In 2005 and 2006, a series of events occurred in Thailand as a result of public anger with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was opposed by Sondhi Limthongkul and his coalitions. These events culminated in a September 2006 military coup that overthrew the Thai Rak Thai government. This led to Thaksin's departure from Thailand and the establishment of a military government led by Surayud Chulanont, who was closely associated with senior statesman Prem Tinsulanonda.
The crisis, resulting coup, and post-coup military government called into question issues of media freedom, the role of the Constitution in breaking a political deadlock, and the existence of political stability in Thailand. It also reflected the long-term and significant disparity between urban and rural political orientation, abuses of power, and conflicts of interest within democratically elected leaders, issues that have long plagued the Thai political landscape.
Sondhi Limthongkul, a media mogul who was previously a staunch supporter of Thaksin, played a leading role in the crisis through the establishment of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The PAD aligned itself with several state-enterprise unions (who were against Thaksin's privatisation plans for state enterprises), human rights and civil politics activists who charged Thaksin's rule as "undemocratic", monopoly of power, human rights abuse, suppressing the freedom of press and extrajudicial killings of drug traffickers, a main concern among several human right groups.
Key anti-Thaksin coalitions also expressed support for the controversial monk Ajahn Maha Bua. These groups opposed the Thaksin government's decision to appoint Somdet Phra Buddhacharya as acting Supreme Patriarch while Somdet Phra Yanasangworn was critically ill, and accused the government of improperly interfering in monastic affairs.
Significant supporters of the PAD included prominent socialists, scholars, and "royalists" (who claimed that Thaksin frequently insulted King Bhumibol Adulyadej), various factions in the Thai military (who claimed that Thaksin promoted only those who were loyal to him), and various civil groups, who criticised Thaksin for not paying taxes during the sale of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings, although the capital gains from the transaction were legally exempt from taxation. The movement was seen highly controversial and complicated.
In February 2006, Thaksin dissolved Parliament and called a general legislative election for the House of Representatives in April 2006. Most major opposition parties boycotted the election, led by the Democrat Party. After the elections, King Bhumibol requested that the courts resolve the crisis. Soon afterwards, the Constitutional Court invalidated the elections based on the positioning of voting booths, and the Criminal Court later jailed members of the Election Commission that did not obey the Court's request to resign.
New elections were scheduled for 15 October 2006. This time, the opposition announced it was contesting the election, and numerous newly founded parties actively campaigned. The election was canceled following the military coup on September 19, 2006, which occurred while Thaksin was attending a United Nations summit in New York. Thaksin has since been in exile. The PAD dissolved itself 2 days after the coup, after announcing that their goal had been accomplished. Since then (February 2008), the PAD has vowed to resume protests if pro-Thaksin practices and policies of the Samak government were to become evident.
Apparently, critiques on Thaksin Shinawatra took place even before the Sondhi's movement. Severe critiques occurred around the Thaksin case of hidden assets, filed to the Constitutional Court. Thaksin escaped a guilty verdict with an 8-7 judicial vote.
Human rights abuses were also the cause of criticism. Thaksin's war on drugs became controversial when thousands of killings and murder cases were explained by the authority as "extrajudicial" and "revenge" on drug traffickers.
Besides the removal and a threat on Sondhi's program, freedom of the press became the focus. Sutthichai Yoon, another major critic, was filed a case against. In early 2006, the supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, claiming to be supported by the premier himself and his close figures, blockaded the entry of the Nation Group building, threatening to "burn" the building. Possibly the movement rallied by Sondhi, then became the focus of several anti-Thaksin groups.
Origins of the crisis
Context Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was embroiled in several controversies after assuming power following the 2001 election. These controversies included alleged conflicts of interest due to his family's holdings in the Shin Corporation and a violent crackdown on drug dealers. None of these controversies significantly impacted his popularity; he became the first elected prime minister to serve a full term and was re-elected in January 2005
Viroj Nualkhair controversy The origins of the crisis can be traced to the controversy surrounding Viroj Nualkhair, CEO of state-owned Krung Thai Bank (KTB). Viroj faced pressure to leave his position after KTB reported higher than expected levels of non-performing loans in 2004. Viroj was vigorously defended by Sondhi Limthongkul, a media tycoon who had previously been a staunch Thaksin supporter. As KTB CEO, Viroj had forgiven Sondhi's personal debts by 1.6 billion baht and arranged for further rounds of debt forgiveness. When Viroj was forced out of his position, Sondhi's public criticism of Thaksin started to increase.
The conflict escalates
The Sondhi-Thaksin conflict escalated when Sondhi's Channel 11/1 was temporarily ordered to stop broadcasting due to a contract dispute between cable operator UBC and the government regulator.
