Thailand: Gangsters Who Do a Little Islamic Terrorism on the Side
6th February 2016
The military continues to be vague about exactly when they will once more allow elections and the return of democracy. Best estimate now is late 2017, maybe. There is growing foreign pressure from neighbors (except China) and the West. Worse since September 2015 the pro-democracy populists (the “red shirts”) have largely ceased demonstrations. The populists did so to demonstrate that there was no “violent opposition” to justify continued military rule. The red shirts are waiting for the military government to allow elections which is what Thai military governments all eventually do. The May 2014 coup came after months of political protests in the capital and those tensions remain but the army is definitely in control. Despite that the economy is not doing as well as people expect and the military government is blamed. In the past this sort of thing played a large role in persuading the generals to allow elections again and that seems to be happening again.