STUDENT leaders met last night to plan a mass protest by as many as 10,000 marchers on Phuket if Samak Sundaravej is reelected Prime Minister by Government MPs on Friday.
The protest is likely to involve at least seven universities and high schools and would be among the biggest ever seen on the island.
Months of confrontation between anti-government protesters and the Samak Government in Bangkok, telecast live daily, have politicised the island's young people and students throughout the country.
The vast majority of high school and university students on Phuket are supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which wants Khun Samak and his People Power party (PPP) to quit.
While the students are keen to achieve their aim, there seems no likelihood that the anti-government occupation of Phuket International Airport late last month will be repeated.
The Friday-Saturday-Sunday airport siege stopped 190 flights in and out, stranded thousands of perplexed tourists and damaged the island's reputation as a peaceful holiday destination.
Since then, under a pact between tourism chiefs and protestors, demonstration marches have been low-key and away from areas frequented by tourists.
In a fresh development yesterday, hundreds of students rallied in a cheerful protest and march between Provincial Hall, where the occupying PAD now has its operational base in the parkland grounds, and the large public park at Saphan Hin.
At Saphan Hin, the students enjoyed a picnic atmosphere, joining the clamor for yellow headbands, listening to speeches and snacking at mobile vendor cycle shops.
Yesterday afternoon in a televised verdict, the Constitutional Court banned Khun Samak as PM over two paid appearances on television cooking shows that represented a conflict of interest.
Khun Samak, a celebrity chef as well as a long-term associate of disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is considered by the PAD to be unworthy of holding the nation's highest elected office.
An occupation of government buildings has failed to bring him down or keep him down. Protests by thousands of students in every province may succeed where the adults have failed.
If the date of the vote by PPP MPs for a new Prime Minister is changed from Friday, the protest is likely to change, too.
Analysts say Khun Samak's reelection is no foregone conclusion because people within the PPP are growing weary of the fourth-month confrontation that has preoccupied protestors, public servants and the whole country.
Key Events: Protests and Phuket
December 23: Samak leads the People Power party (PPP) to election victory.
February 6: Samak unveils a cabinet made up of members of a six-party coalition which holds nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats.
February 28: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, in self-imposed exile for 17 months, gets hero's welcome from supporters as he returns to Thailand and goes straight to court, where he is released on bail on corruption charges.
May 25: The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a collection of anti-government groups, launches street protests calling for Samak to resign for seeking constitutional amendments they believe are aimed at helping Thaksin.
July 8-10: Court decisions force out of office three senior government officials and Yongyut Tiyapairat, the house speaker and PPP deputy leader.
July 15: A military standoff breaks out near a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodia border, with the PAD accusing Samak of relinquishing Thai territory to help Thaksin with a business deal in the neighbouring country.
July 31: Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, is convicted of tax evasion and released on bail.
August 11: Thaksin and his wife go into exile in Britain, claiming they will not get a fair trial on the corruption charges mounting against them.
August 26: At least 35,000 PAD-led protesters raid a TV station, surround three ministries and break into Bangkok's main government compound in what they say is their ''final war'' against the government.
August 29: Scuffles break out between police and PAD supporters still laying siege to Government House. Protests spread. Hundreds of PAD protestors assemble around Phuket International Airport. Some reach the tarmac. Flights stopped at 3.50pm
August 30: Stranded passengers arrive at airport in hope of flights resumption. Airport General Manager Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop says that in some ways, the airport blockade is ''worse than the 2004 tsunami.''
September 1: About 11am the announcement comes: the protest at the airport is over, and flights are to resume later in the day. About 3.50pm a Thai Airways Boeing 777 from Bangkok touches down, first of the airlift in, and an exodus out.
September 2: Overnight clashes leave one dead and dozens injured in Bangkok so Samak declares a state of emergency in the capital, allowing the army to move in to help restore order. Thai Election Commission finds the PPP guilty of buying votes and recommends the party be disbanded.
September 3: Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigns. Army chief Anupong Paochinda tells Samak that despite state of emergency he will not use force to disperse anti-government protesters from Government House. Phuket resort occupancy rates slump to 30 percent and recovery could take two years.
September 4: Samak says in a radio and television speech that he will not resign. Cabinet later suggests a national referendum as a solution to the impasse.
