My friend Lauren Becker is on her way to becoming a career missionary to Thailand. She has been to the country multiple times for ministry and to work on her master's degree, so she has a much better understanding of both Thai culture and politics than I do. Lauren wrote a brief summary about the current political situation and I found it so helpful that I wanted to share it on my own site.
CURRENT THAI POLITICS IN A NUTSHELL
By Lauren Becker
Two years ago (Sept 2006) there was a bloodless coup that deposed the prime minister, Thaksin. He was accused of a variety of charges, most involving money. People are upset with him and also with his political party. Thaksin and his wife fled the country and have been living in Great Britain (who recently revoked their visas).
The prime minister who followed Thaksin was Samak. Samak was accused of being Thaksin’s puppet in government, so in August and September, protesters gathered at the government buildings in Bangkok to try to remove Samak. They caught him on a technicality - he had been on TV, on a cooking show, and had received payment for doing so; courts deemed that it was payment as an employee, and it is illegal for the prime minister to have another job; thus, Samak was out.
The newest prime minister is Somchai. He is Thaksin’s brother-in-law (married to his sister). So, people still aren’t happy. Somchai is currently in Chiang Mai, because yesterday he flew into the country from Peru and could not land in Bangkok because of the closed airports. I have heard from friends in Thailand that the protesting party is on their way to Chiang Mai by train, and there may be trouble once they reach the city.
Please keep Thailand in your prayers during this time of unrest. Among the specific prayer requests Lauren listed are the following:
- For Thailand to have peace - no bloodshed, and a quick resolve to the political turmoil
- That in the midst of this struggle, people would turn to Jesus for TRUE peace
