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Thailand's army chief warns of intervention if clashes escalate
Sydney Morning Herald - May 16, 2014
"I want to warn every group, especially those using violence and war weapons against innocent civilians, to stop now," said army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. "If this goes on, the military may be needed to come out and restore peace and order," he said.
General Prayuth issued the unusual warning following a grenade and gunshot attack on anti-government protesters on Thursday that killed three people and injured 23.
Throughout months of political upheaval and intermittent violence the military has claimed it has remained neutral and urged rival groups to negotiate a peaceful settlement. But rumours of plans by a top general to mobilise troops and take over have swirled through social media.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, warns that "Thailand now stands at a dire crossroads with deepening rifts and growing risks of turmoil and mayhem" following the removal from office last week of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
"In the short term, Thailand will either have a problematic election that will be fraught with controversy or it will end up with an appointed government of questionable contrivance," he said.
"Along the way, the military's role in politics is likely to widen as violence becomes more deadly, frequent and uncontrollable."
Thailand's Election Commission, accused of mishandling an election in February that was annulled, has said it is no longer possible to push ahead with fresh elections scheduled for July 20.
"The situation has to be right and accommodative for an election to take place and there has to be enough time to prepare," said Puchong Nutrawong, secretary-general of the Election Commission. "All things considered we don't think July 20 is the right time," he said.
Ms Yinglcuk's removal by Constitutional Court judges who ruled she abused her power by demoting a security official in 2011 has escalated tensions in a bitter struggle for power that has left 29 people and hundreds injured since last November.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, wanted on treason charges, has been urging the Senate to appoint a new prime minister and government, enraging Ms Yingluck's Red Shirt supporters who have massed at a site on Bangkok's outskirts. But the government led by acting prime minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, a former deputy prime minister, insists elections must be held before a period of reform.
Mr Suthep has vowed to disrupt any attempt to hold new polls and has new led rallies aimed at ousting the crippled government.
Thai authorities have issued warrants for the arrest of dozens of anti-protest leaders, including Mr Suthep, but police have not moved against them, apparently fearing this would provoke more violence.
The crisis is the latest chapter in a years-long struggle for power by rival groups of Thai elite, one backed by Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment and the other backed by rural masses who support the Shinawatra family, including Ms Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister and business tycoon who lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption.
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