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Thai crisis deepens

THE POLITICAL unrest in Thailand now seems to be going over the brink. The situation is increasingly becoming violent and life has come almost to a standstill for the last several weeks.

To add to the already existing mess is the factor of terror that is now claiming lives. The bomb blast in Bangkok on Saturday, which killed at least three people and left nearly two dozen injured, is a case in point. The only silver lining seems to be that the army is keeping its cool and has shrugged off calls to intervene. Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has categorically said that the military would not intervene, it would simply discharge its constitutional duties by deploying troops to provide protection to people.

The general’s statement came after weeks of brawls and agitation that has left Thailand on the edge, with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra unable to govern. The elections called by the sitting government — and boycotted by the opposition — did not resolve the dispute but aggravated the political standoff with the opposition refusing to accept the legitimacy of the Yingluck government. The opposition’s demand is that fresh elections should be held under a nominated council, which would also make necessary amendments to the constitution. Yingluck’s amnesty law, which could have seen several convicts walk free and contest elections, had been in the eye of the storm and the opposition wants it to be scrapped.

The turmoil in this strategic Southeast Asian country is unnerving, and has adversely affected the economy and tourism. The war of shirts —the Red Shirts who are loyal to the government and the Yellow Shirts who support the opposition — has acted as a destabilising force, and now this violence by vested interests has pushed the Buddhist kingdom into a tight corner. Though none have claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, it is a serious threat to the country’s wellbeing. Unscrupulous elements believing in terror tactics could make use of this vacuum and unrest to further their designs. Yingluck and the opposition leaders should sit together and chalk out a course of action to pull Thailand out of the abyss of chaos and uncertainty.

The slide into more anarchy will serve nobody’s interests, and the discord might lead to extraconstitutional forces moving in. So far the warring sides have been lucky that the armed forces and monarchy have kept themselves aloof. It’s time for better counsel to prevail among the political parties so that the crisis is resolved at the earliest.