Abhisit’s Oxford Education a ‘Liability’ Amid Emergency Decree

[Mentors]

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was born in the English city of Newcastle and attended Eton College and Oxford University. Opponents say his elite upbringing makes him ill-suited to heal social upheaval that forced him to declare a state of emergency for a second time.

 

Abhisit yesterday granted security forces powers to disperse thousands of protesters who capped a month of rallies by storming Parliament, forcing lawmakers to flee by helicopter. Many of the red-shirted demonstrators are loyal to exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire who won over the poor by giving them cheap health care and loans.

 

[color:red]“Abhisit’s Oxford education, while valuable at some levels, is now a liability,†said Suranand Vejjajiva, Abhisit’s cousin and a former spokesman for Thaksin’s party. “He thinks that by implementing programs for the poor he can win them over, but he’s missing the point. They see him as the representative of the elite, and they’re angry about injustice.â€Â[/color]

 

[color:red]The demonstrators, angered by one of Asia’s widest income gaps, say Abhisit embodies a privileged class of military officers, judges, bureaucrats and royal advisers that sits above the law. Using force now would underpin the notion of a double standard after anti-Thaksin rivals were allowed to seize Bangkok’s airports in 2008, said protest leader Weng Tojirakarn.[/color]

 

“We’re not afraid because what we’re doing is right,†he said by phone after Abhisit issued the emergency decree last night. “Even if they suppress us violently, they cannot stop what we believe.â€Â

 

In Thaksin’s northern Thailand stronghold, farmers say they see the southern-based ruling party as aloof. Kneeling around a campfire in Chiang Rai province last month, Noonai Binsamun said Abhisit’s party draws up policies from the comfort of Bangkok’s air-conditioned rooms rather than mingling upcountry with the poor to hear their grievances.

 

“We don’t need a higher education to tell right from wrong,†said Noonai, a 53-year-old rice farmer. “Abhisit can speak very well and has some good ideas, but he can’t change the double standards in society.â€Â

 

In 2007, Abhisit’s Democrat party won 6 of 176 seats in the north and northeast, home to 40 percent of Thailand’s 67 million people. Per capita income in those areas is about a third of that in Bangkok, where he won 75 percent of seats.

 

Abhisit, who moved from his downtown residence to an army barracks last month because of safety concerns, says protesters have violated the constitution. The emergency decree bans gatherings of more than five people, allows detention without charge and gives soldiers immunity from prosecution.

[color:red]The government today blocked access to the Web site of the main opposition group. The site had been hosting live video and audio of speeches by leaders of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship.[/color]

 

The protests hadn’t spooked investors. The SET Index rose 9 percent this year while the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 5.8 percent. The SET dropped 1.6 percent as of 11:29 a.m. Bangkok time, mirroring declines across Asia. The baht is trading close to a 22-month high.

 

Thailand’s industrial production rose for a sixth month in February. The Finance Ministry on March 29 raised its growth forecast for this year to as much as 5 percent. The $261-billion economy contracted 2.3 percent in 2009.

 

Since 1946, when King Bhumibol Adulyadej took the throne as an 18-year-old, Thailand has seen nine coups and more than 20 prime ministers. Only two of 17 constitutions since absolute monarchy ended in 1932 have mandated parliaments that are entirely elected. The king, who is revered across the nation, has been in hospital since Sept. 19 and hasn’t spoken publicly about the current demonstrations.

 

[color:red]Abhisit himself has never won a national election: He was picked by legislators in December 2008 after a court dissolved the pro-Thaksin ruling party for election fraud. The decision coincided with the seizure of Bangkok’s airports by protesters wearing yellow shirts who supported Abhisit.[/color]

 

Born in northeast England because his father was studying there, Abhisit went to Satit Chula, an elementary school linked to Chulalongkorn University, Thailand’s oldest institution of higher learning. He moved back to England to attend Eton, founded by King Henry VI in 1440, and then Oxford. One of his friends and classmates: London Mayor Boris Johnson. He entered politics in 1992, a year after the military appointed his father to serve in the Cabinet following a coup.

 

As prime minister, Abhisit, 45, has pumped money into the countryside, giving cash handouts, waiving fees for schoolbooks, offering free health care and providing income guarantees for farmers.

