December 2nd, 2008, 06:22
Court to Complicate Crisis
Outbound Goods are Piling Up and Rotting
Ratings are Being Cut
Asean May Go To Indonesia
www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asect ... 2210.story (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-standoff1-2008dec01,0,3432210.story)
Court may not be able to end Thailand crisis
Travelers and luggage pack Utapao International Airport about 100 miles south of Bangkok, whose two main airports have been taken over by protesters.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule in a campaign fraud case involving three political parties. It could please anti-government protesters but also stir up counterdemonstrations.
December 1, 2008
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- With a deepening political crisis draining millions of dollars from the economy by the hour, government opponents hope a court can break a deadlock that politicians, police and the military have failed to resolve.
But the court ruling they seek may be cause only for more turmoil.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule as early as Tuesday whether three parties in Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's coalition, including his own People Power Party, should be dissolved for alleged electoral fraud.
A ruling against the government and its allies, which would be welcomed by demonstrators who have seized two major airports to press for Somchai's ouster, is likely to provoke counter-protests from his supporters.
Pro-government leaders, who call their movement the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship, suggested at a rally Sunday that the court was conspiring with the opposition by moving up the date for a ruling. They have threatened to drive the opposition from the airports if police fail to do so.
Many Thais, who don't fall into either the yellow-shirted opposition alliance or the red-shirted camp backing Somchai's government, suffer through their country's continued political instability.
For months now, each apparent solution has ushered in a new crisis, and more bloodshed. Grenade attacks on anti-government demonstrators are almost a daily event, and tensions are growing as rival camps threaten to assault each other and rumors of an impending coup spread.
The demonstrators regard Somchai as a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law. Thaksin was overthrown in a coup in 2006, fled overseas and was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison on corruption charges. The opposition says the National Assembly put Somchai in office in September at Thaksin's bidding.
Somchai is trying to govern from the northern city of Chiang Mai, about 400 miles from Bangkok, the capital, and his spokesman suggested early in the crisis that he was staying there because he fears for his safety.
The army's commander said last week that he would not lead a coup to oust Somchai because it was unlikely to solve the political stalemate. But as the economic damage mounts -- the airport standoffs are costing the country $57 million to $85 million a day, according to the Federation of Thai Industries -- so does pressure from some quarters on the military to intervene.
Bangkok's 2-year-old, $3.8-billion Suvarnabhumi Airport has been shut down since Tuesday night, when thousands of protesters seized the buildings from police who put up little resistance. Two days later, demonstrators shut down the capital's older, domestic Don Muang airport as well.
Tens of thousands of travelers stranded in Thailand by the airport standoffs continued their slow, frustrating exodus Sunday from Utapao International Airport, about 100 miles south of Bangkok, which normally handles a small number of flights from two Thai airlines and charters bring vacationers to the nearby resort city of Pattaya.
Officials say 88 aircraft, from numerous foreign and Thai airlines, are stuck at Suvarnabhumi. Some of the thousands of tourists who were in the airport's departure lounge when protesters surged through police lines Tuesday have been holed up in hotels, angrily awaiting flights out.
Sunday, as a crush of tourists tried to leave from Utapao, many of whom had to camp out for at least a night, several thousand new visitors arrived on incoming flights. They streamed into the small terminal past scores of Muslims, many of them veiled women, who were napping, eating and chatting on the floor, desperate to fly out in time to reach Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Teams of immigration officers worked from a few office desks set up to handle the extra load. Travelers crowded around a single luggage belt searching for their suitcases as colored lights winked on a small, artificial Christmas tree apparently intended to add some holiday cheer.
The airport is on a naval base, from which U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers launched airstrikes during the Vietnam War.
At midday Sunday, dozens of Thai troops dozed in the shade of trees at the base's main gate, their assault rifles and helmets strewn about on the grass as hundreds of taxis, double-decker tour buses and other vehicles choked the two-lane road into the airport, inching toward the terminal.
At least 20 commercial airliners lined the tarmac. Most aircraft, including two 747s, belonged to the country's biggest passenger airline, Thai Airways International. But jets from several foreign carriers were present, including those from Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Russia's Aeroflot and Taiwan's EVA Air.
