Word: wongsawat
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Dates: during 2008-2008
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...Thai football has lost its way, so has the country. Within weeks of Reid's arrival, two people were killed and hundreds injured in antigovernment riots in Bangkok. Protesters occupied the offices of beleaguered Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, and then, on Nov. 25, stormed the capital's airport. Tourists and investors are fleeing the country, the stock market is tanking. The famous Thai smile is fading fast. A Bangkok pollster calculated that the nation's "Gross Domestic Happiness Index" measured a mere 4.84 out of 10, the lowest for almost three years. Cheer up, Peter Reid? He's probably...
...Thailand, people understand the concept of a long cycle of suffering before salvation. Yet even the faithful must be tiring of the farcical merry-go-round of Thai politics. On Dec. 2, a Thai court dissolved the People Power Party (PPP) because of electoral fraud, ending Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's tenure as the country's third premier in 2008. After more than two years in political crisis, Thailand is back to square...
BACK FROM THE BRINK As months of antigovernment protests culminated in the occupation of two Bangkok airports (above), a court dissolved Thailand's ruling party, finding its members guilty of election fraud. The protesters dispersed, flights resumed, and 109 lawmakers, including Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, were barred from politics for five years. Still, Thailand's troubles are far from over: the selection of its next Prime Minister could spark renewed clashes...
...decisions spell the end of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's brief term in power, as he is one of the 35-member executive board of the ruling People Power Party. Executive board members are banned from politics for five years as a result of the decision. Somchai said that he accepted the court's call for him to step down shortly after the verdict was announced; the ruling coalition, however, should remain largely intact. Regular members of the three parties - the People Power Party, Chart Thai Party and Matchima Thipithai Party - have 60 days to join another political party...
...Saturday, police abandoned their checkpoints leading to the international airport when several truckloads of PAD members ran the blockade to reach their fellow demonstrators. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat had issued a state of emergency covering the two airports the day before and ordered police to clear them of the several thousand PAD protesters. So far, the police have not attempted to enter the terminals at either airport. Olan Chaipravat, an economic advisor to the government, said on Saturday that the closure of the airports could cost the country one million jobs in the tourism industry, as arrivals could drop from...