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The state of emergency in Thailand had little effect in reducing tensions. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was probably hoping the military would use the powers given to them and intervene as it did in 2006, when it ousted Thaksin Shinawatra from power.
This time, however, the army has said the dispute is political and must be resolved politically, so it will not intervene. How long that holds good is anyone's guess, but it was called in to put down a running battle between supporters and opponents of the government on Tuesday. Yet once done, the army quickly returned to their barracks, only for the protagonists to emerge again.
The main demonstrators in Bangkok are the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) a mix of middle class and urban and rural poor, and others who claim democracy is not working, together with a variety of agencies that share a common ground of wanting to bring the government down. Chamlong Srimuang, a former army general, leads the protesters, but with such disparate interests it is doubtful their mission will ultimately succeed, despite pledges to continue the fight.
Samak continues to hold on to power, stating that as elected prime minister he has a legal right to stay. However, his detractors, who claim Samak is a mere puppet of Thaksin, which he denies, also say that with the large majority Samak has in parliament he might change the constitution, thereby letting Thaksin and his wife off the charges of corruption that have been made against them.
It is obvious there is bitter animosity between the opponents and, with the Electoral Commission now claiming fraud in the elections that brought Samak to power, it is probably best that Samak stands aside and calls for new elections, to be fully supervised by independent outside observers, in an effort to bring about stability.
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