analysts said that since this crisis is not just a simple political struggle, it may last for a long time. The core of this crisis is a more fundamental question: whether this Buddhist kingdom with a population of 63 million should implement a democratic political system.
Thai conservatives are the behind-the-scenes forces of this anti-government protest. They saw the impact of democracy on Thailand, but they didn't like it and attacked it fiercely. Last week, tens of thousands of conservatives, many of them middle-aged, occupied the government headquarters in Bangkok and temporarily blocked three regional airports.
They demanded that Thailand's political system return to the original autocratic era, when the political power was basically in the hands of elites such as government officials, military generals and important royalists.
Protesters targeted Samak Sundaravej, Thailand's democratically elected prime minister, because he had close ties with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. During his reign from 21 to 26, Thai telecom tycoon Thaksin introduced populist politics into Thai politics; However, the military coup in 26 overthrew Thaksin's government, and Thaksin himself was forced into exile. After the restoration of democracy in Thailand last year, Samak's People's Power Party won the general election (which was mainly composed of Thaksin supporters), which aroused strong opposition from conservatives and held anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok for months.
On Tuesday morning, some protesters clashed with pro-government demonstrators, resulting in one death and dozens of injuries. Faced with this situation, Samak subsequently declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, allowing the Thai military to help maintain order. Shama did not say how long the emergency order would be implemented, only that the situation would return to normal relatively quickly.
The political crisis has also had a significant impact on Thailand's economy. Several countries, such as Australia, South Korea and Singapore, have issued travel warnings to their citizens about the current turbulent situation in Thailand. Tourism accounts for about 6% of Thailand's economy and brings more than 16 billion dollars in foreign exchange income to Thailand every year.
Trade unions of several Thai state-owned enterprises threatened to launch a nationwide strike on Wednesday, paralyzing the whole country, including the power and water supply departments and airlines. Affected by increasing political uncertainty, the benchmark stock index of Thailand's stock market fell by 2.3% on Tuesday, and the Thai baht also fell to a 13-month low against the US dollar.
Anupong Paochinda, commander-in-chief of Thailand's army, said that the military would not use force to disperse the protesters who occupied Prime Minister Samak's residence to avoid further bloodshed. However, he warned that the trade union's plan to launch a national strike would further hit the export-dependent Thai economy; Thailand's economy has been hit hard by the global economic slowdown. Anupong said at a news conference on Tuesday that if we tear off the whole roof to kill a mouse, it would be too much to lose; Anupong called on the trade unions to reconsider the strike plan.
Older activists in Thailand are the driving force behind the political crisis. They are worried that the democratic system of one person, one vote will enable populist politicians like Thaksin to control the state power, thus threatening the traditional ruling class in Thailand: the military, government officials, and especially the almost deified monarchy.
Tip Kaewtacheua, a 52-year-old retired nurse, said that if you look around, most of the protesters here are over 5 years old. Tip's temporary medical clinic is next to the Thai Prime Minister's Office, the main protest site.
61-year-old media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul is one of the main leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy. Last month, he complained that elected politics has produced a series of corrupt leaders who will make promises to rural and young voters who are inexperienced in Thai politics to cheat their votes.
Lin Mingda and other leaders of the People's Democratic League demanded that Thailand abolish the current parliamentary democracy system and form a new government system, with the proportion of elected people in the parliament not exceeding 3%, and the rest appointed by the military or other elite organizations.
A non-violent revolution broke out in Thailand in 1932, forcing the royal rulers to accept parliamentary democracy. Thailand has always been a complete monarchy. But since then, the Thai regime has been alternating between the military, the Democrats and the civilian government appointed by the military.
The main target of anti-government protesters is former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose party won three general elections with overwhelming advantages and won wide support from poor rural voters in Thailand. After Thaksin came to power, he took many measures to fulfill his populist promises. For example, providing a cheap medical plan to facilitate millions of poor people in Thailand to obtain loans more easily. However, the Thai military was worried about Thaksin's growing power and prestige. In 26, it launched a coup to overthrow Thaksin's government and forced Thaksin to go into exile. The military accused Thaksin of abusing his power, claiming that his government was full of corruption.
Thaksin is seeking political asylum in Britain to escape criminal charges of corruption, but he still has a strong influence in Thailand: Samak's People's Power Party government basically comes from the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai, and is composed of Thaksin's followers.
For many protesters occupying the government residence, Thaksin Shinawatra's democratic political system with universal participation is unacceptable; This means that even if the protesters withdraw from the current protest area, the current political deadlock may continue indefinitely.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University University in Bangkok, said that the People's League for Democracy hopes to bring Thai politics back to the era when appointed representatives were in power, seize power and expel Thaksin Shinawatra, Samak, Thai Rak Thai Party and People's Power Party from Thai politics forever.
Issara Ruenthongdee, a 65-year-old retired fisherman, holds an iron bar as a precaution, saying that democracy will only lead to corruption. We need to eradicate the current political system so that our children and grandchildren can live in the country where we grew up. He said that the wind and water have turned, and it is our turn today.