The Low Down on the Trouble in Thailand
I have many emails get lately about the situation over in Bangkok where I live. Many people that I know are here laid or have their travel plans had disturbed because of the recent airport seizures. I've been in Thailand since the 06 coup, and I've never seen so bad the political situation. Normally go Thais out of the way to avoid violating the economically important tourism industry or harass foreigners. They also try to keep a good face for the international community always forward. The recent seizure of both Bangkok airports, which has from the opposition group, the PAD that broken, and now Thailand the political, economic and international collapse sits on the edge. It's really sad, friendly to see such a terrible situation in such a beautiful and usually land.
Background
This whole mess started back in 06, when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed in a military coup supported. Thaksin was corrupt, and he also got the public a little with its corruption. Everyone in Thailand is corrupt, right on the corner flag officers, but Thaksin showed them off. She pushed him on those grounds, but that was just a front. What really the army and its backers was that Thaksin power of them in the country moved to the rural areas away. Originally to buy their votes, he cemented his popularity among the rural voters through things for her picture schools, hospitals do, and extends credit to them. He treated them as people and not as second-class citizens, which the elites in Bangkok never. filled between the loss of power, fraud election and Thaksin's corruption, had powerful people enough, and in September 06 the military ousted him in a coup.
A bit more background 
After a new constitution and political party Thaksin the ban (Thai Rak Thai) was a new election took place and, unsurprisingly, the new per -Thaksin party, PPP, because rural voters won. The opposition charged fraud. After a few months they began to protest, with the name of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Then in August, they overtook the Government House and have it ever since. Police break efforts to demonstrators ended bloodshed, are blamed by the government. However, the public has grown tired of the PAD and support was waning. Your name is misleading because they actually want to end democracy and have officials appointed based on professional and social group. This would return power back to them and away from the rural population, which they consider too ignorant to understand the problems. However, the rural population a say has been given, and they are not likely to give that power back.
The current situation
In a bold move, the PAD seized the airports last Tuesday and have held ever since. You have moved into guards and weapons and have put up barricades, refuses to move when the current Prime Minister resigns. The government has to give refused, and both sides have calls from the army for a new election rejected. The government has yet to use force against the demonstrators and shows no signs of doing so, the country paralyze further. Yesterday, the police made arrangements to provide security for the demonstrators available. It was a shady business and will only confirm that the PAD (yellow shirts) -a mixture of the urban elite, ex-military and royalist have strong backers.
The supporters of the government, the UDD (red shirts) began rallies yesterday and have moved to block a decision on the dissolution of the governing parties to keep the Constitutional Court for election fraud. Violence was not so bad, but there were incidents between rival factions isolated. What happens this week with the court and the King's Speech on Thursday will dictate how things are going.
This is about more than corruption. It is about the type of government and the power, and who has them. Although the yellow shirts say that this is about the corruption, the PAD is as corrupt. The governor of Bangkok came just for corruption. They also buy votes and, for 500 baht per day, facilities at the airport. Thaksin, despite all its shortcomings (and there are many), took power from the urban elite and finally gave the rural poor a voice. Since the urban elite have seen their power wane, they have become more and more boldly. Despite Thailand being the land of smiles, there is a still a very, very large gap between the urban rich and the rural poor here and the urban rich look down on the poor as uneducated and backward. As Reuters said: "The supporters of the alliance are largely middle-class citizens who say Thailand's electoral system is susceptible to vote-buying and argue that the rural majority of political Thaksin camp to throw not mature enough to base ballots responsibly."
The future? 
The future does not look rosy. The King's birthday is Friday, and I suspect both sides will lay him low out of respect, especially as both sides to work for him say. But you have to ask-where he is in all of this? He harvests feverish support in Thailand and is probably the only man who could force a compromise. But with each passing day, people are starting to wonder if he has no more power. The window for him to force a compromise, dwindling, especially among the poor. Politics is about "what you have done for me lately", and Thaksin has something done for them lately. The king has not. He loses to hold much credibility quietly.
The damage is done when. It is in this year not high season, and an expected one million people because of the decline in tourism numbers out of work (including me when I work at the airport !!). No one will want to visit to come now. Most tourists are canceling their vacations, and many who want to be interviewed here just to leave and never come back. This will only be a knockout blow to a sector already employ suffer. Exports (and even the e-mail) could not leave, and in an export-oriented economy, this is seriously injured, as investor confidence is shrinking and people are cautiously set about money in this country. I suspect that many airlines to be careful about using Bangkok as a major hub from now. The PAD have selfishly traded on closing the airport and have dealt a blow to an already crippled economy.
I do not think it is in African style civil war, but it will be much blood shed before. About this matter Thailand will be relegated to the margins of the world for a long time. Each day that passes makes it worse.
For more information on Thailand, visit my recommended travel to Thailand.
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