Word: resigned
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Several thousands protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy have seized New Bangkok International Airport and Don Muang domestic airport since Tuesday in an attempt to force the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to resign. They claim the government's attempts to rewrite the country's constitution will wipe away corruption convictions and court cases against the ruling People Power Party and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is Somchai's brother...
...After months of anti-government protests in Bangkok, the opposition alliance dramatically upped the ante earlier this week when they launched incursions into key Bangkok buildings. The protesters are demanding that Somchai resign and dissolve parliament. Their goal is to prevent Somchai's ruling People Power Party from rewriting the constitution to, in the words of the PAD, "whitewash the crimes" committed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra "and his cronies." Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law. The protesters fear that changes to the constitution will pave the way for Thaksin's return to power...
...Wednesday, in a televised press conference Army Commander in Chief General Anupong Paochinda recommended that Somchai resign and call a new election, and that the PAD end all its protests. Since Thailand abolished absolute monarchy in 1932, the army has launched 18 coups?and the words of generals tend to carry weight. But both the PAD and Somchai have rejected the army chief's call. In a televised speech late Wednesday night, Somchai said, "it is not important if I am Prime Minister. But it is important that I protect democracy." Meanwhile, the PAD has refused a court order...
Somchai only took the reins because his predecessor Samak Sundaravej, who PAD also accused of being a Thaksin puppet, had to resign after he was found guilty of accepting money to host a T.V. cooking show while in office. (One of Samak's culinary tips: braise pork legs in Coca-Cola.) Meanwhile, Thaksin, who has been sentenced in absentia to two years' imprisonment for conflict of interest, has hinted at a political comeback. Earlier this month from self-imposed exile, he divorced his wife in a sham process designed to protect assets that are in her name. Almost immediately after...
...claimed several lives over the past couple months, and spooked investors and tourists, on whose dollars Thailand depends. Growth forecasts for 2009 hover at a bleak 3%. But even as these troubles mount, neither the government nor the opposition appears willing to give ground. Somchai has refused to resign, and the PAD vows to keep up its campaign even if it means further tarnishing Thailand's reputation as a stable democracy. Further complicating matters, the lead party in Thailand's ruling coalition could be dissolved in the coming weeks because of vote-buying. But even if new elections are called...