Thailand pendulum to swing?

By Rachel Oppenheimer

Thai troops closed in on thousands of red-shirted demonstrators in Bangkok yesterday. They killed two of the anti-government demonstrators – the first known fatalities in a week of unrest. The two opposition forces clashed in a gun battle outside Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s office.

The violence began on Friday when the red-shirted protesters broke into the Pattaya resort venue where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was to hold their 14th ASEAN Summit from April 10-12. Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary general, called for a peaceful end to the protests. Vejjajiva had Asian summit leaders airlifted from the area.

Sunday, running street battles left at least 110 injured. In a mostly Muslim neighborhood, hundreds of demonstrators threw things at residents, burned tires, marched into the local mosque and tried to set food stalls on fire. Residents fought back with wooden sticks, inciting chaos.

On Monday, Vejjajiva declared an “extreme state of emergency.” Protesters gathered in the streets, climbed on armored military vehicles and attacked the prime minister’s motorcade. In response, army soldiers tried to suppress the chaos by firing automatic weapons and releasing tear gas into the air, clearing a major Bangkok road as Thailand began celebrating its 3-day New Year’s water festival. Demonstrators responded by firing at least one gasoline bomb at a line of troops. At the end of the day, the conflict resulted in 70 more wounded.

The clash between the two sides started one day after the country’s ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for a revolution and said he might return from exile to lead it. Some believe he may hope to exploit the situation, returning as the only person who can control his following.

Vajjajiva vowed to prosecute the protesters who forced the cancellation of Saturday’s summit, and only time will tell of each camp’s future consequences and reactions. “Right now the red shirts are on the resurgence, and we don’t know where they are going with it,” said Chulalongkorn University Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak. “But the pendulum is likely to swing to very suppressive tactics and brutal and harsh reactions from the right, the establishment.”