Political historian Thamrongsak Petchlert-anan said yesterday the fate of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai Party was the "same old story" in Thai politics - like when Field Marshal Sarit Tanarat staged a coup against the elected government of Field Marshal Phibulsongkram.

Phibul's government was accused of cheating in the poll and Sarit used this as a reason to stage the coup, said Asst Prof Thamrongsak, a teacher of Thai political history at Rangsit Uni.

To justify the coup, Field Marshal Sarit had to hold a new election that he claimed was 'free and fair'. But in the new round poll, Sarit used "political tools" to threaten members of Phibul's party.

While the coup forced Phibul into exile, the junta accused executives in Phibul's party of supporting the old power.

"The verdict on Wednesday was the conclusion of the two-year battle for political power. If the 19 September coup d'etat was aimed at toppling Thaksin, then the last chapter the coup makers needed was to destroy Thaksin's root of power - his political party," Thamrongsak said. The political historian was once sued by Thaksin's iTV network for Bt80 million for criticising Thaksin's takeover of the television channel.

The verdict has received mixed reactions from political scientists and law professors.

Pitch Pongsawat, of Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Political Science, said the finding showed how society was governed by the "rule by law" - rather than the "rule of law".

But fellow scholar Chaiyan Chaiyaporn said the verdict set a clearer standard on the rule of law. "I don't think the coup totally destroyed democracy," said Chaiyan, who led a group of Chulalongkorn scholars to ask for a royal-appointed premier before the coup last year.

Law professor Prasit Piva-vatthanapanich, of Thammasat University, said that five-year ban was "too much" and doubted if the rule of law existed in Thailand as the judgement was based on the order issued by the Council for National Security.

"It means that whoever seizes power can make the laws," said Prasit, adding it is meaningless that Thailand is a state party of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Thanet Wongyannawa of Thammasat University's Faculty of Political Science said the verdict showed it was "politics beyond anything".

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation