In my last political update, things in Bangkok were looking pretty calm. Most protest sites had been cleared and consolidated to Lumpini Park. Government-wise, a lot of things were up in the air: the election had been declared void and caretaker prime minister Yingluck was facing two sets of charges (one for the removal of the head of the National Security Council and corruption charges for negligence in her overseeing of the rice subsidy program.)
Last week, the Constitutional Court ordered Yingluck to be removed from office because she transferred the head of the National Security Council to another position. The National Security Council was established by the constitution that was written after the coup that removed Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin from office in 2006, and was used as a way for the people who had staged the coup to retain the power they had grabbed. The masterminds of the last coup were then the first people to serve on the appointed council. Nine cabinet members were also ordered to step down in relation to their connection to the transfer of positions and the commerce minister, Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, was tapped to take over the caretaker prime minister role.
The day after she was removed from office, it was voted that impeachment process should begin in the Senate on charges of negligence related to the rice subsidy scheme. Prior to the implementation of the subsidies, Thailand was the top exporter of rice. The plan was that the government would buy the rice from farmers at a price higher than international prices. Then, the government would be able to flex its top exporter might to demand increased prices for the rice it now had. Instead, Vietnam and India took over as top exporters of rice and Thailand has tons of rice rotting in warehouses and the money that was expected to roll in to fund the program is nowhere to be seen. As a result farmers are still waiting on their payments for last year’s crop and the government simply does not have the money to pay.
The new election date had been tentatively set for July 20, but the new caretaker government has been in talks with the Election Commission to see if that date is feasible. That date seems unlikely since the talks have been disrupted by the protests.
The Democrat Party, which includes Suthep who led the protests, had previously been indicating that they might participate in new elections even though Suthep was calling for a continuation of the boycotts from the previous election. There has been little word since on the potential participation of the Democrats in the new elections.
Meanwhile, the protests have once again shifted out of Lumpini Park and back in front of government buildings. The protestors have been heartened by the removal of Yingluck, as their aims have always only been stated as wanting to remove all traces of Thaksin from the government, and the removal was one very public step in that direction. Additionally, many supports of Yingluck and Thaksin have made their way to Bangkok from their rural homes to show support for the people and party they feel has given them a voice and representation in the highly centralized government.
Yesterday, there was another explosion that killed two people and injured a dozen, bringing the number of casualties since November to 27.