The movement has altered long-held views of Thai politics
A famous joke about Thailand that has been repeated ad infinitum in the diplomatic circles world over, is that this country is the world’s long lasting fledgling democracy. Funny as it might be, one could not have agreed more. The Army, the Palace, the judiciary—every institution in this country is a power centre except its people. This has shaped much of Thailand’s political discourse over the years. This week, it reached its pinnacle.
The brutal conflict between troops and anti-government protesters has accelerated in the Thai capital after the administration cast off a call by the so-called Red-Shirts for UN-mediated talks. The regime, on its part, said that since Thailand is a sovereign nation, it won’t accept outside mediation. On the other hand, in a significant departure from their earlier stance, the Red-Shirts, have agreed to accept the proposal by the Senate Speaker who wants to mediate the talks.
Earlier this week, the administration provided buses to allow women, children and the elderly among the Reds to abandon the large encampment they have been using for many weeks. The new round of negotiation will reconsider the proposal made by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who had offered to call snap polls in November—a full one year prior to the expiry of his term. However, what followed was the typical battle of nerves where both the regime as well as the Reds refused to cede further grounds.
After weeks of fooling around, both the sides now mean business. The regime insisted that it will carry on with its crackdown aimed at choking off the Reds, who have captured, and held, about 3 sq. km of protest zone blockaded by fuel-soaked tyres, bamboo spikes and reinforced by Molotov Cocktail carrying youths in Bangkok’s posh commercial and tourism hub. A special order that empowers the Army with sweeping power to “restore order” was expanded to 22 of Thailand’s 75 administrative divisions, up from 17 last week.
A famous joke about Thailand that has been repeated ad infinitum in the diplomatic circles world over, is that this country is the world’s long lasting fledgling democracy. Funny as it might be, one could not have agreed more. The Army, the Palace, the judiciary—every institution in this country is a power centre except its people. This has shaped much of Thailand’s political discourse over the years. This week, it reached its pinnacle.
The brutal conflict between troops and anti-government protesters has accelerated in the Thai capital after the administration cast off a call by the so-called Red-Shirts for UN-mediated talks. The regime, on its part, said that since Thailand is a sovereign nation, it won’t accept outside mediation. On the other hand, in a significant departure from their earlier stance, the Red-Shirts, have agreed to accept the proposal by the Senate Speaker who wants to mediate the talks.
Earlier this week, the administration provided buses to allow women, children and the elderly among the Reds to abandon the large encampment they have been using for many weeks. The new round of negotiation will reconsider the proposal made by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who had offered to call snap polls in November—a full one year prior to the expiry of his term. However, what followed was the typical battle of nerves where both the regime as well as the Reds refused to cede further grounds.
After weeks of fooling around, both the sides now mean business. The regime insisted that it will carry on with its crackdown aimed at choking off the Reds, who have captured, and held, about 3 sq. km of protest zone blockaded by fuel-soaked tyres, bamboo spikes and reinforced by Molotov Cocktail carrying youths in Bangkok’s posh commercial and tourism hub. A special order that empowers the Army with sweeping power to “restore order” was expanded to 22 of Thailand’s 75 administrative divisions, up from 17 last week.
Read these article :-
