Back to square 1

For a considerable time, and despite the anti-democrat’s street shenanigans, PPT has been saying that the big political decisions will be for the judiciary and judicial-like “independent” institutions created by the decidedly non-independent clones of the military junta back in 2007.

Writing in an op-ed at the Bangkok Post, Songkran Grachangnetara notes the decline of the anti-democrats: “Like the yellow-shirt movement of years past, the PDRC’s vital organs are slowly shutting down, but its last act will be to work out how to die an honourable death.” He explains:

Firstly, the PDRC has utterly failed to achieve its main objective, namely ridding the country of the ill-defined concept of the “Thaksin regime”. If caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, her MPs and the Pheu Thai Party are to be disbanded or bulldozed like previous Thaksin-backed administrations of old, this cloak-and-dagger task will have to be completed by the courts, the National Anti-Corruption Commission or the real power behind the scenes, the army.

While there were times where we had some doubts, PPT has seldom thought that it would be the military to do this. We agree with Songkran when he observes:

… all our political roads will lead to the courts…. It will be these men in dark robes that will decide whether we march together towards general elections or whether we suspend democracy in favour of an “impartial” interim administration.

“Impartial” is hardly a word that comes to mind, not least for the judiciary. As Songkran says: “Our justice system has had its credibility seriously questioned with some very bizarre rulings.” He begs for impartiality, but he isn’t going to get it.