Finland Plot

Politics of Thailand

The politics of Thailand are currently conducted within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government and a hereditary monarch is head of state. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.Thai kingdoms and late...

, the Finland Plot, Finland Plan, Finland Strategy or Finland Declaration (Thai

Thai language

Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...

: แผนฟินแลนด์, ยุทธศาสตร์ฟินแลนด์, ปฏิญญาฟินแลนด์) are names of a controversial theory espoused by Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy . He was elected for leader of the New Politics Party ....

and supporters affiliated with the People's Alliance for Democracy

People's Alliance for Democracy

The People's Alliance for Democracy also called the National Liberation Alliance - กลุ่มพันธมิตรกู้ชาติ, Thai Patriots Network or the Yellow Shirts - เสื้อเหลือง - was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand. Its leaders include...

(PAD) in 2006 describing a plot allegedly developed by Thai

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

and former left-wing student leaders to overthrow the Thai

Thailand

monarch, take control of the nation, and establish a communist state

Communist state

A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...

. The plot allegedly originated in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

.

The allegations had a negative impact on the popularity of Thaksin and his government, despite the fact that no evidence was ever produced to verify the existence of a plot. Thaksin

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

and his Thai Rak Thai

Thai Rak Thai

The Thai Rak Thai Party was a Thai political party that was officially banned on May 30, 2007, by the Constitutional Court of Thailand due to violations of electoral laws during the 2006 legislative elections. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under Prime Minister and its founder Thaksin...

party vehemently denied the accusations and sued the accusers. The leaders of the 2006 military coup claimed Thaksin's alleged disloyalty as one of their rationales for seizing power.

Background

Protests against Thai

Thailand

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

increased throughout 2005 and 2006 due to a variety of factors, including his April 2005 appearance at a merit-making ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the September 2005 cancellation of Sondhi Limthongkul's

Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy . He was elected for leader of the New Politics Party ....

Muangthai Raisabdah

Muangthai Raisabdah is a Thai political talkshow hosted by Sondhi Limthongkul and Sarocha Pornudomsak. The show is Sondhi's personal mouthpiece, and up to 2004 it praised Premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Later, when relations between the two soured, it became one of the Premier's most vocal critics...

television show, Thaksin's November 2005 plan to give local communities control of public schools, Thaksin's sale of Shin Corporation

Shin Corporation

Shin Corporation is one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand.- History :It was founded in 1983 as Shinawatra Computer by Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, and took on its current name in 1999, by using the first four letters of his last name...

in January 2006, and Thaksin's alleged role in the March 2006 destruction of the Phra Phrom Erawan shrine.

In May 2006, on the eve of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...

60th anniversary celebrations

60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej

The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the Throne 2006 The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the Throne 2006 The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the...

, the Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy . He was elected for leader of the New Politics Party ....

-owned Manager Daily

Manager Daily

Manager Daily is a Thai-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide. The paper is a broadsheet, and emphasizes political and business news. Founded by media-mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, it was an outgrowth of Manager Monthly magazine and Manager Weekly newspaper...

newspaper published the details of what it called the "Finland Plan," "Finland Declaration," or "Finland Strategy." The articles claimed that Thaksin and former student leaders of Thailand's 1970s democratic movement met in Finland

Finland

in 1999 to develop a plan to institute rule by a single party, overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic, and hold elections for provincial governors. The 5-part article was titled "Finland Strategy: Thailand's Revolution Plan?" was written by Pramote Nakhonthap and appeared on 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 May 2006. Thaksin's alleged co-conspirators apparently included Thai Rak Thai party members Prommin Lertsuridej

Prommin Lertsuridej

Prommin Lertsuridej, M.D. was a Thai politician, former student leader, former Secretary General to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, former Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs, and former Minister of Energy in the Thaksin government...

(Secretary-General to the Premier), Chaturon Chaisaeng (Deputy Prime Minister), Surapong Suebwonglee (Minister of Information and Communications Technology), Adisorn Piangket (Former Deputy Science Minister), Sutham Saengprathum (Deputy Interior Minister), and Phumtham Wechayachai (Deputy Transport Minister), all of whom had been affiliated with the Communist Party of Thailand

Communist Party of Thailand

The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT was a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Thailand, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early...

following the massacre of 6 October 1976

6 October 1976 Massacre

The Thammasat University Massacre, or Massacre of 6 October 1976 , was an attack on students and protesters that occurred on the campus of Thammasat University and at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Students from various universities were demonstrating against the return to Thailand of Field Marshal...

.

The allegations were taken up by several prominent critics, including leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy

People's Alliance for Democracy

, constitution drafter Chai-anan Samudavanija

Chai-Anan Samudavanija

Chai-Anan Samudavanija is a Thai political scientist, Director of Vajiravudh College, President of the Royal Institute, former Judge of the Constitutional Court, a former Professor of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University. He was one of the key drafters of the 1997 Constitution of Thailand...

