RED-SHIRTED opposition protesters yesterday paraded coffins containing the bodies of supporters who were killed in the weekend’s street fighting with security forces, as tensions remained high in Bangkok.
The clashes late on Saturday left 21 dead – four soldiers and 17 civilians, including a Reuters cameraman – and were the worst violence in two decades in the Thai capital.
Since the weekend there has been an uneasy truce but the atmosphere remains tense in the capital.
Bands of red-shirted supporters carrying flags and waving red feet-shaped clappers sped around the city on open-backed SUVs and staged demonstrations at various sites in the city of 15 million people, calling for fresh elections and for prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign.
Some of the city’s elegant shopping malls were clear yesterday, but the Red Shirts’ presence remains strong in the city, especially in the high-profile tourist hot spots.
Many of the opposition are supporters of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and increasingly the sides appear divided on class lines.
The Red Shirts, many of them poor farmers and workers, see the Oxford-educated Mr Abhisit as representing the ruling elite they say orchestrated the 2006 military coup that removed Mr Thaksin from power amid corruption allegations.
The Red Shirts believe Mr Abhisit is a stooge of the Yellow Shirts, whose demonstrations helped topple the two elected governments – made up of Mr Thaksin’s allies – that took power following the coup. In the subsequent vacuum, the government elected Mr Abhisit, with the help of the powerful military, which can make or break governments in Thailand.
The opposition procession started at Phan Fa Bridge, near the protester base in the historic section of Bangkok and site of some of the worst violence at the weekend.
It then worked its way through the city’s business district.
What is noticeable is how much better organised the Red Shirts are this year, compared to last year when their actions were less co-ordinated.
Normally Thailand’s revered King Bhumipol Adulyadej would be playing a unifying role in the background, but the monarch is ill in hospital.
While tensions were high yesterday, there were tentative signs of a possible compromise, as the embattled prime minister said he was open to a political solution to the face-off with anti-government protesters. This could be a sign he may dissolve parliament and hold elections earlier than previously suggested.
In a fresh twist to an already knotty crisis, Thailand’s election commission ruled that Mr Abhisit’s Democrat Party, Thailand’s oldest political group, should be dissolved for alleged misuse of poll donations, in what seems to be a victory for the anti-government protesters.
Adopting a conciliatory tone, Mr Abhisit said the violence on Saturday was caused by a small group of troublemakers, whom he called terrorists, rather than the entire protest movement.
As the motorcade carrying the bodies of the Red Shirts killed in the weekend clashes, leaders using loud-hailers declared them the “heroes of democracy”.
Tempers are running high, and this is the hottest time of year, coinciding with the new year holiday, Songkran, today. For the holiday, Thais traditionally throw water at each other and visit the city’s Buddhist wats.
The holiday means that more Red Shirts could be coming to the capital, so pressure on Mr Abhisit is unlikely to ease any time soon.
