Thai Parliament to Debate Emergency Rule, Arrests of Protesters

By Daniel Ten Kate

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Thai lawmakers will debate last week’s imposition of emergency rule and detention of street protesters, testing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s efforts to bridge an increasingly violent political divide.

Abhisit is urging speedy political reforms after quashing riots by demonstrators backed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is living in exile after losing power in a 2006 coup. The head of a rival protest group, which shut down Bangkok’s airports last November, was shot and wounded last week.

Abhisit’s opponents and coalition partners are pushing for changes to the military-drafted constitution that may threaten his position by weakening his election prospects and alienating his supporters who backed the coup. Unless he can forge a compromise, protests that have plagued Thailand for the past year may resume and his four-month-old administration might fall.

“The prime minister is caught between the horns of the buffalo: he can’t go anywhere,” said Kanin Boonsuwan, a four- time parliamentarian who teaches law at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “It looked like the government won a victory when they dispersed the protests last week, but really they’ve been pushed into a corner.”

Abhisit, 44, took power in December after a court disbanded the pro-Thaksin ruling party and two other groups for vote buying. The ruling was made possible by constitutional changes introduced by a military-appointed panel after the coup. The court decisions, together with a similar ruling in 2007, have left 220 politicians banned from office for five years.

Amnesty Possibility

Abhisit said the government would discuss amnesty for the disqualified politicians as proposed by several coalition members, a move that may damage his prospects should he bow to demands to call an election. His Democrat party hasn’t won the most seats in an election since 1992, and finished with 14 percent fewer lawmakers than the pro-Thaksin party two years ago.

“Any coalition by any party will be at risk if the present state of divisiveness continues,” said Buranaj Smutharaks, a spokesman for the Democrats. “Any process to address legal changes must be transparent, it must not be done by politicians who have a clear conflict of interest in exonerating themselves and it must be accepted by the general public.”

Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four elections on heavy support from northeast Thailand, the country’s poorest region and home to a third of the electorate. A group of northeastern lawmakers defected to Abhisit, helping his rise to power in December.

Party Dissolutions

“The decisions on party dissolutions and banning executive members were unreasonable and against a democratic society,” said Phongthep Thepkanjana, Thaksin’s spokesman, who is among the disenfranchised politicians. “The good thing in changing them would be that people have many more experienced politicians to choose from.”

Abhisit has said any amnesty wouldn’t apply to criminal charges, so Thaksin himself would remain disqualified. Abhisit is seeking the former leader’s extradition after he fled last year before a court sentenced him to two years in prison for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Thaksin, who has split his time between Dubai and Hong Kong, faces three criminal charges from his five years in power, and a civil case targeting almost $2.2 billion of the fortune earned from the telecommunications company he founded. He claims Thailand’s justice system is biased against him.

The government is “quite worried” about Thaksin’s movements overseas, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban told reporters today.

“The government will try to find other ways apart from asking for help from Interpol to get Thaksin,” he said.

People’s Alliance

The People’s Alliance for Democracy, a street group whose protests helped oust Thaksin and two of his allies since 2006, has proposed a new political system in which elections don’t fully determine the country’s leaders. The group says Thaksin used his money to buy votes and the constitution wouldn’t be a problem if everyone followed the law.

“The fundamental problem is not the constitution -- it has just become a scapegoat and a delaying tactic,” said Chirmsak Pinthong, a People’s Alliance member who helped write the constitution. “The real problem is that Thaksin’s side wants to change the democracy with the king as head of state.”

Thaksin has accused advisers of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, of plotting his downfall. His allies say the constitution gives palace aides, judges, bureaucrats and soldiers too much power over elected officials.

Since King Bhumibol took the throne as an 18-year-old in 1946, the country has seen more than 20 prime ministers and nine coups. Only two of 17 Thai constitutions since absolute monarchy ended in 1932 have mandated fully elected parliaments.

Assassination Attempt

Sondhi Limthongkul, the main People’s Alliance leader, said Dec. 3 his group would return to the streets if the constitution was amended in Thaksin’s favor or to reduce the king’s power. Sondhi survived an assassination attempt last week when gunmen sprayed his car with more than 50 bullets. No suspects have been arrested in the incident.

The political unrest has hampered Abhisit’s ability to jumpstart an economy facing its first contraction in 11 years. The central bank today plans to revise its gross domestic product forecast, and may need a further cut to take into account the anti-government riots last week.

While Abhisit may risk upsetting some supporters with an amnesty or constitutional changes, this may be his best chance to find middle ground because the broader public is tired of protests on both sides, said Jade Donavanik, dean of the law school at Siam University in Bangkok.

“This is the right time as the public is looking forward to reconciliation,” he said. “The government must take this opportunity and run with it because they won’t get another chance.”

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This is a story from Bloomberg. It can be found here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRuJgx7errkU&refer=home

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 21, 2009 23:34 EDT