Thailand headed for Civil War ?

HNN Breaking News
Search HNN:
Breaking News
Departments

Roundup: Media's Take
Todd Crowell: Thailand ... Spanish Civil War Redux?

Source: RealClearWorld (4-15-09)

[Todd Crowell worked for Thailand-based Asia Times from 2006-07. He
currently writes from Tokyo.]

Bangkok circa 2009 is looking more and more like Madrid circa 1936.
That was the year that the bloody Spanish Civil War began, which
lasted until 1939 and killed hundreds of thousands. Could such a
bloody event engulf the Land of Smiles?

The government headed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which took
office after the judges disenfranchised enough members of parliament
for the old government to lose its majority, at first seemed to calm
things down. But anti-government sentiments have been building again,
culminating in this weekend’s sacking of the East Asian Summit at the
resort town of Pattaya and the imposition of emergency rule.

From his exile in Dubai, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
ousted in a coup in 2006, called openly for revolution and for the
army to rebel. “This is the golden moment,” he proclaimed. “We will
make history.” Meanwhile, troops reportedly fired on protesters in the
capital for the first time since the long-running political crisis in
Thailand began more than three years ago.

Back to Spain. In 1931 the Spaniards adopted a new liberal
constitution and enshrined strict separation of the monarchy and
government. Similarly, Thailand adopted a liberal constitution in 1997
(since abrogated by the 2006 coup) with numerous checks and balances.
The King is already a constitutional monarch.

The Spanish crisis was preceded by several elections that, though
considered fair, failed to satisfy one side or the other. Thailand has
held two recent elections, one in 2006 that was annulled by the
courts, and another election in December 2007 that was won by the
party headed by ex-prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, generally
considered a proxy for Thaksin.

In the months leading up to the Spanish Civil War both sides turned
increasingly to vigilantism. Just as in the case of Thailand, red-
shirted protesters stormed the East Asian summit venue with sticks and
slingshots, but then they learned their tactics from the opposition
(now the government) in its illegal seizure of the capital’s two main
airport last year.

Thailand is dividing on several lines, between the “red shirts” worn
by the anti-government protestrrs, and the “yellow shirts” worn by the
supporters of the present government, formerly anti-government
protesters themselves. There are geographical divisions as well,
between the people of the Thai heartland, those around Bangkok and
between the south and those living in the north and northeast.

The former government, loyal to Thaksin, had some attributes of the
Republican or Loyalist side of the Spanish Civil War. They claimed the
mantle of legitimacy, endorsed by the most recent election and
elections before that. Meanwhile, it was common, for Westerners
anyway, to describe with some justification last summer’s protesters
as “fascists.”

Yellow shirts and red shirts, fascists and democrats, monarchists and
anti-monarchists, class against class – it all seems so retro, like an
old movie from the 20th-century. The scourge of the 21st century is
supposed to be Islamic anomie, turned to terrorism not class
warfare...

ShareThis

Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 8:07 AM | Comments (0) | Return

On Apr 17, 9:16*am, wrote:
HNN Breaking News
Search HNN:
Breaking News
Departments

* * * * *Roundup: Media's Take
Todd Crowell: Thailand ... Spanish Civil War Redux?

Source: RealClearWorld (4-15-09)

[Todd Crowell worked for Thailand-based Asia Times from 2006-07. He
currently writes from Tokyo.]

Bangkok circa 2009 is looking more and more like Madrid circa 1936.
That was the year that the bloody Spanish Civil War began, which
lasted until 1939 and killed hundreds of thousands. Could such a
bloody event engulf the Land of Smiles?



Don't know nothing about history? This happens in Thailand often
enough for anyone to see that it's much much more likely that the army
will take over for a period of time. It won't be a civil war because
neither side has the force to start a war. As long as the king,
highly respected, is still there, there won't be a civil war. Now
after the king dies, then who knows.

It is so sad that most of the picturesque destinations of the world today are unapproachable because of war and terror.One close to my heart is Kashmir...the beautiful valley is sadly bleeding which could become a wonder destination for all.