A FedEx jet was the lone foreign cargo plane, not enough to make a noticeable dent in the millions of dollars' worth of perishable and other export goods that are piling up in freight warehouses, waiting for flights out.
marketwatch.com/news/story/SP-Fitch-cut-Thailands-ratings/story.aspx?guid=%7B19E89F8C-1459-4C6D-AB42-2A1B0624536C%7D
S&P, Fitch cut Thailand's ratings outlook to negative
MarketWatch
Last update: 4:17 p.m. EST Dec. 1, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Two ratings agencies cut Thailand's ratings outlook to negative Monday, warning that escalating political turmoil in the Southeast Asian nation is hurting the economy and raising the risk of widespread violence.
Thailand's long-running political crisis has deepened in recent days after anti-government protesters shut down Bangkok's two main airports last week, stranding 300,000 foreigners, according to the Associated Press. See a special report on Thailand.
The protesters, who are members of the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy, are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, but he has refused to step down and has stayed away from the capital since last week.
In Bangkok Monday, the benchmark stock index fell 2.7%. It has tumbled 54% this year.
Standard & Poor's revised its outlook Monday on Thailand's sovereign credit ratings to negative from stable, saying that the recent occupation of Bangkok's two main airports by anti-government protesters has increased the risks to sovereign creditworthiness.
"It has caused serious disruptions to economic activities in the kingdom and raises the possibility of widespread violence markedly," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kim Eng Tan. "These developments will add to the negative pressures of a global slowdown on Thailand's economy."
Tan said that Thailand's ratings could be lowered if economic performance weakens sharply as a result of the political turmoil, causing government finances to deteriorate seriously or banks' asset quality to worsen markedly.
S&P also revised Monday the ratings outlooks on Bangkok Bank PCL and United Overseas Bank (Thai) PCL to negative from stable.
Fitch also cuts outlook
Fitch Ratings also lowered Thailand's ratings outlook to negative from stable.
"The extended period of political turmoil surrounding Thailand's leadership shows no sign of resolution, and may undermine Thai sovereign credit fundamentals, especially as the global economy enters recession," said Vincent Ho, associate director in the agency's sovereign group.
"It is a concern that, in the absence of effective and credible political leadership, economic policy could be either neglected or ineffective at a time when policy stimulus is likely required to address a sharp economic correction," Ho said.
Fitch forecasts gross domestic product growth of 0.9% in 2009, which would be the lowest since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which started in Thailand. Fitch also revised Monday the outlook on Thai energy giant PTT PCL's ratings to negative from stable.
in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-36806320081201
Indonesia offers to host ASEAN meetings for Thailand
Mon Dec 1, 2008 6:51pm IST
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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has offered to step in to host some Southeast Asian ministerial meetings due to be held next month in Thailand because of the political crisis in its neighbour, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday.
Thailand has said a final decision on the Dec. 13-17 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asian meetings is due on Tuesday, a week after anti-government protesters first blockaded Bangkok's international airport.
"I will propose at the cabinet meeting tomorrow to postpone the summit to March as we can't open our airport for leaders' planes to land yet," Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat told reporters on Monday.
Indonesia and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan were offering to hold the foreign ministers' meeting of the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc and three East Asian dialogue partners in the ASEAN Secretariat offices in Jakarta, Yudhoyono said.
A finance ministers meeting could be held in Bali, he added.
"Those events are important to officially introduce the ASEAN Charter and formulate joint action to overcome the global financial crisis," Yudhoyono told a news conference.
"I myself hope that the summit will be in Thailand, but if in the near future it is not possible, then the official introduction of the ASEAN Charter would be good to be done," he added, adding that it was also important to discuss a pool of currency swap lines called the Chiang Mai Initiative.
There are concerns that delays could complicate bringing the ASEAN Charter, which aims to set up a political, economic and social bloc of half a billion people, into force in mid December.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Continued...
The group's dialogue partners China, Japan and South Korea are also due to attend the meetings next month.
Surin said on Sunday Thailand was "running short" of time as it prepared to host the summit next month while tackling a major political crisis.
He stopped short of urging Bangkok to postpone it, but said a delay would allow the group to "prepare better" for the summit
The occupation of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and the city's older domestic terminal by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement have dramatically escalated Thailand's three-year old political crisis.
The venue for the ASEAN summit was moved to the northern city of Chiang Mai, far away from the PAD's Bangkok base, well before this week's protests.
But the chaos in Bangkok has put pressure on ASEAN to seek a postponement.
