Thailand is no stranger to political violence. The country, which has seen two military coups in less than 10 years, has been riven by street battles between protesters and security personnel in the past few years. Besides, in the so-called Deep South, the country is fighting armed Muslim separatists since 2004; this has claimed some 6,500 lives. Still, >Monday’s blast outside a Hindu temple on a busy Bangkok street, which killed over 20 people, was unprecedented in terms of scale. This was the most devastating explosion ever in Bangkok. The location and the timing showed that the perpetrators wanted to wreak maximum damage. The Erawan shrine is a popular tourist destination, especially among Buddhists from Thailand and other East Asian nations, and the bomb went off during the evening rush hour. It is still not clear who did it. The investigators say a “network” is behind it, but stop short of pointing fingers at any particular group. Given Thailand’s recent turbulence, it could be anyone from the Muslim separatists to the political opponents of the military junta.
But whoever did it, the attack was aimed at weakening the country’s already fractured polity and stultified economy. Ever since >the army took power in 2014 after toppling the civilian caretaker government, Thailand has suffered several violent incidents, including a grenade attack on a court house in Bangkok. The military’s claim that it captured power to bring stability to the country was far from the truth as the coup itself had sharpened the political divisions. The army is also accused of deliberately targeting supporters of the self-exiled former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. The Thai army is notorious for its highhandedness. Five years ago, an army crackdown on a public protest in Bangkok, close to the same Erawan shrine, left at least 80 people dead. Such use of violence has triggered violent responses from factions opposed to the army, while repeated coups and coup attempts have weakened the country’s democracy and governance structures. The tourism-dependent economy has also suffered from the recent political instability and protests. The latest blast will weaken the tourism industry further. The Thai authorities should realise that the country will be able to address the multiple challenges it faces only by sorting out the internal fissures first. And the best way to do it is to return a legitimate government to power. The generals have pledged to bring back democracy, but no one knows when elections would be held and whether they would be free and fair. There are also worries that the blast would be used as an excuse by the military to extend its hold over power and continue suppressing democracy. Such a move would only accelerate Thailand’s downhill slide.