Hundreds protest court case against Thai parties (1st Lead)

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.