Outbound Goods are Piling Up and Rotting
Ratings are Being Cut
Asean May Go To Indonesia
www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asect ... 2210.story (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-standoff1-2008dec01,0,3432210.story)
Court may not be able to end Thailand crisis
Travelers and luggage pack Utapao International Airport about 100 miles south of Bangkok, whose two main airports have been taken over by protesters.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule in a campaign fraud case involving three political parties. It could please anti-government protesters but also stir up counterdemonstrations.
December 1, 2008
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- With a deepening political crisis draining millions of dollars from the economy by the hour, government opponents hope a court can break a deadlock that politicians, police and the military have failed to resolve.
But the court ruling they seek may be cause only for more turmoil.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule as early as Tuesday whether three parties in Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's coalition, including his own People Power Party, should be dissolved for alleged electoral fraud.
A ruling against the government and its allies, which would be welcomed by demonstrators who have seized two major airports to press for Somchai's ouster, is likely to provoke counter-protests from his supporters.
Pro-government leaders, who call their movement the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship, suggested at a rally Sunday that the court was conspiring with the opposition by moving up the date for a ruling. They have threatened to drive the opposition from the airports if police fail to do so.
Many Thais, who don't fall into either the yellow-shirted opposition alliance or the red-shirted camp backing Somchai's government, suffer through their country's continued political instability.
For months now, each apparent solution has ushered in a new crisis, and more bloodshed. Grenade attacks on anti-government demonstrators are almost a daily event, and tensions are growing as rival camps threaten to assault each other and rumors of an impending coup spread.
The demonstrators regard Somchai as a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law. Thaksin was overthrown in a coup in 2006, fled overseas and was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison on corruption charges. The opposition says the National Assembly put Somchai in office in September at Thaksin's bidding.
Somchai is trying to govern from the northern city of Chiang Mai, about 400 miles from Bangkok, the capital, and his spokesman suggested early in the crisis that he was staying there because he fears for his safety.
The army's commander said last week that he would not lead a coup to oust Somchai because it was unlikely to solve the political stalemate. But as the economic damage mounts -- the airport standoffs are costing the country $57 million to $85 million a day, according to the Federation of Thai Industries -- so does pressure from some quarters on the military to intervene.
Bangkok's 2-year-old, $3.8-billion Suvarnabhumi Airport has been shut down since Tuesday night, when thousands of protesters seized the buildings from police who put up little resistance. Two days later, demonstrators shut down the capital's older, domestic Don Muang airport as well.
Tens of thousands of travelers stranded in Thailand by the airport standoffs continued their slow, frustrating exodus Sunday from Utapao International Airport, about 100 miles south of Bangkok, which normally handles a small number of flights from two Thai airlines and charters bring vacationers to the nearby resort city of Pattaya.
Officials say 88 aircraft, from numerous foreign and Thai airlines, are stuck at Suvarnabhumi. Some of the thousands of tourists who were in the airport's departure lounge when protesters surged through police lines Tuesday have been holed up in hotels, angrily awaiting flights out.
Sunday, as a crush of tourists tried to leave from Utapao, many of whom had to camp out for at least a night, several thousand new visitors arrived on incoming flights. They streamed into the small terminal past scores of Muslims, many of them veiled women, who were napping, eating and chatting on the floor, desperate to fly out in time to reach Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Teams of immigration officers worked from a few office desks set up to handle the extra load. Travelers crowded around a single luggage belt searching for their suitcases as colored lights winked on a small, artificial Christmas tree apparently intended to add some holiday cheer.
The airport is on a naval base, from which U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers launched airstrikes during the Vietnam War.
At midday Sunday, dozens of Thai troops dozed in the shade of trees at the base's main gate, their assault rifles and helmets strewn about on the grass as hundreds of taxis, double-decker tour buses and other vehicles choked the two-lane road into the airport, inching toward the terminal.
At least 20 commercial airliners lined the tarmac. Most aircraft, including two 747s, belonged to the country's biggest passenger airline, Thai Airways International. But jets from several foreign carriers were present, including those from Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Russia's Aeroflot and Taiwan's EVA Air.
