Red Shirt protesters outside the Government House in Bangkok earlier this yearSocialistWorker.org
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Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a Thai academic and dissident who was targeted by the government for the supposed crime of "lese majesty"--essentially, "disloyalty" to Thailand's head of state, King Bhumibol. To avoid censorship and a possible prison sentence of 15 years, he fled to Britain earlier this year. Here, he analyzes the latest developments in Thailand, three years after a military coup.
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ON SEPTEMBER 19 of this year--the third anniversary of the military coup that wrecked Thai democracy--two demonstrations took place. They sum up the two faces of Thailand.
One demonstration, by tens of thousands of Red Shirts in Bangkok, was organized in order to continue the demand for full democracy. It was a peaceful and friendly demonstration. Yet the military-backed Democrat Party government, headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared a state of emergency and lined up thousands of police and soldiers to deal with the demonstrators.
Previously, back in April, Abhisit had urged soldiers to fire on the Red Shirts. Two people were subsequently killed and 70 injured by government soldiers.
The other demonstration was organized by People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) fascist thugs. The PAD are the Yellow Shirt royalists. The aim of this demonstration was to attack Cambodian villagers living and working at the ancient Kao Prawiharn temple inside Cambodia.
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