Word: thailander
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...organized anti-Thaksin rallies back in 2006 that swelled to tens of thousands of people before the military finally toppled the former Prime Minister. Back then, the PAD accused Thaksin of graft and human-rights abuses, even going so far as to imply that the telecom tycoon had disrespected Thailand's monarch - an incendiary charge in a country where the King is deeply revered...
...used restraint against the people occupying his offices. The riot police charged with breaking up the Sept. 2 confrontation, for instance, did not carry guns. While Samak is hardly a touchy-feely politician, he, like his predecessor Thaksin, displays a deft common touch that is often lacking within Thailand's political class. If a snap election were held tomorrow, Samak's PPP would most likely win again...
...That reality infuriates many members of Thailand's élite, whose financial backing helps pay for all those free drinks and grilled squid at Government House. Indeed, even though the PAD's very name includes the word democracy, many of its supporters are skeptical of electoral politics. Some PAD leaders have advocated replacing an elected parliament with one in which some members are appointed, arguing that widespread buying of rural votes delegitimizes the polls anyway. "It's taken for granted in the West that democracy is the best system," says PAD leader and media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, sitting...
...Underlying the entire situation is the frail health of Thailand's beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Now 80 years old, the world's longest-reigning monarch is viewed by many Thais as the adjudicator of last resort, even though the King forswears any involvement in day-to-day politics. No one is quite certain what will happen when he is no longer there to provide moral guidance for the nation. Complicating matters further is the military, which has shown a historical disregard for attempts to nurture Thai democracy. Now, with the army empowered to control security in Bangkok because of Samak...
...Back at PAD central, behind barricades made from coils of razor wire and stacks of tires, Sondhi muses on what he envisions for Thailand's political future. Maybe, he says, parliament could be rejiggered so that leaders from professional blocs sit alongside elected district representatives. Or perhaps, he continues, an unlikely national leader will emerge from the ranks of, say, teachers or human-rights activists. Then, Sondhi excuses himself. He goes and prays to the weather deities to ask them to forestall rain, lest the thousands of protesters at Government House get drenched by the monsoon. That night, Sondhi...