, Senator Sophon Supapong

Sophon Supapong

Sophon Supapong is a former Senator for Bangkok in the National Assembly of Thailand and the former President of Bangchak Petroleum.In 2005, Sophon accused the United States of being the mastermind behind bombings in the South Thailand insurgency...

, writer Pramote Nakornthab, and Democrat

Democrat Party (Thailand)

The Democrat Party is Thailand's oldest political party and was the main coalition government party of the 23rd House of Representatives of Thailand. The Democrat Party's current leader is Abhisit Vejjajiva, incumbent opposition leader and former Prime Minister. The party upholds a conservative...

leader Thaworn Senniam

Thaworn Senniam

Thaworn Senneam was a Thai politician and the country's Deputy Interior Minister. He has also served as Deputy Secretary General of the Democrat Party. Thaworn previously worked as a legal advisor to Secretary General Maj. Gen. Sanan Kachornprasart...

.

None of the accusers provided any evidence to back up their allegations. Sondhi noted that his source was a Thai Rak Thai worker who had recently "defected."

Variations and denials

Variations of the original theory were also proposed, including the claim that the plot involved overseas groups intent on overthrowing the Chakri dynasty, the claim that media consolidation was a core component of the conspiracy, the claim that the Plan was aimed at maintaining a constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

while reducing the powers of the monarch to a mere figurehead, and the claim that a law designed to further decentralize central administrative power to the Thai provinces

Provinces of Thailand

Thailand is divided into 76 provinces , which are geographically grouped into 6 regions. The capital Bangkok is not a province but a special administrative area and is included as the 77th province since it is administered at the same level as the other 76 provinces. The name of the provinces are...

, and the claim that Thaksin wanted to establish a government based on the model of western democracies

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

.

Another variation claimed that Thaksin's co-conspirators were former members of the Communist Party of Thailand

Communist Party of Thailand

including Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and had applied a theory of orthodox Marxism

Marxism

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

to map out the TRT strategy to promote capitalism. This variation claimed that Thailand during the 1970s was still a semi-feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

society and needed to become a capitalist

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

society as part of the transition

Historical materialism

Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...

to socialism. The communists then worked with Thaksin to fully develop Thailand's capitalist economic system, destroy all remnants of feudalism, and privatize state-owned assets, while at the same time establishing a single-party dictatorship, all in order to create a socialist dictatorship.

The allegations were roundly denied by Thaksin Shinawatra and the leadership of his Thai Rak Thai

Thai Rak Thai

party, including Surapong Suebwonglee and Prommin Lertsuridej

Prommin Lertsuridej

.

On 30 May, Thaksin Shinawatra and Thana Benjathikul, a lawyer from the Thai Rak Thai party, sued Sondhi

Sondhi Limthongkul

Sondhi Limthongkul is a Thai media mogul and leader of the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy . He was elected for leader of the New Politics Party ....

, editor Khunthong Lorserivanich, columnist Pramote Nakhonthap, executive Saowalak Thiranujanyong, and webmaster Panjapat Angkhasuwan for libel. The lawsuit alleged that the articles were intended to ruin Thai Rak Thai and Thaksin's political future by making the public believe the party was planning to overturn the constitutional monarchy. Thaksin's lawsuit attracted criticism and claims that Thaksin was trying to censor the media

Censorship in Thailand

Freedom of speech in Thailand was guaranteed in the articles 39, 40, 41 in the 1997 Constitution.According to those articles, censorship may be imposed to preserve national security, maintain public order, preserve the rights of others, protect public morals, and prevent criticism of the royal...

Impact of the allegations

The allegations had a negative impact on the popularity of Thaksin and his government. Thaksin was forced to expend a significant amount of time and political capital

Political capital

Political capital is primarily based on a public figure's favorable image among the populace and among other important factors in or out of the government. Political capital is essentially the opinion of another person, group of people, or nation about you, your organization, or your government...

on damage control

Damage control

Damage control is a term used in the Merchant Marine, maritime industry and navies for the emergency control of situations that may hazard the sinking of a ship...

, explaining his position and swearing his loyalty to the monarchy.

In an editorial, the influential anti-Thaksin newspaper The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...

noted:
The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...

noted that the actual existence of the Plot was not important—the mere invocation of royalty would be enough to damage the Thai Rak Thai

Thai Rak Thai

party. Many commentators noted the similarity between the Finland Plot allegations and the allegations used justify the massacre of students on 6 October 1976, which in the context of the Thailand political crisis

Thailand political crisis 2005-2006

In 2005 and 2006, a series of events occurred in Thailand as a result of an unrest with Thaksin Shinawatra that was supported by Sondhi Limthongkul and his coalitions...

, might justify a military coup. The Thai military eventually successfully executed a coup against the Thaksin government on 19 September 2006. One of the junta's stated rationales for the coup was that Thaksin had insulted the King.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.