 

The policies aim to bridge an income gap that is greater than those in China and India, the World Bank said in a November report. The richest 20 percent of the population earn about 55 percent of the income while the poorest fifth get 4 percent, the study showed.

 

Thaksin and his allies have won the past four elections. The former leader has orchestrated protests from overseas since fleeing a Thai jail sentence in 2008. Abhisit must call elections by the end of 2011.

 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-08/abhisit-s-oxford-education-a-liability-amid-emergency-decree.html

[WorldFun]

double standards or not as mentioned in another article the people wearing red now are not much different than those wearing yellow a couple of years ago, BUT a major difference that many seem to conveniently neglect is the numbers behind the demonstrators be it on the street as much as in the general public particularly in bkk...

 

so the yellows were able & got away with camping at government & airports for weeks coz they had much bigger crowd (200k+?) & maybe ~half the population behind them while now ~few 10's of thousands & back in core provinces barely a few bother to show up at citi hall as req. by the reds?

how many % in general public/bkk behind the reds - 10, 20, 30% tops - thus no mandate so go home please - you had your victory/chance in the talks of a election in 9 months, but it was refused so now Abhasit will go the full monty not that he's awesome, but best option right now by far

[Stickman]

My feeling is that the reds have more support than the yellows did. Just a feeling.

 

200K yellows at the airport? I doubt it!

 

There were 10s of thousands at the red shirt rally at Rajaprasong last night and I bet at least as many as yellows at the airport.

 

Bangkok is the home of yellows. For the reds, they have to travel a long way to get here although Bangkok does have a large migrant workforce, many of whom would probably be reds.

 

[Flashermac]

The main red force occupying the city consists of farmers - who have nothing better to do this time of the year. The yellow folks by and large have some sort of job in the city. They cannot simply take off when they feel like it. Nevertheless, I'm certain the Reds must outnumber the Yellows, since there are more farmers than urban working people of all classes.

 

Oh, yeah ... it was really nice of the Business Week reporter only to ask Thaksin supporters for a nice unbiased opinion about Abhisit. Oh, and "Thaksin and his allies have won the past four elections ..." - check the facts, ya bloody wanker! They won a majority in only ONE of the last four (credit to him for that). One election was thrown out as invalid (the boycotted election) and the other two the Takkyites had to form COALITIONS.

 

<< Abhisit himself has never won a national election: He was picked by legislators in December 2008 after a court dissolved the pro-Thaksin ruling party for election fraud. >>

 

Same same as Samak and Somchai were picked by legislators to become PM. That's the way it has always worked, except for the one time Takky really did gain a majority (2005).

 

 

[Mentors]

double standards or not as mentioned in another article the people wearing red now are not much different than those wearing yellow a couple of years ago

 

i wonder me why the Yellows do not protest now again.

Sometimes i asking me, if the Reds and Yellows maybe are the same group of "actors"?

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

I've heard rumours that some of them are, though I doubt they account for a very large percent of the Red street sitters.

 

All this crappola about the Yellows being mostly urban middle class is nonsense. I've seen both Red and Yellow and the majority are poor folks, wherever they come from (city or muban).

 

 

[Guest lazyphil]

someone once very close to me is a native bkkian i.e. not issan migrant and told me a yellow shirter and hates taksin.....certainly not bkk elite background....in fact i find it hilarious when folk blab on about bkk being elite countryside poor.....i mean are all londoners from parklane??

[shygye]

It is usual to describe the party that garnered the most MPs as winning the election.

[Flashermac]

It is not a class split; it is a geographical one. Thais have always looked down on people from other parts of the country. The stereotypes: northerners are lazy, Isaan folk are stupid, Bangkok people are dishonest, southerners are hot tempered and can't be trusted.

 

Look at the way the parties break down - north and Isaan versus Bangkok and the south. The central region and southeast sort of get overlooked, but they are certainly not Thaksin country.

 

Ironically, the leaders of all the political parties are Chinese-Thais. You might think the ethnic Thais would notice that and wonder, but ... nah.

 

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

It is usual to describe the party that garnered the most MPs as winning the election.

 

 

Fair enough. BTW Al Gore got the most votes for President in 2000.