9th Commentary - Political upheaval in Asia
This commentary is based on the articles "Thaksin dissolves Parliament, calls for snap polls on April 2", "Arroyo declares state of emergency after foiled coup bid", both dated 25th February 2006, as well as other related articles from more recent dates.
The main issue of this two articles is about the political chaos in the countries of Thailand and the Philippines.
In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin has been called to step down by his political opponents, and a large number of other people. This issue arose after the sale of Shin Corp stakes owned by Mr Thaksin to Temasek. However, it seems to me that the issue of the Temasek deal is not really the cause of the uproar, but something like a catalyst for people who had reasons to want Mr Thaksin to step down for different reasons of their own to use. Such protests show high levels of disapproval of Mr Thasksin's rule, yet it does not show the whole story, as articles do state that he still retains much support from the rural poor. This would then make it seem to me like a divide between the urban population and the rural population. Furthermore, the entire issue can also be seen as a political move by the opposition parties to rally support against Mr Thaksin and his party. But no matter what the cause, it is necessary, in my opinion, that Mr Thaksin solves the problem as quickly and as peacefully as possible. Such actions are not easy to make either - the oppositions' boycott of the elections could cause even more chaos. Such chaos would definitely be bad for Thailand, not only politically but possibly even economically, as trade needs stability to function well. The chaos may even bring harm to the entire region. Thus, it is important that the situation is stabilized quickly.
The same can be said for the political problems in the Philippines, where President Arroyo continues to struggle against attempts to remove her from power. The chaos there can be said to be much worse than that of Thailand, as the situation has been worsening for some time, with coup attempt after coup attempt. The declaration of state of emergency has caused some parties to feel unhappy, so Mrs Arroyo needs to be cautious with her actions, in order to prevent worse problems. So far, it does seem that Mrs Arroyo has managed to keep a stable hold on her power, but if the people continue to be disgruntled by her rule, the situation could worsen, and that could be very bad for the already weakened economy. Thus, it is vital that Mrs Arroyo takes the right steps and re-stablize both the political and economic situations in the Philippines.
The problems in the two countries are similar and yet different in many ways. But overall, regaining stability is probably the most important thing for both countries, as chaos, if unchecked, can spread. That would be very bad for the region.
The main issue of this two articles is about the political chaos in the countries of Thailand and the Philippines.
In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin has been called to step down by his political opponents, and a large number of other people. This issue arose after the sale of Shin Corp stakes owned by Mr Thaksin to Temasek. However, it seems to me that the issue of the Temasek deal is not really the cause of the uproar, but something like a catalyst for people who had reasons to want Mr Thaksin to step down for different reasons of their own to use. Such protests show high levels of disapproval of Mr Thasksin's rule, yet it does not show the whole story, as articles do state that he still retains much support from the rural poor. This would then make it seem to me like a divide between the urban population and the rural population. Furthermore, the entire issue can also be seen as a political move by the opposition parties to rally support against Mr Thaksin and his party. But no matter what the cause, it is necessary, in my opinion, that Mr Thaksin solves the problem as quickly and as peacefully as possible. Such actions are not easy to make either - the oppositions' boycott of the elections could cause even more chaos. Such chaos would definitely be bad for Thailand, not only politically but possibly even economically, as trade needs stability to function well. The chaos may even bring harm to the entire region. Thus, it is important that the situation is stabilized quickly.
The same can be said for the political problems in the Philippines, where President Arroyo continues to struggle against attempts to remove her from power. The chaos there can be said to be much worse than that of Thailand, as the situation has been worsening for some time, with coup attempt after coup attempt. The declaration of state of emergency has caused some parties to feel unhappy, so Mrs Arroyo needs to be cautious with her actions, in order to prevent worse problems. So far, it does seem that Mrs Arroyo has managed to keep a stable hold on her power, but if the people continue to be disgruntled by her rule, the situation could worsen, and that could be very bad for the already weakened economy. Thus, it is vital that Mrs Arroyo takes the right steps and re-stablize both the political and economic situations in the Philippines.
The problems in the two countries are similar and yet different in many ways. But overall, regaining stability is probably the most important thing for both countries, as chaos, if unchecked, can spread. That would be very bad for the region.
posted by Raylen at 10:30 PM
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