One of the more auspicious events of the year has just passed in Thailand. It was the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch. Born Dec. 5, 1927, he was enthroned in 1946 following the mysterious death of King Ananda, his elder brother.
Now turning 86, historically, the king has remained at the epicenter of Thai politics. But his position in the past decade has been challenged by new political forces. The current crisis, which witnesses a new round of political violence provoked by the anti-government movement, fails to conceal the fact that the monarchy once again is the source of deep political polarization.
When the Yingluck Shinawatra government proposed a controversial amnesty bill, which would potentially exonerate her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin, of corruption charges as well as those behind the killing of "red shirt" demonstrators in Bangkok in May 2010, anti-government forces saw this as an opportunity to stage protests to topple the elected government of Yingluck.