theSun | TUESDAY APRIL 14 2009
news without borders
Both sides have driven each
other into a corner where
everything is at stake and
neither can afford to lose.”
- Nelson
capital represented a political revolution that
will not be quelled by military action.
“Upcountry people have had the role of
obedient children, they have never been fig-
ured in as a genuine political force and this
has changed tremendously in the past few
years,” he said.
“So even though you might resolve the
events here in Bangkok, the deeper political
structures emerging, and the tremendous
experience the Reds have gained, will not
go away.”
British-born Abhisit has only been in pow-
er since December, when a court turfed out
the previous pro-Thaksin government, but
like those before him, he has failed to come
good on his promise to unite the country.
Thailand’s fourth prime minister in the
space of a year, analysts say Abhisit’s own per-
sonal fate matters less than the need to find a
long-term solution that will restore peace once
and for all. Without it, tourists and foreign
investors will increasingly be scared off, ob-
servers say, further hurting the Thai economy
as it hurtles towards recession, which in turn
would only result in more strife.
In the glare of the global media, the Red
Shirts stormed the venue of an Asian sum-
mit in the beach town of Pattaya on Saturday,
forcing a humiliating cancellation and the
evacuation of visiting leaders – some by
helicopter. But the embattled premier is ham-
strung as he attempts to close down the Red
Shirt protests, facing charges of hypocrisy af-
ter the Yellow Shirts operated with impunity,
even closing down Bangkok’s airport for nine
days last year. – AFP
A Buddhist monk talks to a soldier in Bangkok
yesterday.
9
Susilo’s
party may
extend
Golkar tie-up
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bam-
bang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party will hold
coalition talks with the Golkar Party and it
would be “natural” to extend the existing
alliance, a top Democrat Party official said
yesterday.
Leaders of various political parties have
already held a flurry of talks in a rush to
start building powerful pacts ahead of the
presidential election on July 8.
The Democrat Party won the most votes,
at around 20%, in Thursday’s election, ac-
cording to a partial offi cial count, but will
still have to form a coalition for the presi-
dential vote that Susilo is tipped to win.
“What is clear is that until now we have
and are in a coalition with Golkar,” said Andi
Mallarangeng, who is one of the heads of
the Democrat Party.
“Therefore of course it is natural if
we continue the cooperation again,” he
added.
Indonesian stocks and the rupiah
jumped yesterday, as analysts saw the result
as setting the stage for continued stability
in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Mallarangeng said that Susilo and Vice-
President Jusuf Kalla, who is Golkar’s chair-
man, had already held discussions.
“There will be meetings, which are more
intensive, between the two parties to dis-
cuss details,” added Mallarangeng, who is
also a presidential spokesman.
Mallarangeng said that any coalition
would have to be based on a clear set of
rules to ensure effective government.
Susilo, a reform-minded former general,
has said he would welcome all parties but
stressed the need for a formal coalition
where members were committed to the
same platform.
The president’s reform efforts were
partly thwarted by his less reform-minded
ministers from other political parties during
his first term in office.
Golkar, the long-time political vehicle for
Suharto, the country’s late autocratic ruler,
is currently the biggest party in parliament,
but saw its support drop from more than
20% to around 14% last week, in line with
former President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s
PDI-P party.
The Democrats almost tripled their vote
from 7.5% in 2004, as Yudhoyono has deliv-
ered strong economic growth and brought
relative peace and stability to the world’s
most populous Muslim nation, which also
has sizeable religious minorities.
If Yudhoyono sticks with his current
alliance with Golkar and Islamist parties,
analysts said this would likely mean a rela-
tively slow pace of reform.
But they still expect market-friendly
policies, particularly if Susilo keeps his
respected finance minister, Sri Mulyani
Indrawati, and other technocrats in the
cabinet. – Reuters