Word: wattanayagorn
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Thailand's airport takeover marked an ominous turning point in a months-long political battle that has morphed from sideshow farce to center-stage emergency. "When you close down the gateway to the country, then you have reached the point of a national crisis," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a national-security expert at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "In fact, because this now affects Thailand's connection to the wider world, it is becoming an international crisis...
Analysts say the verdict, which is by law not open to appeal, could put an end to any hopes the still-influential Thaksin has for a political comeback in his homeland. But it would not necessarily put an end to his legacy, says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University - or the current divisions over him that have Thailand's people on the edge of violence. Sometimes said to be the most divisive political figure in Thailand's history, Thaksin remains enormously popular with the rural poor for his populist policies like cheap health care and easy...
...impact of Thaksin's flight on the country's ongoing political tensions isn?t yet clear, but the Stock Exchange of Thailand's main index shot up 1.77 percent after his statement aired. "In the short term, this might contribute to stability," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He says Thaksin's exile could give Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej - who is closely allied with the former PM and once declared himself Thaksin's "nominee" - more flexibility to negotiate with the forces lining up against his government in recent months, including street protesters, the opposition Democrat...
...living in self-imposed exile in Hong Kong. And that's where high-level members of Samak's People Power Party - widely regarded as Thaksin's proxy political vehicle - flocked over the weekend to start lobbying for Cabinet posts. "Samak faces real credibility problems," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "Of course, he's not the one in charge...
...aftermath of his victory, Samak said Thaksin "must stay away from politics for a while" while he fights to have the cases against him resolved in the courts; other members of the PPP have predicted Thaksin could return by Valentine's Day. But Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, says that Samak will have to keep Thaksin off the agenda - and out of power - if he wants to win over parties to join his coalition. "Samak will need to be pragmatic and flexible. He may have to listen to Thaksin, but he also has to listen to civil...