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Thailand

Country in southeast Asia on the Gulf of Siam, bounded east by Laos and Cambodia, south by Malaysia, and west by Myanmar (Burma).

Government

Thailand has a multiparty democratic system, with a parliamentary executive and a monarch as head of state. However, in September 2006, a military coup resulted in suspension of the 1997 constitution, dissolution of the parliament, and power being concentrated in the hands of a junta. The junta appointed a 242-member legislature, including many soldiers, with a general as prime minister, and announced plans to draft a new constitution.

Thailand's head of state is its hereditary monarch. Under the 1997 constitution, the monarch can dissolve the legislature national assembly, veto bills (although the veto can be overridden by a two-thirds assembly majority), and appoint a prime minister and cabinet ministers, on the assembly's advice. The 1997 constitution established a two-chamber legislature (national assembly). It comprised a house of representatives, the Saphaphutan, with 500 members elected in single-member constituencies by universal suffrage on the first-past-the-post system for a four-year term, and a senate, the Wuthisapha, with 200 members popularly elected in provincial constituencies for six-year terms. The 1997 constitution set out a wide range of political, religious, and social rights.

History

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of modern Thailand was the centre of a significant Neolithic culture as early as 3500 BC, and of iron-working as early as 2000 BC.

Early empires

The Thai peoples were relatively late arrivals in the area. The earliest historical evidence suggests that the area was mostly under the control of the Funan Empire, centred on Cambodia, in the 5th century AD, although by the 7th century various kingdoms of Mon peoples had been established in the Chao Phraya valley. The northeast region on the other hand remained in the hands of the Khmer empires that followed Funan, notably that of Angkor after the 8th century.

The first Thai kingdoms

The Thais themselves began to move into their present territory in the 8th and 9th centuries from the kingdom of Nan Chao in the Yunnan area of southwest China. Small states were established in the 11th century, and in 1238 the first major kingdom was founded at Sukhothai in north-central Thailand. Mongol invasions of Nan Chao forced greater migrations, and, under King Rama Khamheng, Sukhothai expanded to overcome the Mon kingdoms of the lower Chao Phraya valley and extend its rule down the southern peninsula.

The Sukhothai kingdom was, however, short-lived, and by 1350 power had passed to the south where another prince, Ramatipadi, founded Ayuthya. From this capital much of Thailand became united, and the country was involved in a protracted power struggle with first Cambodia and then Burma (Myanmar). The contest with Burma was particularly long, and after successes on both sides it led in 1767 to the destruction of Ayuthya. Order in Thailand was subsequently restored, and in 1782 the present Chakri dynasty came to power in the new capital of Bangkok.

European contacts

Siam (as the country was known until 1939, and again in 1945-49) was reached by Portuguese traders in 1511. The 17th century witnessed the arrival of the British East India Company, the Dutch, and the French, and trading rivalries between the three countries developed rapidly. France was particularly active and sought domination in Siam, which brought a wary Siamese reaction.

This circumspection continued into the 19th century. Although a treaty of friendship and trade was signed with Britain in 1826, it was only with the accession of King Mongkut (Rama IV) in 1851 that Siamese attitudes changed. In 1855 another treaty was signed with Britain, establishing Britain as the paramount power in the region and opening Siam to foreign commerce. Similar arrangements with other powers followed.

Independence maintained

King Mongkut and his successor, King Chulalongkura (Rama V; reigned 1868-1910), employed Western advisers to assist in the modernization of the country's administration and commerce, and managed to maintain Siam's independence by playing off the British interests to the west and south against those of the French to the east. Anglo-French diplomatic agreements of 1896 and 1904 established Siam as a neutral buffer kingdom between the British territories of Burma and Malaya and French Indochina. Some territorial concessions were made by Siam in order to maintain its independence: the Laotian territories east of the River Mekong went to France along with the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap, while in 1909 rights to four Malay states of southern Siam were transferred to British Malaya.

Siam in the early 20th century

Siam remained a British sphere of influence in the early 20th century, becoming Britain's ally in World War I in 1917. After World War I a movement for national renaissance developed, and this, combined with the worldwide depression of the 1930s, precipitated a political coup against the absolute monarch King Prajadhipok in 1932. The coup created a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government, and the name of Muang Thai (‘land of the free’) was adopted for the country in 1939.

