Thailand

SOS Children's first Village in Thailand was built in Bangkok in 1972, and since then, four more villages have been established. In December 2006, the fourth SOS Village was opened in Chiang Rai, close to the northern borders with Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. The opening of the Village was a landmark for the charity, being the 450th SOS Children's Village to be opened around the world. … more about our charity work in Thailand

Ousted Thai PM calls on king to quell unrest

Apr 16, 2009 01:00 PM

Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday called on the king, to help end the political chaos that erupted into violent protests.

Thailand has revoked Thaksin's passport, saying he helped spark the unrest from his self-imposed exile. His supporters forced the cancellation of an Asian summit last weekend, and two people were killed in the violence in Bangkok."I have urged his majesty to intervene. He is the only person that can intervene in this incident, otherwise the violence will become wider and also the confrontation would be more and more," Thaksin told French broadcaster France 24.

King Bumibol Adulyadej, seen by many Thais as semi-divine is widely respected among Thais, whatever their political affiliation."I would like to urge his majesty ... that he would step in to help reconciliate the country," Thaksin said.He said he would continue to give "moral support" to the protesters in Thailand.Thailand's fresh political dramas will inflict huge tourism losses, weigh down the stock market, and clip growth in an economy already in crisis from the global downturn, analysts said yesterday."The government must work hard to restore political stability in Thailand quickly. The next three months will be critical," Thanavath Phonvichai from the Thai Chamber of Commerce's economic and forecasting unit told the news agency Agence France Presse (AFP).

A successful military campaign to get the demonstrators to disperse is seen as strengthening current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva's hand against ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who is plotting to return to power.“I don't think that the conflict has ended with the army intervening on behalf of the prime minister. Eventually the issue needs to be settled once and for all," Citibank regional economist Jun Trinidad told AFP.

In three years the kingdom has endured a military coup that deposed Thaksin and numerous mass protests by his foes and allies, while the courts have ruled to oust two other prime ministers."We do not expect recent events to undermine confidence significantly for the simple fact that there was so little confidence to begin with," said Mark Williams, an economist at Capital Economics.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children

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