ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters began leaving Bangkok's main international airport yesterday after a tumultuous day that saw a court ruling dissolve the government of prime minister Somchai Wongsawat over election fraud, writes CLIFFORD COONANin Bangkok.
Thailand remained mired in political turmoil amid opposition fears that the government might simply be reincarnated under a different name. That would certainly provoke more protests and wider instability, possibly even civil war.
The country's popular King Bhumipol Adulyadej is due to address the nation tomorrow, on the eve of his 81st birthday, and his speech will be closely watched for clues on how the country will be ruled from now on.
The Constitutional Court decision came after nearly two weeks of protests which have hit the country's vital tourism industry hard at a time of broader economic malaise because of the global slowdown. It also raises the risk of clashes between government supporters and the anti-government lobby, which has blockaded the capital's two airports.
Read out live on national television, the ruling is a major victory for the anti-government group but still leaves a gawping political vacuum in Thailand.
There were mixed reports from the Suvarnabhumi international airport in the Thai capital but it was looking increasingly likely that passenger flights from the terminal would resume tomorrow, allowing hundreds of thousands of tourists, including hundreds of Irish visitors, to return home. Cargo flights from the airport resumed yesterday.
Mr Somchai and his six-party coalition agreed to step down after the court had found the People Power Party (PPP), the Machima Thipatai party, and the Chart Thai party guilty of vote-buying in the December 2007 elections that brought the government to power. The court unanimously agreed to disband them.
Court president Chat Chalavorn, said the dissolution of the parties was intended to set a "political standard and an example". "Dishonest political parties undermine Thailand's democratic system," he said in the ruling.
Mr Somchai's government has been trapped in the northern city of Chiang Mai, an electoral stronghold for his government, since Wednesday. The opposition believes Mr Somchai is a puppet of his brother-in-law, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in exile and faces corruption charges at home.
"It is not a problem. I was not working for myself. Now I will be a full-time citizen," Mr Somchai said. "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."
The ruling consigns him and many senior figures in his government into political exile, as they are not allowed to take part in Thai politics for five years.
Hundreds of angry government supporters gathered outside the administrative court, where judges delivered the ruling after earlier rallies by the pro-government lobby forced them to move location. Leaders of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a loose grouping of royalists, rich businessmen and Bangkok's upper middle class, said all their protests would end this afternoon.
Thousands of opposition members have been at Suvarnabhumi international airport and the domestic Don Muang airport for almost a week.
Earlier yesterday, an anti-government protester was killed and 22 people were injured at Don Muang when a grenade was fired at the terminal.
Anti-government protesters want what they call a "new politics", which would involve an appointed parliament dominated by bureaucrats and the army. Even though Mr Somchai was democratically elected, they believe he, Mr Thaksin and their supporters have been using a large war chest from their considerable business interests to buy votes in the countryside and in the north of the country, and that the straight vote system works against them.
"We have won a victory and achieved our aims," media mogul and PAD founder Sondhi Limthongkul said in a statement.
"All protests will stop as of December 3rd at 10am. We have gained our victory already. If there is something wrong, we will mobilise people and stage another protest," he told cheering supporters.
The protesters, wearing the royal colour yellow to signal their love of the king, say Mr Thaksin's strong control of the media puts them at a disadvantage.
What will most likely happen now is that PPP officials will join a shell party called Pheu Thai (For Thais), which was set up in anticipation of the verdict and would continue to administer the country.
Mr Somchai's predecessor, Samak Sundaravej, was thrown out of office in September after courts found him guilty of violating conflict of interest rules by appearing in a TV cookery programme. The political upheaval has taken a heavy toll on Thailand's image as the "Land of Smiles", and the tourism business will take a long time to recover.
Finance minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech said this week economic growth next year might slow to between zero and 2 per cent, down from previous forecasts of 3 to 4 per cent expansion.
Risk rating agencies Standard Poor's and Fitch both downgraded their sovereign outlooks on Thailand to negative from stable this week.