Throughout the 1930s politics were marked by considerable unrest and by increasing nationalism. In 1938 the pro-Japanese military leader Phibun Songkhram seized power. In 1940, taking advantage of the defeat of France and encouraged by Japan, Phibun annexed the Indochinese territories lost in 1893 and 1907. In December 1941 Japanese forces entered Thailand, requesting the right to advance through the country preparatory to their attack on British Malaya and Singapore. This was refused, but after a brief struggle Phibun signed a treaty with the Japanese, and by 1942 Thailand had declared war on the Allies. However, there was an anti-Japanese guerrilla movement, the Free Thai, which succeeded in forcing the resignation of Phibun in 1944.

Military control

After World War II Thailand restored the French territories and signed treaties with its former enemies. However, another period of unstable government followed, after the assassination of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) in 1946. The wartime leader Phibun Songkhram staged a military coup in 1947, and the army retained control during the next two decades, with the leader of the military junta periodically changed by a series of bloodless coups: Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram 1947-57, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat 1957-63, and Gen Thanom Kittikachorn 1963-73. The monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was only a figurehead.

Thailand followed a steady anti-communist line under the influence of its alliance with the USA, and was a founder member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). It encountered serious communist guerrilla insurgency along its borders with Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

There were brief periods of political liberalization, with elected assemblies in 1957-58 and 1968-71. The results were fractious and further military coups resulted. Thanom ruled through a National Executive Council until 1973, when growing unrest over foreign policy and the lack of basic freedoms led to student riots in Bangkok, culminating in the fall of the government in October. Free elections were held in 1975 and 1976. A series of coalition governments lacked stability, and in 1976 the armed forces, led by Admiral Chaloryoo, took over, with Thanin Kraivichien becoming prime minister.

The government succeeded in reorienting the country's foreign policy in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The USA withdrew all its substantial military presence in Thailand, and diplomatic relations were established with the communist regimes in China, North Korea, and Cambodia. Disputes with communist Laos and Vietnam continued, and Thailand remained firmly within the non-communist Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Towards civilian government

The army supreme commander, Gen Kriangsak Chomanan, held power 1977-80 and established a mixed civilian and military form of government under the monarch's direction. In October 1980, Kriangsak was deposed by Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, who retired from the army office and headed an elected civilian coalition government from 1983.

Prem ruled in a cautious apolitical manner and saw off attempted coups in April 1983 and September 1985. Under his stewardship, Thailand's economy boomed - growing at around 10% a year - and it emerged as an export-oriented, newly industrializing country.

Foreign affairs

The civil war in Cambodia and Laos, which resulted in the flight of more than 500,000 refugees to Thailand 1975-90, provided justification for a strong continuing military role in politics and maintenance of martial law. Thailand drew closer to its allies in the ASEAN, who jointly supported the Cambodian guerrilla resistance to the Vietnamese-imposed government. The country was drawn more deeply into the Cambodian civil war with the shelling July 1989 of a refugee camp in Thailand, but tensions eased after the Cambodian peace agreement of 1991.

The 1991 military coup

The 1988 general election brought to power the civilian, Chatichai Choonhavan, leader of the centre-right Thai Nation Party (Chart Thai) and economic growth continued. However, in February 1991 Chatichai was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by Gen Sunthorn Kongsompong, the supreme military commander, and army chief Gen Suchinda Kraprayoon. It was the country's 17th coup or attempted coup since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932. A civilian, Anand Panyarachun, became interim prime minister, but after new elections in March 1992, Gen Suchinda became prime minister.

Constitutional reforms and the return of democracy

Gen Suchinda's appointment sparked large pro-democracy street demonstrations, and he was forced to resign. In May 1992 the ruling coalition agreed to a package of constitutional reforms, including the proviso that the prime minister should not come from the ranks of the military. Anand became interim prime minister again in June 1992, pending new elections. These were held in September 1992 and were won by a Democrat coalition, which won 185 seats in the 360-member parliament. The coalition's leader, Chuan Leekpai, became prime minister.

In January 1995 further constitutional amendments were approved, lowering the voting age to 18, reducing the size of the senate, and giving women equal rights in law to men. However, the ruling coalition collapsed in May 1995 as a result of a land-reform scandal, and a general election was called.

Coalition governments, 1995-97

The opposition Thai Nation Party narrowly won the July 1995 general election, amid allegations of vote-buying in rural areas. The party's leader Banharn Silpa-archa formed a new seven-party coalition. In March 1996 Banharn Silpa-archa appointed a new 260-member senate - the first to be appointed by a democratically elected prime minister. Only 39 of its members were active military officers compared with 139 in the outgoing senate.

In September 1996 Banharn had to resign as prime minister after his coalition fell apart. The November 1996 general election - the fourth in four years - brought to power a reshuffled six-party coalition led by Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh of the New Aspiration Party (NAP).

