Thailand’s Government Faces More Protests
To quote a line from an Irving Berlin song, ‘there may be trouble ahead’ for the Thai government as a wave of protests sweep the length and breadth of Thailand.
Recently, thousands of Thai fishermen have been forced to keep their boats ashore because of the high fuel costs and some have resorted to burning their boats in protest at the government’s failure to help with fuel subsidies. It isn’t just the fishermen who are suffering and yesterday saw numerous demonstrations in Thailand, from Mae Hong Son in the north right down to Songkhla in the Deep South as farmers, truck drivers and taxi drivers all took their own separate grievances to the streets. The common denominator in the protests is the rise in the cost of living caused by ever increasing fuel and food prices and the perceived lack of government action. With more demonstrations being planned for next week, some roads to Bangkok could be blocked by trucks as haulage companies and lorry drivers seek a fuel subsidy and help with loans to convert vehicles away from expensive diesel to cheaper natural compressed gas.
This all comes at a time when Bangkok is experiencing a prolonged anti-government protest from the People’s Alliance for Democracy. Much of the flak is being aimed at Prime Minister Samak who is also facing criticism about his leadership from within the coalition government and his position is looking increasingly weak.