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Thai Military Seeks to Mediate Crisis
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Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said the army's solution is the least damaging of the options available. "This option does not get us out of the cycle," he said. "It won't on its own solve the crisis, but it would buy us some time. It could act as a relief valve."
The standoff has divided Thailand. Although the predominantly urban, middle-class supporters of the People's Alliance detest the government, Somchai's administration retains the support of its core constituency: the farming regions in the country's populous northeast. Supporters would probably vote again for Somchai in any new election.
Thitinan also warned of a more dangerous scenario, in which government supporters take to the streets in large numbers, leading to widespread civil strife.
Thai media reported Wednesday that a People's Alliance supporter was dragged from his car in the northern city of Chiang Mai and fatally shot by a pro-government mob.
At the root of the conflict lies Thaksin, a self-made telecommunications billionaire who was elected prime minister in 2001.
He consolidated his power by offering his core rural constituency cheap health care and subsidized village funds, creating a formidable electoral machine but alienating traditional urban elites.
Thaksin's opponents alleged that he used his office to enrich himself and his friends. Amid growing public discontent, centered in Bangkok and led by an earlier incarnation of the People's Alliance, the military overthrew Thaksin in 2006.
