Thai army assures it will not intervene in the crisis

Thailand’s army has said that it had no intention to carry out a coup even as the country has plunged into a political crisis. Bhumjaithai, partner of Pheu Thai Party, withdrew from the coalition, leaving Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra government in a minority. The crisis broke out when a recorded private conversation between Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian president Hun Sen was made public, in which the Thai prime minister made a partisan reference to a Thai general in the outbreak of hostility on the Thai-Cambodia border.

Bhumjaithai saw the reference to serving Thai commander as “opponent” by Paetongtarn as an insult to the army. Paetongtarn has since apologized, but the crisis shows no signs of going away. The Thai army’s assuring statement that it would confine itself to the task of defending the country’s sovereignty and that the country would remain a democracy with the king as the constitutional head.

Thailand’s opposition leader of People’s Party, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawat, demanded that Paetongtarn should step down, dissolve the parliament and go for fresh election. The government took office two years ago. Natthaphong is clear that the Paetongtarn had failed to govern the country. He said, “Over the past two years, the government has failed to deliver on its pledges. It has also failed to address other major problems, including constitutional reform, military bureaucracy restructuring, and the economic problems of the country. The hope that the ruling party’s economic expertise would prevail has been a total flop.”

Thailand is no stranger to political turmoil. But it has come out of each one of them through a democratic solution, elections would be held, and thepeople would choose a popular leader.

For example, Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin Shinawatra was a popular prime minister. He faced problems because he refused to be led by the army, and he was keen that the sedition law which made any statement against the king as traitorous. But the army intervened and threw out the Shinawatra government, and the army remained in the vanguard. But soon, the army had to find a democratic alternative, and elections had to be held. Thaksin remained prime minister between 2001 and 2006. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister between 2011 and 2014. Both Thaksin and Yingluck were pushed out by the government on charges that the Shinawatras are corrupt. But the Shinawatras are hugely popular with the poorer sections of the Thais.

This time round, the Thai army has decided not to go through the cycle of political intervention and the restoration of democracy. The neutrality of the army can best be ensured by the compromises and adjustments that the political parties are willing to make. If they refuse to pull back and restore democratic functioning, it will become a compelling reason for the army to get back into political decision-making.

Thailand is an important polity in the south-east Asian region. It has built its economy on market economics with a fair amount of speculation. The 1997 Asian financial crisis started out with the meltdown of the baht. The Asian economic crisis spread to other parts of the free market world, and it took about four or five years to recover from the setback.

The Thais are known for their fierce commitment to democracy, and it is this which forces the Pheu Party to find a way to a democratic end. The Thais’ commitment to democracy derives mostly from their easy life-style and their sense of freedom. So, it is a struggle between the different parties which are committed to their own political ambition, and they are not disinclined to support the army in direct and indirect ways.