TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Thai Court Ousts Prime Minister

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: September 10, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand - A Thai court removed the prime minister Tuesday for taking pay to host a TV cooking show, setting off wild celebrations by protesters occupying his office compound. But rejoicing could be short-lived: The ruling party vowed to put him back in power.

The Constitutional Court's ruling took Samak Sundaravej at least temporarily out of the cross hairs of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a rightist movement that seized the Government House complex two weeks ago seeking to force the prime minister's resignation.

But the ruling seemed unlikely to end the political crisis brought on by the alliance's demands for a sea change in Thai politics, beginning with Samak's ouster and eventually moving Thailand away from democracy in favor of a mostly appointed legislature.

After the verdict, Samak's political party vowed to re-elect him as prime minister, as allowed by law.

The alliance and its sympathizers - monarchists, the military and the urban elite - call Samak a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced from office by an army coup in 2006 and recently fled to Britain to avoid corruption charges.

The anti-Samak movement argues that Western-style one man, one vote democracy gives too much weight to Thailand's poor rural majority. It says the poor are susceptible to vote buying.

For now, the 73-year-old Samak has been undone by being host on a popular TV cooking show, "Tasting and Complaining."

He was host for seven years before becoming prime minister, but he made several appearances after taking office, which the court said violated a constitutional prohibition on private employment while in office.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT