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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (33473)	3/30/2009 8:47:10 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

Thai Protests Build on Economic Crisis MARCH 30, 2009 By JAMES HOOKWAY BANGKOK -- Tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters sang and danced through the weekend outside Thailand's main government complex, cheering on ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and offering the nation's new leaders -- and others in Asia -- a jarring reminder of the political risks accompanying the region's sharp economic decline. Local businesswoman Darunee Kritboonyalai, a founding shareholder of a Thai iced-tea brand and an active supporter of Mr. Thaksin, said the protests against Thailand's government could grow as the economy worsens. "We're just part of a global situation, true. But this government doesn't know how to handle it properly," she said. The protesters are mainly seeking to restore Mr. Thaksin -- a multimillionaire businessman who was removed from office in a military coup nearly three years ago -- to power. They object to the way Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power and are disenchanted with how he is handling the country's economic downturn, and so are hoping to fuel wider discontent. Many of the 30,000-strong crowd mocked the government's latest stimulus efforts as, at best, an imitation of policies Mr. Thaksin championed before he was ousted in 2006. Some protesters handed 2,000 baht ($56) cash handouts from the government to rally organizers instead of spending them in Bangkok's stores, as the government intended. One elderly woman, Ananya Mhanpadungkit, climbed onto a makeshift stage to say she couldn't accept money from what she described as an "illegitimate" government. Protest leaders said they would continue their nighttime rallies indefinitely. Thailand's lingering conflict between Mr. Thaksin's populist supporters and its more conservative, military-backed government shows how the world's economic slump is complicating a series of political battles across Southeast Asia. The region is especially dependent on trade, providing electronic components, raw materials and skilled labor for the global supply chain, and several countries are feeling the strain. Political analysts say Malaysia is showing signs of slipping back into the authoritarian ways of its past. The government is cracking down on pro-democracy advocates and suspending opposition newspapers as Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak prepares to take over when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi steps down as premier on April 2. In the Philippines, opposition is building to pro-government legislators' efforts to change the country's constitution, which may pave the way for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to stay in power once term limits kick in next year. Thailand is facing perhaps the most combustible conflict. The country's economy was already slowing when Prime Minister Vejjajiva took power in mid-December following the collapse of a pro-Thaksin government amid a series of military-backed street protests. Yellow-clad protesters hoping to purge the nation of Mr. Thaksin's influence seized Bangkok's international airport for a week last November, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers and dealing a severe blow to Thailand's international reputation and vibrant tourism industry. The chaos was only brought to an end when Thailand's Constitutional Court banned the main pro-Thaksin party. With Thai officials forecasting the economy could shrink by up to 3% this year, compared with 2.6% growth in 2008 and 4.9% growth in 2007, the British-born Mr. Abhisit put together a $44 billion stimulus plan to fund infrastructure and other projects over the next three years. Mr. Thaksin's followers, mostly lower-income Thais, can now replicate the kind of mass demonstrations that Mr. Thaksin's opponents have staged the past few years. While many demonstrators held up Thaksin portraits, others carried signs associating the protests with Thailand's pro-democracy movements of 1973 and 1992, when civilians rose up against military-backed governments. On Sunday, Mr. Abhisit told his Democrat Party that the government "is trying to block the [Thaksin] call-ins but cannot do more than the law permits," the Associated Press said. Nattawuth Saikua, one of the organizers of the pro-Thaksin protests, said "We are gaining some momentum. This isn't so much about Mr. Thaksin anymore, it's about restoring democracy." Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@awsj.com online.wsj.com