Red Shirt Update

 

The red shirt cavalcades came to town in early March and paraded around the city, it was clear that the numbers involved, the intensity of emotions, and the degree of organisation was different from anything seen before. The response from the sidewalk crowds in the capital was also unexpected and telling. The argument that this was a paid mob that would fade away when the funding ran out soon disappeared. As tensions in the capital rose, there were extra shows of support in the provinces, including unprecedented attempts to disrupt the movements of security forces.
On April 22 there were grenade attacks at Sala Daeng BTS station next to Silom Road, Bangkok's central business and financial district, which dealt another severe blow as one was killed and more than 70 injured. Earlier, on April 10, the clash between government security forces and protesters resulted in 25 deaths and more than 800 injuries.
Now the Prime Minister has offered to hold election on Nov 14 to avoid more bloodshed, and the red shirts have promised to respond today and decide on future of the occupation of the central shopping area called Ratchaprasong.
For some, the red-shirt movement is a true popular uprising, a long overdue outburst of anger against the inequalities and injustices in Thai society. For others, the current stand-off is just another round of conflict among elites - Thaksin challenging the old guard, they got rid of him, and he's fighting back by using his money to stir trouble. For yet others, the deep reason behind the tensions of the last few years is anxiety over the succession.
Despite the ongoing political problems Thai exports are doing well. According to an HSBC study, exports of hard disk and other automatic data-processing machines grew by 48.5 per cent year on year in March to boost the first-quarter export growth by 53.2 per cent year on year. Vehicles and parts, rubber, rubber products, electronic integrated circuits, electrical appliances and chemical products were among the high-growth products in the first quarter.
So far, the political conflict has hit tourism, shopping malls, many small businesses and investment sectors. Thousands of local people have been made redundant by the occupation and the number of foreign tourist arrivals projected to fall to 12 million from this year's 15-million target. Many countries now warn their citizens to avoid Bangkok and Thailand.