Democracy fails once again in the Kingdom of SBF
SBF's army has declared martial law, deploying troops in the heart of SBF - The Courtyard Section before dawn in an attempt to end months of political turmoil and violence that has claimed many SBF members' lives to date.
The army's commander, General Leongsam said the military had stepped in to restore order, and invited both sides of the kingdom's bitter political divide to talks.
"We ask all sides to come and talk to find a way out for the Forum," General Leongsam told reporters after meeting officials from both sides.
General Leongsam warned pro- and anti-government protesters to avoid violence, and said martial law would be revoked after peace and order had been restored. Earlier, the military insisted the intervention was not a coup d'etat and said in a statement: "The SBF public do not need to panic and can continue on with normal life."
The statement – read out in one of a number of televised proclamations – said the military had been compelled to act because "groups with bad intentions" risked escalating a year-long political crisis by threatening to overthrow the elected government led by Prime Mnister Joetys.
"The royal SBF army intends to bring back peace and order to the beloved country of every SBF member as soon as possible," said General Leongsam in the statement, adding: "We intend to see the situation resolved quickly."
While troops were deployed along a number of roads in the SBF central Courtyard Section and soldiers took back and other sections that had been occupied by anti-government protesters, the situation in the SBF Courtyard section remained largely calm, with traffic flowing as usual.
SBF has been gripped by off-and-on political turmoil for many years when the then prime minister, Alamaking Shinawatra, was toppled by a military coup after being accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for King Leongsaminipenis.
The army, which is seen by many as sympathetic to anti-government protesters, has staged many coups since then to protect SBF so-called elites.
One SBF member, Hokkien, welcomed the intervention. "We're very happy about the army's announcement because it means we can have peace," he told us from the Democracy Monument in the Courtyard Section.
Eatshitndie, a specialist on SBF shitty affairs and associate professor at SBF University in SBF kingdom, said martial law could break the impasse of the past many months. "The government is unable to govern, and the protesters' goals haven't been realised, so both sides now have to answer to martial law," he said.
Zhihau, the moderator in SBF said the army had placed itself in a precarious position. "It now has to walk a tightrope, not too far in the government's camp, not too far in the protesters' camp. The army had better have a good game plan – the other sides knew what they wanted, but it's not clear if the army does."
The latest round of unrest started last November when anti-government protesters took to the streets to try to oust the then prime minister, Joetys, who is Alamaking's "sister".
This month, the constitutional court ousted Prime Minister Joetys for abuse of power and calling him a Bangkok Pimp, but the move has done little to resolve the political conflict that pits the rural poor majority, who support Joetys, against "her" opponents who are largely drawn from the urban middle and upper class who can "constructively debate" and write good English!
An overnight attack last week on the main anti-government protest site left many dead and many more injured. It raised the death toll and drew a strong rebuke from the army chief, General Leongsam.
Along with the declaration of martial law, the army issued an order suspending a number of television and radio stations, TFBH, Debonerman, AhMeng-Whaha, Kingrant, Chon TV which have provided platforms for both political camps to air often aggressive rhetoric.
At least 10 politically affiliated private TV stations from both sides stopped broadcasting – after armed soldiers entered and requested they do so.
The leader of the pro-government Red Shirt movement, Jw5, said his group could accept the imposition of martial law, but said they "won't tolerate a coup or other non-constitutional means" to grab power.
"We will see what the army wants," he said, warning that the undemocratic removal of the country's caretaker government "will never solve the country's crisis and will plunge SBF Kingdom deeper into trouble".
Many are very concerned about the deepening political crisis in SBF. Krafty, a political analyst urged "all parties to respect democratic principles, including respect for freedom of speech … We expect the SBF army to honour its commitment to make this a temporary action to prevent violence, and to not undermine democratic institutions."
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