Thai King's role under scrutiny amid protests
Updated
Many of the anti-government protestors at government house in the Thai capital Bangkok say their campaign is being mounted in the name of the King, with royal yellow the dominant colour at the demonstrations. Normally, the monarch stays aloof from politics, but does have a record of intervening when he views it as necessary. Thus far he has stayed silent, despite the violence on the capital's streets and the declaration of a state of emergency.
Presenter: Tom Fayle
Speaker: Thai analyst Dr Andrew Walker, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
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WALKER: Well the precise reasons for (the foreign minister's) resignation at this stage aren't clear, but whatever the reasons obviously this is very bad news for Prime Minister Samak. It's yet another blow to his administration and it creates the impression that Samak is increasingly isolated within his government.
FAYLE: He's said to be, the foreign minister is said to be very close to the King, he's a former advisor. That theory that it's more evidence that the King is cutting the Samak administration loose; is that correct do you think?
WALKER: Whether or not it's correct, certainly the symbolism of it points that way. The foreign minister was a very close confidante of the King and it's not a good look for Samak at all for having have someone so closely placed in relation to the palace resign from his government.
FAYLE: As we've said the King usually stays out of the political fray but has intervened in the past at key moments in Thai history. What do you make of his silence now?
WALKER: Well I think his silence is a little puzzling. Yes, the King might like to stay out of the political fray, but the opposition protestors have brought him right into it. Their core symbol during their campaign against the elected government has been the monarchy, and the King so far - despite these protestors quite openly attempting to overthrow an elected government - has made no attempts to withdraw the "royal brand", so to speak, from this protest movement.
FAYLE: The army has also been called out yet so far refused to move against the protestors. The anti-government PAD is publicly saying that inaction equates to tacit support for their cause?
WALKER: Well I think if the army did move on the protestors they'd complain that this is a violent crackdown. I think the army is continuing the government's policy of trying to deal with these protests in a very calm and gentle way. The army's made it clear that at this stage their key role is to prevent further clashes between rival groups of pro-government and anti-government protestors, and for the time being that seems to be an appropriate role in terms of calming down the situation.
FAYLE: The PAD does seem to be making an art form of goading the government into action?
WALKER: Their goal is to raise the political heat to create the impression of crisis. The bottom line is that they don't accept the result of the election that was held last December and they want to create the impression of crisis in an attempt to bring down the government.
FAYLE: So is some form of coup, albeit a discreet one, inevitable do you think now?
WALKER: I think an open coup by the military is highly unlikely and it's certainly been ruled out by the top military brass. There are rumours around Bangkok this morning that Samak may resign today. He's due to appear on the radio later this morning. Perhaps we might call that a coup if this protest movement has been able to produce the resignation of an elected Prime Minister.
FAYLE: And if he goes what next?
WALKER: It's very unclear, the People's Alliance for Democracy, the protestors have made it clear that they may not be comfortable with someone else from his party leading the government. There's some talk of perhaps amending the constitution so a non-member of parliament could be some sort of compromise prime minister. But whether or not people in Thailand accept this remains to be seen.