In 1997 the country adopted a new constitution, the first to be drafted by a popularly-elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and it became known as the ‘People's Constitution’. For the first time, it provided for both houses of parliament to be popularly elected.

Thailand was hit in 1997 by a financial crisis that swept Asia and the value of the currency (the baht) more than halved, forcing its devaluation in July 1997. This undermined the ruling coalition, which broke up in November 1997. Chuan Leekpai became prime minister, heading a new Democratic Party-led coalition.

Economic reform

In February 1998, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai warned that the economy was expected to contract by 3.5% in 1998, as a result of the austerity measures instituted since the devaluation of the baht. He also announced that 500,000 foreign workers (drawn chiefly from neighbouring Myanmar) would be repatriated each year for the next three years; by April 1998, 100,000 had already been sent back. Plans to restructure the country's stricken financial institutions were unveiled in August 1998, and in September 1998, the IMF approved an aid package of US$135 million. The reforms proved to be successful, with gradual economic recovery in the following years.

Elections in 2001

The January 2001 general elections, the first held under the 1997 constitution, were the most open and relatively corruption-free in Thai history. They resulted in electoral success for the Thai Rak Thai (TRT; Thais Love Thais), a new party formed by Thaksin Shinawatra, a wealthy telecommunications tycoon. It initially won over half the seats in the 500-seat lower house, but after a rerun of disputed seats, the TRT fell short of an overall majority and had to form a coalition government with two other parties. TRT had run a populist campaign, promising a grant of 1 million baht for each of Thailand's 70,000 villages and a generous health insurance plan.

Thaksin's government was the first in Thai history to complete a four-year term. It did much to improve education, halved the level of poverty in rural areas (his main support base), and increased access to affordable health care. It followed a free-market economic policy, which stimulated growth.

In late December 2004, six southern provinces of Thailand were affected by the Indian ocean tsunami (earthquake leading to a tidal wave), which claimed more than 5,000 lives in coastal areas.

Elections in 2005 and 2006

Thaksin's TRT won a landslide victory in the February 2005 general election, with turnout at a record high of 72%. The TRT won 374 seats of the 500 seats in the lower house, with 61% of the vote, and its former coalition partner, the Thai Nation Party, 26 seats, while the opposition Democrat Party won only 96 seats.

Thaksin formed a single-party government. However, in February 2006 there were large rallies in Bangkok calling on Thaksin to resign. The opposition arose from allegations of corruption, Thaksin's authoritarian approach to governing, his stifling of media criticisms, and the government's failure to suppress an Islamic insurgency in the south that had cost over 1,300 lives since January 2004. However, the key criticism was the sale in January 2006 of his family's stake in Shin Corporation, which Thaksin had founded, to a Singapore corporation for US$1.9 billion in a way that exploited legal loopholes to avoid tax on the proceeds.

In February 2006, Thaksin called a snap general election for April 2006 in an effort to use his rural support to re-establish his mandate. However, the opposition parties announced that they would boycott any elections. Thaksin also lost the support of key allies, notably Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, a former deputy prime minister and governor of Bangkok, who led the ascetic Buddhist Dharma Army sect.

In March 2006, with protests escalating, Thaksin offered to form an all-party government of national unity after the election; but the opposition also rejected this. Thaksin's TRT won the April 2006 general election, but the opposition parties carried out their boycott and in more than half the constituencies the TRT candidate ran unopposed. With voting mandatory, 40% of voters expressed their opposition to Thaksin by making a ‘no vote’ or spoiling their ballot papers. In May 2006, the constitutional court ruled the elections to be invalid and that new elections be held in October 2006.

Military coup

On 19 September 2006, while Thaksin was in New York attending the UN General Assembly, the Thai army, led by Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, overthrew him in a bloodless military coup, in the name of the king and to maintain peace and order. This was because there were fears of major violence between pro- and anti-Thaksin demonstrators in a rally planned in Bangkok on 20 September. The constitution was put in abeyance, parliament dissolved, martial law declared (until early 2007), and ND media censorship imposed. However, the junta promised that new elections would be held within a year, based on a revised constitution.

In October 2007, the retired general, Surayud Chulanont, was appointed prime minister, heading a largely civilian cabinet. Thanksin, living in exile in the UK, announced his resignation from the TRT, for the good of the party. Surayud's government was faced with a mounting insurgency in the Muslim-dominated far south and a fall in the value of the currency, which led to the resignation of the finance minister, in February 2007.

Bangkok Cambodia

Chao Phraya Doi Inthanon

Laos Samut Prakan

Shinawatra, Thaksin Siam

Thai