THE LENGTHY stand-off between security forces and red-shirted anti-government protesters in Thailand continued yesterday, as the army said it was stepping up efforts to end the protests.
One day after fresh violence led to the death of a soldier, bringing the number of dead to 27, the army said it was trying to stop demonstrators getting into the city. A straightforward military crackdown is unlikely, as there are significant numbers of women and children among the protesters.
Every weekend brings a major build-up of red shirts, many of them supporters of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who join comrades behind barricades of tyres and bamboo poles, covered with netting.
They are calling on prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign, as they say his rule is unlawful and that he is a puppet of the army. The intermittent political crisis has been ongoing for five years now, and has brought deep uncertainty to a country that was long an example of stability in a turbulent region.
Another colour joined the mix yesterday as yellow-shirted activists, largely made up of pro-government monarchists, urged the army to take military action against the red shirts, and end the “anarchy” that had struck the capital.
The yellow shirts shut Bangkok’s airports for a week in 2008. They have considerable resources at their disposal, and there could be widespread violence if the reds and yellows were to meet head on.
Police said protesters left behind 62 rocket-propelled M-79 grenades after the violence on Wednesday. Grenades have been used by the anti-government protesters in previous clashes.
The weekend will bring tens of thousands of red shirts to the capital from poor rural areas and northern cities that are Mr Thaksin’s power bases. Mr Abhisit is under pressure to break up the red shirt camp in an upscale shopping district. The current bout of protest is now in its seventh week.
Prospects of an early deal were dashed when Mr Abhisit threw out a red-shirt proposal for an election in three months, saying he would not negotiate in the face of threats.
The protests are wreaking havoc on the tourist industry, which makes up 6 per cent of the economy. Arrivals at the capital’s Suvarnabhumi Airport have fallen by a third since violence broke out.