Thailand's Political Situation

07 September 2008

The situation in Thailand took a positive turn on Thursday with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej calling for a referendum. The step looks to resolve the ongoing impasse with thousands of protestors demanding that he resign.

Since the Thai leader declared a state of emergency several days ago there have been no more clashes between protesters and life continues as normal in Bangkok and Thailand.

Prime Minister Samak reiterated on Thursday, as has the army, that no force will be used against the protesters. Unless you are near Government House in Bangkok you will not see any signs of the demonstrations, which have even taken on a temple fair atmosphere.

Despite the scenes flashed on news stations, there has been no impact on normal city life, with Bangkokians going to work, shopping and eating out as usual.

An inconvenience to some travelers was the temporary closure of a few airports and a rail strike, all of which have since been resolved with all transport operating normally.

SpiceRoads is running all tours as usual and is monitoring the situation closely.

What is happening and why: The demonstrations are being led by a political movement called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, claiming he is corrupt and they oppose changes he has proposed to the 2007 constitution. The PAD advocates a return to Thailand's old-style democracy, which favors government being led by a bureaucracy and appointed office holders over elected members of parliament. PAD was initially formed to spearhead a movement to topple former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was eventually ousted by a bloodless military coup on September 19, 2006. Prime Minister Samak, who was elected in December 2007, has said he will not step down.