In September 2005, Sondhi made several on-air references to King Bhumibol Adulyadej that were characterized as disrespectful by the government and royalists. Among these references was a claim that the government's 2004 appointment of Somdet Phra Buddhacharya as acting Supreme Patriarch in place of the critically ill Somdet Phra Yanasangworn contravened the prerogative of the king. According to Thai ecclesiastic law, the Supreme Patriarch is nominated by the Sangha Supreme Council and formally appointed by the King. Somdet Phra Phuthacharn's appointment was vehemently opposed by Luang Ta Maha Bua, an influential monk with close affiliations to Sondhi. After discussions with the King's principal private secretary, Arsa Sarasin, MCOT executive, removed the program.
The Judiciary under the 1997 Constitution The Administrative and Constitutional Courts (the first in Thai history) were based on the French and Italian judicial systems, where the judge has direct authority and supervises the investigation into the facts of the case. This is in contrast to the civil and criminal justice systems in Thailand and most other countries, where the role of a judge is to examine the case based solely on the arguments of the prosecution and defense attorneys. The administrative court was set up to resolve complaints against misconduct, neglect, or outright abuse by bureaucratic and government agencies; the constitutional court, on the other hand, was set up to resolve conflicts regarding unconstitutional legislation.
The drafters of the 1997 Constitution, one of the most "democratic" constitutions, were quite farsighted by putting in a mechanism to resolve abuses and misconduct by people in authority. The Constitutional Court was not initially seen as important, and few anticipated that the nature of potential conflicts in legislation could be critical. As a result, more experienced judges did not see any prestige in taking a position within that judiciary.
Their oversight became glaring when Thaksin's 1st Asset Concealment case was brought to the Constitutional Court. His TRT party had just won the popular vote by a historic majority, but he had not completely disclosed his assets as required by the law. A false asset disclosure would normally disqualify someone from taking up any political post for five years, but Thaksin pleaded that it was just a clerical error. The judges voted narrowly, by a 7–8 margin, allowing Thaksin to take up the office of Prime Minister. Thaksin himself claimed that people had overwhelmingly voted for his party and his that wealth was diversified across many assets, and that the clerical error could probably be an "honest mistake".
Luang Ta Maha Bua incident On 27 September 2005, Manager Daily published a sermon by Luang Ta Maha Bua, a popular but controversial monk. Luang Ta Maha Bua, a former Thaksin supporter, delivered a sermon that was highly critical of the Prime Minister. The issue was controversial, in large part because it came from a monk who was one of Thailand's most revered temple abbots (who are above criticism in Buddhist Thailand) and who had organised several huge donations of solid gold to the Thai Treasury after the previous financial crisis. Especially controversial were the following quotes:
"They complained to me about PM Thaksin and Mr. Visanu and two other people that I don't remember. This is the big ogre [Thai: ตัวยักษ์ใหญ่], big power. Atrocious power will swallow our country, bite liver and lungs and aim for the presidency....He will put a torch to the country. He will never listen....This savagery and atrocity appear in every aspect of him.... All he has are things to be used for burning."
"He is clearly aiming for the presidency now. The monarch trampled, the religion trampled, the country trampled, by this savage and atrocious power in a few people in the government circle. That is the circle of ogres, of ghosts, of trolls, of demons [Thai:ยักษ์วงผีวงเปรตวงมาร], all in there....So even Devadatta saw the harm he caused, and he was rewarded for his good deed. He would attain Buddhahood [Thai:พระปัจเจกพุทธเจ้า]. For those who have made mistakes, if we see the harm we cause, we can still get by. But what is it with Thailand? What kind of governance?"
"They even dare to accuse Luangta Maha Bua of playing politics. Politics, dog shit [Thai:การบ้านการเมืองขี้หมาอะไร]. There's only shit all over the country. I brought Buddha's dharma to cleanse in order for them to repent and recognise good and evil. Because they're the government. The world flatters them as smart people, but don't be smart down the toilet [Thai:แต่อย่าฉลาดลงส้วมลงถาน]. Don't be smart about putting a torch to the head of everyone in the country, from Nation, Religion, and Monarchy on down. These guys will get burned unless they recognise the truth. I'm saddened by all this. How does this come about?"
On 11 October 2005, Thaksin sued Manager Daily for THB 500 million. As monks have traditionally been above criticism, Thaksin did not sue Luang Ta Maha Bua. "This is an exercise of an individual's right to protect his reputation and privacy. The newspaper did not criticise the prime minister fairly as a public official, but rather it took him to task personally, using harsh words, which was damaging to him," Thana Benjathikul, Thaksin's lawyer, said.
Thaksin was immediately attacked by critics and accused of gagging the press. Manager Daily owner Sondhi Limthongkul's lawyer, Suwat Apaipakdi, claimed that "every newspaper reproduced his [Luang Ta Maha Bua] comments. Why did Thaksin not sue him [Luang Ta Maha Bua]? He chose to sue only the Manager Media Group because it's linked to Khun Sondhi". Thaksin's legal team noted that other newspapers only published selected passages of the sermon, and furthermore, that a slanderous headline was used. Respected civil rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao noted that Thaksin's lawsuit did have merit. He added that the lawsuits "do not constitute an attack on freedom of the press".