A FedEx jet was the lone foreign cargo plane, not enough to make a noticeable dent in the millions of dollars' worth of perishable and other export goods that are piling up in freight warehouses, waiting for flights out.
marketwatch.com/news/story/SP-Fitch-cut-Thailands-ratings/story.aspx?guid=%7B19E89F8C-1459-4C6D-AB42-2A1B0624536C%7D
S&P, Fitch cut Thailand's ratings outlook to negative
MarketWatch
Last update: 4:17 p.m. EST Dec. 1, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Two ratings agencies cut Thailand's ratings outlook to negative Monday, warning that escalating political turmoil in the Southeast Asian nation is hurting the economy and raising the risk of widespread violence.
Thailand's long-running political crisis has deepened in recent days after anti-government protesters shut down Bangkok's two main airports last week, stranding 300,000 foreigners, according to the Associated Press. See a special report on Thailand.
The protesters, who are members of the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy, are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, but he has refused to step down and has stayed away from the capital since last week.
In Bangkok Monday, the benchmark stock index fell 2.7%. It has tumbled 54% this year.
Standard & Poor's revised its outlook Monday on Thailand's sovereign credit ratings to negative from stable, saying that the recent occupation of Bangkok's two main airports by anti-government protesters has increased the risks to sovereign creditworthiness.
"It has caused serious disruptions to economic activities in the kingdom and raises the possibility of widespread violence markedly," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kim Eng Tan. "These developments will add to the negative pressures of a global slowdown on Thailand's economy."
Tan said that Thailand's ratings could be lowered if economic performance weakens sharply as a result of the political turmoil, causing government finances to deteriorate seriously or banks' asset quality to worsen markedly.
S&P also revised Monday the ratings outlooks on Bangkok Bank PCL and United Overseas Bank (Thai) PCL to negative from stable.
Fitch also cuts outlook
Fitch Ratings also lowered Thailand's ratings outlook to negative from stable.
"The extended period of political turmoil surrounding Thailand's leadership shows no sign of resolution, and may undermine Thai sovereign credit fundamentals, especially as the global economy enters recession," said Vincent Ho, associate director in the agency's sovereign group.
"It is a concern that, in the absence of effective and credible political leadership, economic policy could be either neglected or ineffective at a time when policy stimulus is likely required to address a sharp economic correction," Ho said.
Fitch forecasts gross domestic product growth of 0.9% in 2009, which would be the lowest since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which started in Thailand. Fitch also revised Monday the outlook on Thai energy giant PTT PCL's ratings to negative from stable.
in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-36806320081201
Indonesia offers to host ASEAN meetings for Thailand
Mon Dec 1, 2008 6:51pm IST
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1 of 1
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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has offered to step in to host some Southeast Asian ministerial meetings due to be held next month in Thailand because of the political crisis in its neighbour, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday.
Thailand has said a final decision on the Dec. 13-17 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asian meetings is due on Tuesday, a week after anti-government protesters first blockaded Bangkok's international airport.
"I will propose at the cabinet meeting tomorrow to postpone the summit to March as we can't open our airport for leaders' planes to land yet," Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat told reporters on Monday.
Indonesia and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan were offering to hold the foreign ministers' meeting of the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc and three East Asian dialogue partners in the ASEAN Secretariat offices in Jakarta, Yudhoyono said.
A finance ministers meeting could be held in Bali, he added.
"Those events are important to officially introduce the ASEAN Charter and formulate joint action to overcome the global financial crisis," Yudhoyono told a news conference.
"I myself hope that the summit will be in Thailand, but if in the near future it is not possible, then the official introduction of the ASEAN Charter would be good to be done," he added, adding that it was also important to discuss a pool of currency swap lines called the Chiang Mai Initiative.
There are concerns that delays could complicate bringing the ASEAN Charter, which aims to set up a political, economic and social bloc of half a billion people, into force in mid December.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Continued...
The group's dialogue partners China, Japan and South Korea are also due to attend the meetings next month.
Surin said on Sunday Thailand was "running short" of time as it prepared to host the summit next month while tackling a major political crisis.
He stopped short of urging Bangkok to postpone it, but said a delay would allow the group to "prepare better" for the summit
The occupation of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and the city's older domestic terminal by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement have dramatically escalated Thailand's three-year old political crisis.
The venue for the ASEAN summit was moved to the northern city of Chiang Mai, far away from the PAD's Bangkok base, well before this week's protests.
But the chaos in Bangkok has put pressure on ASEAN to seek a postponement.