September 9: Constitutional Court bans Samak from holding the office of Prime Minister over paid appearances on a TV cooking show.
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The protest is likely to involve at least seven universities and high schools and would be among the biggest ever seen on the island.
Months of confrontation between anti-government protesters and the Samak Government in Bangkok, telecast live daily, have politicised the island's young people and students throughout the country.
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The vast majority of high school and university students on Phuket are supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which wants Khun Samak and his People Power party (PPP) to quit.
While the students are keen to achieve their aim, there seems no likelihood that the anti-government occupation of Phuket International Airport late last month will be repeated.
The Friday-Saturday-Sunday airport siege stopped 190 flights in and out, stranded thousands of perplexed tourists and damaged the island's reputation as a peaceful holiday destination.
Since then, under a pact between tourism chiefs and protestors, demonstration marches have been low-key and away from areas frequented by tourists.
In a fresh development yesterday, hundreds of students rallied in a cheerful protest and march between Provincial Hall, where the occupying PAD now has its operational base in the parkland grounds, and the large public park at Saphan Hin.
At Saphan Hin, the students enjoyed a picnic atmosphere, joining the clamor for yellow headbands, listening to speeches and snacking at mobile vendor cycle shops.
Yesterday afternoon in a televised verdict, the Constitutional Court banned Khun Samak as PM over two paid appearances on television cooking shows that represented a conflict of interest.
Khun Samak, a celebrity chef as well as a long-term associate of disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is considered by the PAD to be unworthy of holding the nation's highest elected office.
An occupation of government buildings has failed to bring him down or keep him down. Protests by thousands of students in every province may succeed where the adults have failed.
If the date of the vote by PPP MPs for a new Prime Minister is changed from Friday, the protest is likely to change, too.
Analysts say Khun Samak's reelection is no foregone conclusion because people within the PPP are growing weary of the fourth-month confrontation that has preoccupied protestors, public servants and the whole country.
Key Events: Protests and Phuket
December 23: Samak leads the People Power party (PPP) to election victory.
February 6: Samak unveils a cabinet made up of members of a six-party coalition which holds nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats.
February 28: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, in self-imposed exile for 17 months, gets hero's welcome from supporters as he returns to Thailand and goes straight to court, where he is released on bail on corruption charges.
May 25: The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a collection of anti-government groups, launches street protests calling for Samak to resign for seeking constitutional amendments they believe are aimed at helping Thaksin.
July 8-10: Court decisions force out of office three senior government officials and Yongyut Tiyapairat, the house speaker and PPP deputy leader.
July 15: A military standoff breaks out near a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodia border, with the PAD accusing Samak of relinquishing Thai territory to help Thaksin with a business deal in the neighbouring country.
July 31: Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, is convicted of tax evasion and released on bail.
August 11: Thaksin and his wife go into exile in Britain, claiming they will not get a fair trial on the corruption charges mounting against them.
August 26: At least 35,000 PAD-led protesters raid a TV station, surround three ministries and break into Bangkok's main government compound in what they say is their ''final war'' against the government.
August 29: Scuffles break out between police and PAD supporters still laying siege to Government House. Protests spread. Hundreds of PAD protestors assemble around Phuket International Airport. Some reach the tarmac. Flights stopped at 3.50pm
August 30: Stranded passengers arrive at airport in hope of flights resumption. Airport General Manager Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop says that in some ways, the airport blockade is ''worse than the 2004 tsunami.''
September 1: About 11am the announcement comes: the protest at the airport is over, and flights are to resume later in the day. About 3.50pm a Thai Airways Boeing 777 from Bangkok touches down, first of the airlift in, and an exodus out.
September 2: Overnight clashes leave one dead and dozens injured in Bangkok so Samak declares a state of emergency in the capital, allowing the army to move in to help restore order. Thai Election Commission finds the PPP guilty of buying votes and recommends the party be disbanded.
September 3: Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigns. Army chief Anupong Paochinda tells Samak that despite state of emergency he will not use force to disperse anti-government protesters from Government House. Phuket resort occupancy rates slump to 30 percent and recovery could take two years.
September 4: Samak says in a radio and television speech that he will not resign. Cabinet later suggests a national referendum as a solution to the impasse.
September 9: Constitutional Court bans Samak from holding the office of Prime Minister over paid appearances on a TV cooking show.
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