Tension in Bangkok

Security will remain high in Bangkok next week in the aftermath of a court ruling that cemented the demise of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party eight months after it was thrown from power by the military. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party was found by judges on May 30 to have violated electoral legislation in 2006. However, in the midst of an extended political crisis, the dissolution of Thailand’s largest party -- and the first to win an absolute parliamentary majority – risks sparking further unrest.

The TRT’s main oppositionl, the Democrat Party, was cleared of charges linked to the same election. Bangkok has struggled to justify last year’s coup, despite initial support the military-government received as a welcome break from Thaksin’s divisive premiership. Political tension will rise -- making a return to democracy by year-end difficult and strengthening tendencies within the government towards short-term, and controversial, survival tactics.