Demonstration in Thailand ebbs, clashes between social classes remain
Saturday, 20 March 2010
A mass anti-government rally in Thailand ebbed Friday after reaching a climax when demonstrators spilled gallons of blood outside the home and office of the prime minister.
The Red Shirts, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, called for a "class war" to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
Political tensions have repeatedly risen in Thailand as groups that support or oppose the ousted Thaksin Shinawatra battled in recent years.
Since Thaksin took office in 2001, he was dedicated to strengthening his domestic economy at the grassroots level to eradicate poverty. That effort benefited the poor mainly in Thailand's northern and northeastern regions but hurt the middle class in the capital Bangkok and western regions.
In 2006, the People Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also known as Yellow Shirts, started to protest against Thaksin. The PAD consists of middle and upper-class people in Bangkok and in southwestern regions who gained support from then opposition parties.
In the same year, the army overthrew Thaksin's government for alleged corruption before a mass anti-Thaksin rally by Yellow Shirts. Since then, the pro-Thaksin group Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts have become the chief players in the county's political crises.
Meanwhile, some politicians criticised Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party, which overwhelmingly dominated the parliament, for having a monopoly on state power.
During an ongoing rally that started March 13, protesters called on Abhisit to dissolve the parliament for fresh elections because they were confident of winning the majority as the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party is the largest in parliament.
The blood-spilling action that showed protesters' "sacrifice for democracy" caught the world's attention but moved them no closer to their goal of forcing new elections.
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Wednesday marched to Abhisit's home and spilled blood as a protest against his "elitist" rule. They then gathered outside the U.S. embassy and accused American intelligence officials of bugging Thaksin.
There was no clashes between the Red Shirts and riot police. The protest so far has succeeded in avoiding violence, which leaders of the Red Shirts promised to do before they marched.
In last year's demonstration, two people died and about 130 people injured during the clashes amid the scattered rioting. And protesters from the Red Shirts stormed into the venue of the then-ongoing ASEAN summit, resulting in the cancellation of all of the summits.
Experts in Bangkok said anti-government demonstrations in Thailand, no matter in a peaceful or violent way, always failed to overthrow the government.
In 2008, the Yellow Shirts illegally occupied the prime minister's office for months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week. But their efforts did not result in the fall of the government.
Political analysists said that demonstations would be at most a kind of "catalyst" for government change.
Abhisit's Democratic Party is allegedly involved in an illegal campaign donation scheme, which probably will put the government in danger if the court rules against the Democratic Party, experts said.
Leaders of the Red Shirts and Abhisit have announced that they were ready to talk directly with each other. Analysists pointed out that the rally would probably fail to achieve any results but it did not mean that such movements would disappear.
Clashes between social classes will continue and debate on Thaksin's policies may provoke similar problems in the future, they said. — Xinhua
The Red Shirts, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, called for a "class war" to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
Political tensions have repeatedly risen in Thailand as groups that support or oppose the ousted Thaksin Shinawatra battled in recent years.
Since Thaksin took office in 2001, he was dedicated to strengthening his domestic economy at the grassroots level to eradicate poverty. That effort benefited the poor mainly in Thailand's northern and northeastern regions but hurt the middle class in the capital Bangkok and western regions.
In 2006, the People Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also known as Yellow Shirts, started to protest against Thaksin. The PAD consists of middle and upper-class people in Bangkok and in southwestern regions who gained support from then opposition parties.
In the same year, the army overthrew Thaksin's government for alleged corruption before a mass anti-Thaksin rally by Yellow Shirts. Since then, the pro-Thaksin group Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts have become the chief players in the county's political crises.
Meanwhile, some politicians criticised Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party, which overwhelmingly dominated the parliament, for having a monopoly on state power.
During an ongoing rally that started March 13, protesters called on Abhisit to dissolve the parliament for fresh elections because they were confident of winning the majority as the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party is the largest in parliament.
The blood-spilling action that showed protesters' "sacrifice for democracy" caught the world's attention but moved them no closer to their goal of forcing new elections.
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Wednesday marched to Abhisit's home and spilled blood as a protest against his "elitist" rule. They then gathered outside the U.S. embassy and accused American intelligence officials of bugging Thaksin.
There was no clashes between the Red Shirts and riot police. The protest so far has succeeded in avoiding violence, which leaders of the Red Shirts promised to do before they marched.
In last year's demonstration, two people died and about 130 people injured during the clashes amid the scattered rioting. And protesters from the Red Shirts stormed into the venue of the then-ongoing ASEAN summit, resulting in the cancellation of all of the summits.
Experts in Bangkok said anti-government demonstrations in Thailand, no matter in a peaceful or violent way, always failed to overthrow the government.
In 2008, the Yellow Shirts illegally occupied the prime minister's office for months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week. But their efforts did not result in the fall of the government.
Political analysists said that demonstations would be at most a kind of "catalyst" for government change.
Abhisit's Democratic Party is allegedly involved in an illegal campaign donation scheme, which probably will put the government in danger if the court rules against the Democratic Party, experts said.
Leaders of the Red Shirts and Abhisit have announced that they were ready to talk directly with each other. Analysists pointed out that the rally would probably fail to achieve any results but it did not mean that such movements would disappear.
Clashes between social classes will continue and debate on Thaksin's policies may provoke similar problems in the future, they said. — Xinhua