Word: thailander
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This latest spasm of political instability has spooked investors, sending Thailand's stock market down nearly 20% since late May. The index had already been a lackluster performer, with the country still recovering from the aftermath of the September 2006 military coup that unseated elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. A billionaire tycoon who is generally loved by the poor and reviled by the rich, Thaksin was charged with corruption and his party was disbanded. On Wednesday, the first of many cases against Thaksin got underway in Bangkok, just as other courts were busy issuing rulings that dealt body blows...
That potential scenario infuriates many members of Thailand's elite, who believe that Thaksin, far from being a populist democrat, is actually a corrupt politician who distorted democratic institutions to cement his power. Since late May, thousands of protesters have camped out in central Bangkok calling for Samak to resign because they believe he is little more than a Thaksin puppet. Samak begs to differ, telling TIME recently that he doesn't consult with his predecessor on political issues. "I can do [it] on my own," he says...
...political decisions over the past five months are truly Samak's own, he's shown less than a delicate hand. Case in point is the court decision that brought down Foreign Minister Noppadon. Earlier this year, Thailand supported Cambodia's bid to gain UNESCO World Heritage status for a temple located in a disputed border zone between the two nations. Although the temple itself sits on land that an international court deemed to be Cambodia's back in 1962, Thailand claims the main access area to the temple as its own. So when Noppadon provided official Thai backing for Cambodia...
...resignation speech on Thursday, Noppadon insisted he had done nothing wrong. "I have not sold the country out," he said. "I love Thailand and would not cause any damage to the nation." But Noppadon is in a vulnerable position; before serving as Foreign Minister, he was Thaksin's lawyer and spokesman. One of the reasons the coup leaders gave for deposing Thaksin was that he supposedly had not shown enough respect for Thailand's beloved king. For Samak's enemies, in turn, taking an allegedly cavalier attitude toward Thailand's territorial integrity was not so different from an alignment with...
...order to salvage his rule, Samak will likely have to announce a major cabinet reshuffle. The 73-year-old P.M. has promised to face the nation on Sunday during his weekly TV address. In the meantime, Thailand's usually outspoken leader is keeping uncharacteristically quiet. Nobody wants to be the next domino...