as the United Front for Democracy
against Dictatorship, have accused the government of pushing fears of
violence to discredit their movement.

Thaksin, who denies all the charges, fled into exile ahead of a 2008
conviction for conflict of interest that resulted in a two-year jail
sentence.
He has said he is willing to negotiatie, but that "if I am persecuted
and bullied, I will not tolerate it".

Thaksin's supporters want fresh elections, saying that Abhisit took
power illegitimately after court rulings unseated two post-coup
governments led by Thaksin alnegotiatelies.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist and director of the
Bangkok-based Institute of Security and International Studies, warned
the expected court ruling was unlikely to end Thailand's crisis.
"[This is] because now the Red Shirts have evolved into their own
force to be reckoned with," he was quoted by The Associated Press as
saying.
"They are more than just Thaksin now, and Thailand's problem now is
more than just Thaksin."