by Garry Harbottle-Johnson

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, 27 November 2008 – Yesterday, the Thai Army Commander-in-Chief called on incumbent Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections, in a move aimed at dissolving the current civil unrest.

PM Somchai responded on Thai TV late on Wednesday, announcing that his government would neither resign nor dissolve the House.

This morning, a former chief advisor of the Thai Supreme Command, General Pathompong Kesornsuk, urged the current Army Commander-in-Chief, General Anupong Paochinda to stage a coup to prevent himself from being sacked by the government.  The report doesn’t clarify which of the two was expected to be sacked, and it could be read either way.

General Anupong has repeatedly stated he would not call a coup, and that all current army commanders understand it is not an option for resolving the current political troubles.  As rumours of a potential military coup in the offing started escalating, Thailand’s English language daily newspaper, The Nation, reported in it’s online edition that several newspapers were receiving regular telephone calls asking about such an event.

PM Somchai is currently in residence in his own private home at Mae Sa, in the mountains just to the north of Chiang Mai, having had his government aircraft diverted here on his return from Peru last night.  He had been in Lima attending a summit for Asia-Pacific national leaders, and was supposed to be attending a cabinet meeting in Bangkok today.

Government spokesman Nattawut Sai-kua said earlier in the day that the Cabinet, who had moved to meet with the Prime Minister in Chiang Mai, 350 miles (570 kilometers) north of Bangkok, would consider both an emergency decree, or the use of a tough internal security law.  Late today, the government called a State of Emergency for the zones of all international airports throughout the kingdom.  Such a move is the opening gambit for sending in police or military to clear the protestors.

An emergency decree gives the PM authority to order the military to restore order and allows authorities to suspend some civil liberties.  The internal security law is a separate measure that could ban public assemblies and “suppress” actions considered harmful to national security.  The latter was in force for some time following the military coup of September 2006.

Anti-government protestors of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) having occupied Government House in Bangkok for weeks, moved on the Parliament building on Monday this week, and have now moved against the country’s international airports.

Jewel of the Thaksin Shinawatra government, Suvannabhumi Airport, was the first to be taken by the PAD, followed last night by Bangkok’s former international airport at Don Muang, which has been used as the temporary offices of the government since Government House was taken over by PAD.  Both airports have now been shut down by the Airports Authority of Thailand.

Yesterday, government supporters in Chiang Mai attacked a radio station aligned with the PAD protesters. There were also unconfirmed reports that one man was killed, and several people assaulted in an attack on the local airport.

A personal friend has reported to me, today, that Chiang Mai International Airport is currently “under guard” by pro-government demonstrators in red shirts.  Red was also the party colour of Thai Rak Thai, the now legally disbanded party of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.  PAD wear yellow shirts – the colour associated with the much revered Thai Monarch.

Chiang Mai is Thaksin’s home city, and the business-base of the extensive Shinawatra family.  Thaksin was removed from power by the bloodless coup of 2006, and is currently in exile in Dubai.

It is widely believed that the army tacitly and covertly is in support of the PAD.  The police forces (regular and para-military) have continuously been accused of supporting former Police Lt. Colonel Thaksin, and his brother-in-law who is the current Prime Minister, as well as the PPP party currently in power.  PAD accuse PPP of being a puppet-proxy, and thinly disguised successor to the now banned Thai Rak Thai party.

Internationally, Thaksin is legally a convicted criminal on the run, having been convicted and sentenced to a jail sentence, in-abstentia, on corruption charges in Bangkok recently.

Tens of thousands of foreign tourists and business travellers remain stuck in Bangkok, with the airports expected to be closed through to Saturday at the earliest.  Provided they stay away from the protest areas, there should be little danger to such visitors, merely the inconvience of not being able to travel, and all that stems from that.

As reported by Associated Press, a stranded American Banker said he still had a lot to be thankful for, “Look at what happened in Mumbai. This is an inconvenience, but it could be worse.”

Lets hope it remains that way.