Bangkok - Hundreds of pro-government demonstrators wearing
red shirts and carrying clubs rallied Tuesday against Thailand's
Constitution Court, which was expected to read a verdict that could
dissolve the ruling political party.
The nine judges on the case had to shift the venue to the
Administrative Court building in northern Bangkok to avoid a
gathering of the pro-government Democratic Alliance Against
Dictatorship (DAAD), who had planned to gather outside the
Constitution Court in an effort to block the verdict.
Even so, the Administrative Court was quickly surrounded by more
than 1,000 DAAD members. The court was under the protection of Thai
soldiers troops armed with M-16 rifles.
The DAAD is a pro-government movement that is a reverse image of
the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the anti-government
protestors who have occupied Bangkok's two airports, closing off the
capital to air traffic in their bid to topple the administration.
'Closing the court will cause a lot less damage to the country
than the PAD's seizure of our airports,' said one DAAD protestor who
asked to remain anonymous. 'And why are the soldiers armed with M-16s
against us. They never do anything about the PAD.'
The Constitution Court has sped up the final hearing of three
election fraud cases involving the People Power, Chart Thai and
Matchimathipataya parties, which comprise the current coalition
government.
The Nation newspaper reported that court president Chat Chonlaworn
confirmed that verdicts will be handed down Tuesday following the
morning's hearing for closing statements from the three parties.
Based on past court precedents, it is expected that all three
parties will be found guilty of violating election laws in the
December 23, 2007 polls, because top party executives have already
been found guilty of vote-buying.
Under the Thai constitution, parties must be dissolved and their
key executives banned from politics if even one of their members is
found guilty of election fraud.
If the ruling People Power Party is dissolved by the court, Prime
Minister Somchai Wongsawat would be forced to resign along with most
of the cabinet.
In the ensuing power vacuum, several scenarios are possible.
The remaining members of the People Power party, which won about
230 out of 480 contested seats in the 2007 general election, are
expected to shift to the Puea Thai party, which would hold enough
seats to form a new coalition government with remnant members of the
Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya parties.
The Constitution Court could also establish a Supreme Council to
rule the country on an interim basis prior to a new election.
While that option is favoured by many Thais as a means of
placating the anti-government protesters who have held Bangkok's
two airports hostage to force the government step down, it is not
expected to be accepted by government supporters.
The pro-government DAAD, or 'red shirts,' are expected to protest
any guilty verdict against the People Power party and reject any
effort to establish a non-elected government.
Government politicians suspect the Constitution Court of working
hand-in-hand with the PAD, a loose coalition of groups united
only in their desire to prevent a political comeback by fugitive
former prime minister Thaksin Shinwatara, a populist politician who
dominated Thai politics during his two-term, 2001-06 premiership and
now lives in self-exile.
The PAD has lost much of its popularity by closing the airports
last week, causing the Thai economy incalculable damage, but it
remains untouchable for the police and military who have refrained
from cracking down.
The PAD is known to have the support of members of Thailand's
political elite, including leaders of the army, which toppled Thaksin
with a coup in September 2006.
It has, however, been the target of several attacks by unknown
assailants. A grenade attack on PAD followers at Don Mueang Airport
early Tuesday left one protestors dead and 20 injured.
'Backers of the PAD have been playing a high-stakes game,' said
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn
University.
There are worries that the DAAD will launch the kind of street
protests and civil disobedience tactics practiced by the PAD over the
last six months that have brought the country to its knees.
They could also unleash their fury on the PAD.
'Then, who can stop the DAAD? Only Thaksin,' said Thitinan.
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