A quick update to my previous post about Thai PM Abhisit’s talks with red shirt leaders here in Bangkok today.
The talks have concluded for today, and the discussions will resume tomorrow, says this Bangkok Post story. BP has also been sharing some observations on Twitter, as have @terryfrd, @tri26, and others.
The meeting was broadcast live on Thai TV. The PM and his two colleagues sat on one side of a table, all wearing blue shirts. The three red shirt leaders sat opposite them.
As you can see in the image above, the participants’ body language and facial expressions seemed relatively relaxed given the heated nature of the ongoing protests.
(Image: Bangkok Post.)
An interesting development here in Thailand today: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has agreed to meet for talks with red shirt leaders. The meeting is taking place now
Abhisit had, until today, said he would not speak with the red leaders so long as they insisted on their demand to dissolve the House. That remains their goal, however.
This weekend saw some mysterious grenade attacks on state-run TV stations and on the 11th infantry command, the military base where Abhisit has been staying. And red shirt protesters reportedly stepped up their demonstrations at that compound.
Here are stories from AP, CNN.com, and BBC. And BP has a round-up of news links and some commentary.
Analysts say that Abhisit is unlikely to dissolve the House. But the red shirts are optimistic.
In a statement to media today, they say that while the talks are ongoing, demonstrators will remain at Phan Fa bridge on Rajadamnoen Rd., dancing and cheering and “waiting for the Parliament dissolution announcement today.”
Now that the red shirt protests have come to an end (or paused?), here’s the question: What now?
Here are a few observations and questions, many of which I expect to re-visit in subsequent posts:
The reds shirts gained some credibility because the protests were peaceful. The violence that occurred in April, 2009 discredited the reds’ cause. And the Abhisit government dealt with the unrest successfully, boosting the PM’s stature.
The police — many of whom, I understand, were from the north and northeast of Thailand, like many of the red shirts — showed restraint in allowing the protesters to perform their “blood protests” in an orderly manner.
No doubt the notion of a controlled protest that involves the splattering of human blood seems contradictory. But I can tell you, from witnessing the events at Government House and the prime minister’s residence, that the police dealt with the crowds in a measured, well-coordinated manner.
You might not get this impression from reading the local media here but the red shirts seem to enjoy significant support among Bangkok people.
To wit: I spent many hours attending red shirt protests and observing the red shirt caravans that paraded around town, and the onlookers overwhelmingly greeted the red demonstrators warmly. For example, see the image below, in which what appear to be everyday folks — not protesters who are wearing red attire — have come out to cheer the protesters on.
This is notable because the red shirts are typically characterized as being farmers from the north and northeast who are at odds with the Bangkok middle class, business establishment, and bureaucracy.
How will we remember the “blood protests“? The shocking use of protesters’ blood made international headlines, raising awareness of the red shirts’ cause abroad. But did the tactic alienate moderate Thais who are neither red nor yellow?
People I have talked to have said that the reds’ use of blood was meant to appeal to their own base, and to seize the attention of those in power. So perhaps that’s all the red shirt leaders care about.
Can the red shirts move beyond Thaksin? Or do they want to? The exiled prime minister is reviled by many (non red shirt) Thais. Indeed, even some red shirts with whom I spoke told me that they were protesting not in support of Thaksin, but for democracy and what they call a level playing field.
Still, Thaksin’s image could be seen on many, many signs and banners, such as the flag below. Thaksin is undoubtedly popular among many red shirts. But will the man prove to be a stumbling block to the red shirt movement?
Will dissolving the house solve anything? This is what the reds say they are trying to accomlish. But looking ahead, if new elections are held, and if the Thaksin-friendly Phua Thai party wins — as it likely would — what would happen then? Would Phua Thai appoint another proxy for Thaksin? If so, will the PAD — the yellow shirts — return?
That’s it for now. More on this soon, I’m sure.
By the way, my five observations from last year — after the Songkran unrest ended — are similar to some of these thoughts. That’s testament, I suppose, to the intractability of the problem.
Red shirt protesters will be touring Bangkok today, taking their protests from Rajadamnoen Rd. to various parts of the city. The Bangkok Post has the details. And there’s more from Reuters.
In other news, this week’s Economist will not be distributed in Thailand due to an article about the Thai monarchy. Reuters explains. And VOA has a brief item, as well.
You can follow the news on today’s protests by checking out the #redmarch hashtag on Twitter. You can also, of course, consult the Bangkok Post, the Nation, and Google News. (I will likely also be relaying some thoughts via Twitter.)
Things have been relatively quiet here in Bangkok today. So I don’t have much new to share. But I did want to point out that the images I snapped of the bizarre blood protests here in Bangkok have been picked up by the uber-blog BoingBoing.
Take a look at the (46 and counting) comments. The commentary there provides some insight into how the event may be perceived among a tech-savvy, young-ish, Western audience.
Most of BoingBoing’s readers likely aren’t as familiar with the political issues driving the red shirts’ protests, so it’s interesting to see what they have to say about the demonstrations.
Here are my images from today’s red shirt “blood protest” — is that an official term now? — at the prime minister’s house. You can find the details in this BBC story. And there’s more from GlobalPost and AP.
I have a short video of the blood dousing incident itself, and will try to share that later. For now, here’re the pics…
There’re a few more images in the full Flickr photoset.
As ever, I’ll continue to monitor events. Follow me on Twitter for real-time updates.
Here are some photos from the red shirts’ blood protest here in Bangkok today. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it.
Here’re the details from CNN.com, NPR, and the WSJ.
In brief: thousands of demonstrators began donating blood at about 8:30 a.m. today at the main rally site, near Rajadamnoen Rd. The blood was collected in large containers, and then in the late afternoon a large group of protesters marched — brandishing the blood — to Government House. There, several red shirt leaders poured blood near the entrance. (The WSJ story has a pic of that moment.)
The symbolic act was meant, red shirt leaders said, to show Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that if he wants to enter the compound, he’ll have to step on Thai blood to do so.
Warning: if you don’t like images of needles or blood — or, specifically, photos of large plastic bottles full of blood — avert your eyes now…
Here’s the full photoset on Flickr.
I’ll be covering the ongoing protests tomorrow (Wed. the 17th), as well. You can follow me on Twitter for updates.
Here are some images from the red shirt protests here in Bangkok today (Mon., March 15) and yesterday (Sun., March 14).
Some of these images are from the demonstration at the 11th infantry regiment complex (story from AP here) north of Bangkok today. Others are are of the scenes at Victory Monument today and the happenings at the main protest site along Rajadamnoen Rd. area downtown yesterday.
Here’s a link to the full Flickr photoset.
Stay tuned. The red shirts promise to make a rather dramatic, symbolic move tomorrow…
Quick note — I’ve been out and about all day reporting on the red shirt protests here in Bangkok. It’s difficult to update Newley.com remotely, but I’ve been posting snippets of text and a few images on Twitter. Follow me here.
More soon…
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.