When I first moved to Thailand, I promised myself that I would devote the best of my free time to writing- more specifically, writing about events beyond my personal adventures, topics of a more serious nature that would potentially lead me to a job as a freelance journalist. So, in the three and a half months that I was unemployed here, I scoured the daily headlines for something that would catch my interest, something I could research heavily and get involved in with my own words. All the while I was coming up with nothing, an angry cauldron of political craziness was bubbling right under my nose.
I'm sure by now, after over 20 countries have issued tourist advisories to stay the hell out of Bangkok, most of the world is somewhat aware of how unstable the Thai Government is. But do you know what's really going on, and what could potentially happen here? I wouldn't care too much either, but since I happen to be looking for trouble I'm going to treat this as an assignment and make the most of it. In order to do that I need to get you interested and bring you up to speed on this story with a stiff shot of intensity. The best way to do that is to start today.
Today is Friday, the 5th of March, 2010. In seven days a dominant anti-government group known as The UDD (United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, or "the red shirts") will begin a million man march, growing in numbers from all provinces and meeting in the capitol city of Bangkok on March 14, where they will then attempt to bring down the administration that is the current Thai government, run by an appointed (not elected) Prime Minister. The decision in this Prime Minister's hands is a stressful one to say the least. When the time comes and red shirts gather in Bangkok with the promise of a million people and a hundred thousand pick-up trucks, the PM has the option of either stepping down from power and dissolving the government or suppressing the opposition with whatever military defense the government has. A lot of police and soldiers are in support of the red shirts and will likely not partake in any shit that goes down. Furthermore, red shirt leaders have said that if they are met with any defensive force than they cannot be certain what will happen, but there is a strong possibility of a civil war in Thailand.
“If the government suppresses us, then they will have declared civil war. If this happens, you will not see elections of democracy in Thailand for five, maybe ten years."
- Mr. Jaran, Senior red shirt leader
In other words, there will either be a brand new Thai Government instated this year or there will be civil unrest for an undetermined amount of time. Decisions, decisions.
So, as we we wait for anarchy to ensue, there is time to go back and look into how this whole thing began. The plot to this is almost as good as StarWars, except it all happened here on planet Earth. It started with a dude named Thaksin, a business man who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Thaksin was the first PM to actually complete a full term in office, which is apparently hard to do here. Today, he is regarded as one of the most distinctive PM's because he introduced many policies that affected important issues such as an easily affordable healthcare plan and a rural poverty plan that cut the number of poor in half. For the most part he was quite a popular man of the people. However as time went on Thaksin's administration began to face allegations of corruption, like tax evasion and laundering money to international investors.
Then, in 2006, while Thaksin was out of town on a business venture, a massive protest began by a different group, The PAD (Peoples Alliance for Democracy or "the yellow shirts"). This led to a military coup that overthrew the government, surprisingly without any bloodshed. One of the tactics of the group was seizing two of Thailand's biggest airports, essentially stopping people from coming in or out of the country. When Thaksin got word of this he did not return to Thailand and shortly after, a newly appointed military government was put in place and the yellow shirts disbanded claiming their goal had been accomplished. The only problem was that the new government was not an elected one of the people and therefore the people got pissed off, accusing the unelected officials of undermining democracy. And so the "red shirts" began to rally. Meanwhile Thaksin, now considered a fugitive in Thailand, the county he was once a revered Prime minister of, is rumored to be hiding somewhere in Dubai. Like a puppet master he leads the red shirts in support by addressing most big meetings by video link on the internet. Look for him on Skype.
Now, since the emergence of the red shirts, the opposing yellow shirts have reactivated and the two equally strong groups have been clashing loudly and often violently for about 4 years. People have been killed, bombs have been thrown, assassinations of leaders have been attempted and it looks like shit is about to officially hit the fan in a matter of days. All I need is a video camera, a bus ticket to Bangkok and a huge pair of balls.
