Saturday, March 13, 2010

Praying for Thailand

Please be praying for peace in Thailand. This weekend (and possibly into the beginning of the week) is supposed to be a big weekend of protests, as people from various parts of Thailand (specifically Northern Thailand) travel to Bangkok to participate in "The Million Man March" that takes place on Sunday, March 14. Protests in the past have been quite peaceful, and that is what the Red-shirts promise again, but things can always quickly get out of control. And so that none of you worry (particularly the 'rents), we are actually quite removed from the situation, living about 25+ minutes (in good traffic) to where the protest is being held. Additionally, despite how peaceful protests have been in the past, we aren't even venturing downtown this weekend... better safe than sorry, folks.

We don't know what the solution is to bring peace to this political unrest (who should be leader and why etc.), but we know that we can pray to a God that hears us, and that He is in control. So please join us in praying for Thailand.

Below are some pictures of the current situation as people flock to Bangkok, as well as an article taken from BBC News that helps to explain the reason for the political unrest.

FYI: Motorcyclist has a mask on due to the pollution...not for any other reason; it's very common here.




Article taken from BBC News:

For more than three years Thailand has been gripped by a paralysing political crisis centred on former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin was ousted from office in a military coup in September 2006, and the tug-of-war between his supporters and opponents has continued ever since.

Neither side can accept the other's view of who should run the country, and each has staged long-running protests to push their cause.

When Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was chosen as prime minister in December 2008, some Thais hoped the protests had finally come to an end. But it appears the crisis is far from over.

Who are the pro-Thaksin protesters?

Mr Thaksin still retains widespread support among the rural poor, who benefited from the populist policies he framed during his five years in power.

Thaksin Shinawatra (file image)
Mr Thaksin is out of the country but speaks to supporters via video link

His supporters call themselves the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), and are known for wearing distinctive red shirts.

The UDD says Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power illegitimately and is a puppet of the military. It wants Mr Abhisit to resign and call fresh elections.

The protesters' tactics, though less dramatic, are similar to those used by anti-Thaksin protesters last year, which eventually led to the change of government.

How effective are their protests?

Since March 2009, the protesters have held sit-in protests outside government offices, and have occasionally prevented the cabinet from meeting.

They also forced the cancellation of a summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) in April. They stormed the venue in the seaside resort of Pattaya, causing huge embarrassment to the government.

A day later, tens of thousands of protesters broke into the interior ministry, blocked busy roads in Bangkok and camped around Government House.

Occasional large, and largely peaceful, demonstrations by the red-shirts continued throughout 2009, usually featuring a video-link address by Mr Thaksin - who is in self-exile, mostly in Dubai.

Mr Thaksin has called on his supporters to keep fighting for the fall of the Abhisit government and for his own return to the country.

Who are the anti-Thaksin protesters?

The opponents of Mr Thaksin call themselves the Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD), and wear yellow shirts to proclaim their allegedly more pro-monarchist stance.

People in Thailand often wear yellow to show their allegiance to the king, and one of the protesters' key claims is that Mr Thaksin is not as loyal to the king as they are.

People's Alliance for Democracy protesters at Suvarnabhumi international airport
The PAD protesters helped bring down two PPP governments

The PAD is a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class, led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and Chamlong Srimuang, a former general with close ties to the king's most senior adviser, Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.

The PAD accuses Mr Thaksin of corruption and nepotism during his time in power.

PAD protests were instrumental in setting the scene for a military coup which removed Mr Thaksin from office in 2006.

They repeated these rallies in 2008, to protest against the party in power at the time - the People Power Party (PPP), which was widely seen as a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party.

The protesters took over Government House for three months, and engineered a week-long siege of Bangkok's main airports in December 2008, crippling the country's vital tourism industry.

Together with several court rulings against the PPP, they are credited with bringing down two of its governments - firstly the administration of Samak Sundaravej and then that of Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat.

Now that a pro-Thaksin government is no longer in power, the PAD is keeping a close watch on the rising anger inside the UDD camp.

How did Mr Abhisit become prime minister?

Amid the turmoil of the airport blockade in December 2008, a Constitutional Court ruled that the PPP was guilty of electoral fraud and barred its leaders from politics for five years.

Abhisit Vejjajiva holds incense sticks during a religious ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Democrat Party
The red-shirted protesters want Mr Abhisit to resign from office

There seemed to be no way forward, but then a few Thaksin loyalists changed sides to join the other main party, the Democrats.

This enabled Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to form a new government and become the next prime minister without calling elections.

The Democrats are not openly allied to one group of protesters or the other, but in the past the party has been closely associated with elements of the PAD.

Mr Abhisit has been criticised for his choice of foreign minister, Kasit Piromya - an open supporter of the PAD movement and its airport blockade.

Where is Mr Thaksin now?

Mr Thaksin describes himself as a citizen of the world, and he is often in Dubai, China, the UK or Hong Kong.

If he did come back to Thailand, he would face two years in jail after being found guilty in a conflict of interest case.

His long-term aims are unclear. In the past he has said he will not re-enter politics, but he has also said he is needed to lead Thailand out of the economic crisis.

He created tensions in November 2009 by accepting a position as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government, angering the authorities in Thailand.

He remains actively involved in politics, through the rallies of his red-shirted supporters. These rallies have prompted a vague offer of talks from the Abhisit government, which he has so far rebuffed.

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