Quote:Thaksin supporters rally after Thai court bans party

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra protested on Thursday against the court-ordered dissolution of their party and the political banishment of its leaders which threaten more turmoil.

Some 2,000 people rallied peacefully near Government House a day after the ruling, shouting slogans against the coup leaders who ousted Thaksin in a bloodless putsch last year.

"Democracy Back, Thaksin Come Back," read one banner held by a protester wearing a "CNS Get Out" headband, referring to the name the generals gave themselves, the Council for National Security.

"Although Thai Rak Thai has been banned, we still love Thaksin," Jatuporn Prompan, a rally organizer and former party spokesman, told the crowd from the stage.

"The Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that Thai Rak Thai has committed a crime that was hostile to democracy. But who will make that ruling on the CNS which toppled a democratically elected government?," Jatuporn said.

Earlier, Thaksin, who is living in London, issued a statement urging his supporters to accept the ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, which found his party guilty of two charges of fraud in last year's inconclusive poll, later annulled by the courts.

He also pressed the generals to speed up elections promised for December. Analysts say the plan could be derailed by unrest.

"I would urge everyone to stay calm and don't make any moves," said the billionaire telecoms tycoon whose Thai Rak Thai (Thais Loves Thais) party was the first in Thai history to win an absolute parliamentary majority.

There has been no violence since the ruling, but police set up extra checkpoints across the city of 10 million people.

"Nothing has happened yet, but we are worried that a third party could cause trouble," the Bangkok police chief, Lieutenant-General Adisorn Nonsee, told reporters.

The rival Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest party but no match for Thaksin's machine in the vote-rich countryside, was found not guilty of breaking election laws, and should now be in pole position for the promised December election.

"BYE BYE THAI RAK THAI"

The rulings, greeted by the English-language Bangkok Post with a banner headline reading "BYE BYE THAI RAK THAI", would "reshape and realign" Thailand's electoral landscape, political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said.

"The military will come into an alliance with the surviving politicians and this alliance will be anchored with the Democrat Party," he said.

"The military has to protect itself, it has to watch its back, it has to have some cooperation from the politicians after the election because the military will be out of power."

But he said this new alliance could not ignore the millions of rural and urban poor who lionized Thaksin, in part for populist policies such as cheap health care and loans.

"If they are alienated, if the military and surviving politicians and the interim government neglect them, don't pay attention to their needs and grievances that Thai Rak Thai addressed, then there will be trouble ahead," he said

Quote:
Thai politics ban sparks protests

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- More than 1,000 die-hard supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra protested a stunning court ruling that banned his party and barred its entire leadership from politics for five years, saying the military-appointed tribunal lacked legitimacy.

Wearing yellow headbands that read "Coup leaders, get out," the group shouted and cheered every time Thaksin's name was mentioned.

"This is a fight by the people who are rejecting the judiciary's power," said Veera Musigapong, a former deputy leader of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and one of the 111 leading party members, including Thaksin, banned from politics by the ruling Wednesday.

"As someone who was personally affected (by the ruling), I am not accepting the decision of the tribunal which was set up by the coup leaders and their illegitimate power," he said Thursday.

Some 150 policemen, bomb squad teams and police dogs were deployed in the area near the Royal Plaza, a large square in the heart of historic Bangkok. The plaza itself, where the demonstrators had initially hope to rally, was blocked off by security officials.

Army commander Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin said security has been beefed up throughout the Thai capital and will remain so until it is clear that there will be no violent protests.

The Thai Rak Thai party was found guilty by the Constitutional Tribunal of financing obscure parties to run against it in last year's elections to get around rules requiring a minimum voter turnout.

Party leader Chaturon Chaisaeng said Thursday that a new Thai Rak Thai would try to register under the same name while its banned executives will attempt to engage in political activities short of running for office.

He said that the group hopes to meet Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Monday to ask him to revoke a ban on all political activities by parties that was imposed following a bloodless coup last September that ousted Thaksin. Surayud had promised to lift the ban in September and hold general elections in December.

The decision against Thai Rak Thai came hours after the Democrat Party, the country's oldest and a bitter rival of Thaksin's party, was found innocent of election law violations.

Thaksin, who now resides in London, sent a handwritten letter to his party and supporters, urging them to continue their political activities for the benefit of the country.

"As a founder and ex-leader of the party until the coup, I would like to apologize to members and all supporters for this unexpected turn of events," he said, criticizing the expulsion of party executives as out of all proportion to the accusations against them.

The letter was read out by Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadol Pattama, at a press conference in Bangkok.

"The ruling is likely to deepen confrontation. Thai Rak Thai commanded a large rural electorate and if they (the military and the surviving political parties) don't win them over and fill that political vacuum, there will be trouble," said Thitinan Pongsidhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"The resistance might be quiet but it will also be deep-seated and strong," he said.

Other analysts said Thai politics were heading toward uncharted waters.

"A lot could happen at this point ... the process of bargaining may change and things may be quite different from what people expect," said Chris Baker, a veteran analyst and author on the country's politics. "You can't predict too far into the future with Thai politics."

"There is not a lot for any party to gain from violence at this point. If anything, it will strengthen the grip of the military," he said.

The court's ruling, which cannot be appealed, said Thai Rak Thai had used "parliamentary elections only as a means to achieve totalitarian power" and showed no respect for the rule of law.

The court also decided that the Democrat Party did not unfairly malign Thaksin or breach election laws.

Banning Thai Rak Thai is a stunning end to a party that just two years ago was the most powerful in Thailand, and by all accounts remains popular with rural voters for its populist policies.

But its demise began when the military overthrew Thaksin, accusing him of corruption and abuse of power.

Thaksin had dissolved parliament in February 2006 and called for snap elections in an effort to defuse protests and secure his mandate. The three main opposition parties boycotted the vote.

Thaksin's party won the April 2006 poll but was unable to convene parliament for lack of a quorum. Thaksin's party was accused of election law violations by paying off other parties to sidestep the quorum rule

Instead of resorting to violence, start a new party with a new name, and problem solved!
The former 'Socialist Unity Party' from the German Democratic Republic has done just that, and quite successfully I might add.

Tom Yum Gung

Hi TYG, it was just reported that's what TRT will probably do. The new party name is 'Thai Rak Thai Group' TRTG