Thailand's Guilty Prime Minister is Toppled

Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra waved farewell on Wednesday (May 7) after a court ruled she illegally demoted and promoted officials, but her popular party moved to fill the vacuum by nominating her commerce minister to be Thailand's next leader.

Mrs. Yingluck faced a hostile Constitutional Court which castigated her in a lengthy televised ruling after she shoved aside a quarrelsome national security head and installed one of her pliant relatives as Thailand's national police chief.

The much-criticized court -- and Thailand's constitution -- were both created as dominating legacies by the U.S.-trained military after it toppled Mrs. Yingluck's brother, prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in a bloodless 2006 coup.

"The prime minister's status has ended, Yingluck can no longer stay in her position acting as caretaker prime minister," a judge said.

The nine judges forced out Mrs. Yingluck and nine of her cabinet members for their involvement in the transfers.

But more than a dozen other cabinet politicians were allowed to remain in power in her Pheu Thai ("For Thais") party-led coalition.

"The cabinet has agreed to appoint [Commerce Minister] Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan to act as caretaker prime minister," Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana quickly announced.

Bangkok's pro-American, capitalist stance is not expected to change, but international investors are wearily looking elsewhere after nearly a decade of often-violent political, economic and social chaos.

The current confrontation is between Mrs. Yingluck's majority who want to increase elected politicians' power, against an onslaught by royalists, bureaucrats, the judiciary, the military and the middle class who favor less voters' rights and more appointed technocrats and other elite officials.

Mrs. Yingluck's remaining caretaker administration now hopes to run this polarized Buddhist country until a fresh nationwide election can be held, possibly in July.

But other court cases could sink the government, including allegations of negligence in Mrs. Yingluck's costly subsidized massive rice scheme which promised to help impoverished farmers.

Shortly after being found guilty, an emotional Mrs. Yingluck appeared on TV insisting she has never broken any law since becoming prime minister in a nationwide election victory in 2011.

She also won most of the votes in an insurrection-marred election in February.

But after that endorsement, the hostile court annulled her re-election because a minority of violent anti-government protesters successfully blockaded 10 percent of Thailand's polling booths.

"From now on, whatever status I have, I will follow the path of the democratic system, the rule of law, and will stand alongside with the people for good," Mrs. Yingluck said, waving farewell after her televised speech.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday (May 7) said she and nine cabinet members illegally transferred National Security Council secretary-general Thawil Pliensri in 2011 because he had been appointed by the opposition and was critical of her administration.

Mrs. Yingluck replaced Mr. Thawil on the council with then-National Police Chief Gen. Wichean Potephosree.

Mrs. Yingluck's relative, Police Gen. Priewpan Damapong, was then elevated to take Gen. Wichean's coveted post as national police chief.

After the court's ruling was announced, Mrs. Yingluck's Red Shirt supporters vowed online that thousands of them would rally in Bangkok against the "judicial coup" on May 10.

"We will not let the elite have it their way," the Reds tweeted, without elaborating.

Mrs. Yingluck and her Reds have also been suffering from anti-government protests which began in November, crippling Bangkok with street barricades, the occupation of official buildings, strikes and clashes which killed more than 23 people on all sides.

The anti-government politicians have been unable to win elections for the past 20 years, so they launched their "insurrection" to force Mrs. Yingluck's administration to collapse.

The loudest anti-government leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, has been dodging an arrest warrant on charges of alleged multiple murders committed during 2010 when he was a deputy prime minister in a previous government which opposed Mr. Thaksin and the Reds.

Mr. Suthep allegedly orchestrated the military to repeatedly shoot pro-Thaksin supporters, who were also firing back, resulting in more than 90 deaths -- most of them Reds and civilians campaigning for the elections which brought Mrs. Yingluck to power.

Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San Francisco, California, reporting news from Asia since 1978, and recipient of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondent's Award. He is a co-author of three non-fiction books about Thailand, including "Hello My Big Big Honey!" Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews; 60 Stories of Royal Lineage; and Chronicle of Thailand: Headline News Since 1946. Mr. Ehrlich also contributed to the final chapter, "Ceremonies and Regalia," in a new book titled King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life's Work: Thailand's Monarchy in Perspective.

His websites are
http://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/animists/sets
https://gumroad.com/l/RHwa

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