Thai leaders evoke worldly and spiritual forces in political battle

Thailand's continuing political crisis is being fought both on the ground and in the spiritual world.

As Thai leaders talk of democracy, legality and modernisation, key figures on both sides of the political divide have acknowledged other-worldly influences on their fates.

That is a source of concern for some. At a time of deep uncertainty, Thais are seeking solace in astrology, spirit worship and supernaturalism. Yet when these beliefs are engaged by the country's leading figures, it has a profoundly anti-democratic aspect, prominent Bangkok-based historian Chris Baker said.

'Generals who command a nation's armed forces, and businessmen with assets in billions of dollars, are reluctant to accept that politics are moved by the sentiments of the people rather than the influences of the stars and spirits over which they can claim some special control,' he told a recent seminar.

When media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of protests against ousted ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra, survived an attack by gunmen who sprayed more than 80 bullets at his car last month, he claimed he was saved by the merit built up by good deeds. Within an hour of getting out of hospital 'he paid his respects to sacred images, statues and amulets, and to a picture of his late mother', The Nation reported.

The portents have not been so kind to Thaksin. In late March 2006, when a disturbed 27-year-old man smashed the widely revered Brahma statue at the Erawan Shrine, it was seen as a powerful signal that Thaksin's moral credibility was cracking.

Thaksin went on to say that his enemies were 'using all kinds of means to try to destroy me, including black magic and the supernatural'. He claimed they had been mutilating his photograph and voodoo dolls. 'But don't worry, I have talismans and various Buddha amulets with me to ward off their magic,' Thaksin reassured his supporters.