PAD's "final war"? If only...

The People's Alliance for Democracy is currently staging its largest, most disruptive protest thus far, in what it calls a "final war" against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government. There has been a continuous PAD protest since May at Makawan Bridge, Ratchadamnern Nok, Bangkok, though today the protest spread to numerous state buildings.

PAD protesters are occupying Government House, and the Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Transport ministries. This morning, they invaded the offices of state-controlled television station NBT, forcing it off the air for several hours.

At 3pm this afternoon, Samak made a live TV statement, warning that his patience is running out. Interior Minister Kowit Wattana has issued an ultimatum to the PAD: dispurse all protests before 6pm tonight, or face a forced eviction by the police.

One of the PAD's core leaders, Sondhi Limthongkul, gave an interview to the Bangkok Post newspaper this morning, in which he irresponsibly goaded the army to launch a coup ("soldiers today are cowards") and self-righteously positioned himself as the protector of the monarchy ("If we don't do it, the monarchy might collapse").

Sondhi has pledged that today's ultra-protest will be the PAD's "final war", and that, if Samak does not resign today, the PAD's protests will cease. Let's hope he keeps his word, because the undemocratic PAD is by far the most divisive force in Thai politics. Samak has many shortcomings, but the best way to stabilise Thai politics is for the PAD to disband, not for Samak to resign.