Dec 2, 2008
Bangkok turmoil
Thai PM accepts ruling
Court dissolves two main parties
Thai premier banned from politics for 5 years
PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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BANGKOK - THAI Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Tuesday he accepted a verdict by the country's constitutional court which barred him from politics for five years and dissolved his party.
'My duty is over. I am now an ordinary citizen,' Mr Somchai, 61, told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai from where he has been governing since an opposition blockade of Bangkok's airports began last week.
Thai govt faces key ruling
BANGKOK - THAILAND is bracing itself for more trouble today as its Constitutional Court begins handing down a ruling that could lead to Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's government being dissolved.
Thai police yesterday asked the military to help step up security in the capital, fearing that pro-government supporters would react violently should the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) be declared illegal for electoral fraud in last year's polls.
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Key dates
BANGKOK - THOUSANDS of protesters have shut down Thailand's main airports in their latest push to topple an elected government they accuse of corruption and hostility to the monarchy.
Supporters of the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) launched their campaign in late May to oust the government, and have escalated their protests aimed at forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
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'But it is unexpected that the decision would come out this way. In the past I have done my best, not for myself but for our country,' added Mr Somchai, the brother-in-law of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Earlier, the ruling party said members will regroup under a new name and propose a new prime minister, minutes after a court dissolved the group and barred the current premier from politics.
The People Power Party (PPP) had earlier set up a shell organisation in anticipation of the verdict by the country's constitutional court, PPP spokesman Kudeb Saikrajang told AFP.
'I am sad to hear this devastating ruling which we had no chance to defend,' Mr Kudeb said. 'But our remaining 216 MPs will move to the Pheu Thai (For Thais) party and bid to open the house to elect a new prime minister.'
The Constitutional Court dissolved Thailand's top three ruling parties for electoral fraud on Tuesday and temporarily barred the prime minister from politics, bringing down a government that faced months of strident protests seeking its ouster.
The ruling set the stage for thousands of protesters to end their seige of the country's two main airports. Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy protest group at Bangkok's international airport cheered and hugged after they heard news of the verdict.
'My heart is happy. My friends are very happy,' said Mrs Pailin Jampapong, a 41-year-old Bangkok housekeeper choking back tears as she jumped up and down.
Government spokesman Nattawut Sai-kau said that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and his ruling, six-party coalition would step down.
'We will abide by the law. The coalition parties will meet together to plan for its next move soon,' he told The Associated Press.
He also said the government was postponing a regional summit in Thailand of Southeast Asian countries, from December to March.
Mr Somchai's People's Power Party, the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party were found guilty of committing fraud in the December 2007 elections that brought the coalition to power with thumping majority.
Court President Chat Chalavorn said the court was dissolving the parties 'to set a political standard and an example.' 'Dishonest political parties undermine Thailand's democratic system,' he said in the court's ruling.
The ruling sends Mr Somchai and dozens of party executives into political exile, barring them from the country's politics for five years.
But other members of the three parties that escaped the ban can join other parties and try to cobble together a new coalition and choose a new prime minister.
It was expected that Mr Somchai would remain the caretaker prime minister until then.
Thousands of members of the protest alliance have been the main Suvarnabhumi international airport and the domestic Don Muang airport for about a week, cutting off all commercial traffic to the capital and stranding more than 300,000 foreign travelers here.
At the Suvarnabhumi airport, the verdict was read out on a protest stage outside the main terminal.
'It is good because the (corrupt) politicians have been told to get out. It is good for Thailand. This is a blow for corruption,' said Mr Nong Sugrawut, a 55-year-old businessman who was among the thousands camped at Suvarnabhumi.
Politicians banned by the verdict refused to comment.
'The court just banned me and my party from political activity so I can't give you any comment,' Mr Kuthep Saikrajang, a spokesman of the People's Power Party, told The Associated Pres. -- AP, AFP
