Pushing PPP into corner

It has been a month of hell for the PPP:

-- Noppadon Pattama was forced to resign as foreign minister, because of the Preah Vihear Temple controversy.

-- Former House Speaker and PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat's red card may lead to the dissolution of the PPP.

-- Chaiya Sasomsap was disqualified from holding office by the Constitution Court for failing to declare some of his wife's assets within a specified deadline.

-- Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is using the PPP to carry his torch, has been charged with corruption. His chances of escaping justice look decidedly shaky.

Amid all of these concerns, Thaksin ordered his followers to declare war on all and sundry and counter-attack by any means possible.

They started by setting up a monitoring centre to check on each movement of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the opposition.

Whenever Thaksin and the PPP are attacked by the PAD or the Democrats, PPP MPs and the pro-government Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship jump immediately to their defence.

The PPP obviously intends not to take things lying down. As Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said: "Before, I was 'killed' many times; now I am the 'killer'."

The party has launched an "eye for an eye" campaign attacking its opponents. If the PPP's executive members are punished for violating the law, then why not other parties' MPs?

First, the PPP began scrutinising Democrat MPs. The PPP asked the Election Commission (EC) to remove 28 Democrat MPs and 33 senators from office for alleged breaches of the Constitution, because they owned stocks in telecom, media or other firms holding government concessions.

Moreover some northeastern PPP MPs are going after all independent agencies involved in punishing their party's colleagues.

The PPP plans to gather signatures to begin impeachment proceedings against the National Counter Corruption Commission, the Constitution Court, the EC and the Auditor-General's Office, saying they were appointed by coup-makers.

"If those agencies have the right to investigate ministers or MPs, then vice versa. The ministers and MPs should have the right to scrutinise the agencies, too," said PM's Office Minister Choosak Sirinin.

An all-out counter-attack by the PPP would most certainly take the country to the brink of another violent situation. In fact, the intelligence community believes the situation has already reached the boiling point.

"As far as we're concerned, a [dramatic] confrontation between the pro- and anti-government groups is already breaking out," one intelligence source said.

With that, will peace ever fall upon the Kingdom again?

piyanart@nationgroup.com