BANGKOK –Thailand's ruling Council for National Security (CNS) has consolidated a series of important political gains, reaffirming its control over the country's political future and emboldening its bid to remain in politics after democratic elections scheduled for later this year.
Last month's court-ordered dissolution of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party failed to instigate the mass protests and violent military response, as many political commentators had direly predicted. Instead, pro-Thaksin demonstrations quickly fizzled out under monsoon rains and a lack of popular support.
Meanwhile, the CNS-appointed Assets Examination Committee (AEC) recently froze nearly US$2 billion worth of Thaksin's and his family members' assets on corruption charges that could lead to the exiled former premier's extradition to Thailand. Apart from the Shinawatra family, so far no political group has publicly challenged the legality of the seizures.
After a disastrous beginning, the political momentum in Thailand has now clearly swung in the junta's favor, crucially as the country gears up for new democratic polls. CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratklin said in a speech on June 19 that the dissolution of TRT, the follow-up criminal charges against Thaksin and the transition to democracy were all part of his preordained political reform plan.
Full Story : Asia Times Online
Thai junta on the political offensive
Thai junta on the political offensive
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