Thousands of Thai supporters of an ousted prime minister rallied again Saturday to demand a royal pardon for their fugitive leader, amid concerns about the king's health. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch at age 81, has been hospitalised for almost a month. The health of the king, long seen as a sole unifying figure in Thailand, is an especially sensitive topic while the country suffers from political instability.
Police said nearly 9,000 demonstrators gathered outside the government compound housing the prime minister's office to support a petition filed with the monarchy in August to pardon former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin's ouster by a military coup in 2006 on accusations of corruption continues to cause unrest in Thailand as his supporters and opponents continue to vie for power, often taking their case to the streets.
About 3,000 policemen and soldiers were deployed at Saturday's rally. Thaksin himself is in self-imposed exile. In 2008, he was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for breaking a conflict-of-interest law. His Thai passport has been cancelled. "We are here to ask for justice, to correct what was wrong," Nattawut Sai-kua, a leader of the pro-Thaksin demonstrators, said Saturday. "He did not receive justice and we are here on his behalf."
Petitioning the monarchy for justice is part of Thai tradition. The king is a constitutional monarch with moral authority rather than legal power, but Thais have long looked to him to guide the country through troubled times. While few expect Saturday's protest to win Thaksin a pardon, the campaign has threatened to re-ignite tension between his supporters and opponents.
Thaksin's supporters, many from among the urban and rural poor, have rallied in the past to demand that the current prime minister resign. The king remains in a Bangkok hospital, where he has been since September 19 for fever, fatigue, lack of appetite and later lung inflammation. The length of his hospital stay and the lack of detailed information from the royal palace have created widespread concern and a dip in Thailand's stock market.
The king's youngest daughter, Princess Chulabhorn, told an audience at the Thai Embassy in Germany on Friday that her father is improving. Her comments, the first public ones by a member of the royal family, made headlines across Thailand on Saturday. "The doctors say there is no danger," Chulabhorn said, adding that the king is staying in the hospital for physical therapy.
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