Violence escalated in Bangkok on Friday as Thai troops fired on anti-government protesters who are seeking to oust the nation’s prime minister. It is the latest in a series of clashes that pit the mostly poor, rural demonstrators against the urban and conservative elite that rule the Asian nation. The military action effectively ended an on-going effort to broker some sort of truce between the opposing groups.
By evening, the streets in the area where the protesters have been camping were mostly clear, though scattered gunfire and occasional explosions could still be heard. Observers also reported that plumes of black smoke marked the area of the clashes. There were reports that at least one person had been killed and more than 20 injured during the clashes, but independent confirmation of the toll was difficult to obtain. Two Thai journalists and a Canadian reporter were among the confirmed injured.x
The military action appears unlikely to bring an end to the protests that began in mid-March. Leaders of the protest movement told thousands of their followers late Friday that they would continue to hold their ground in the city and that they would resist additional military actions. The leaders suggested, too, that the protests, heretofore mostly limited to Bangkok, could spread to other areas of the country. That possibility certainly has to worry an embattled ruling elite under increasing pressure to resolve the current standoff.
So far, government efforts to placate the protesters have failed. Last week, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva offered to hold elections in November, but the offer was rejected. Leaders of the protest made additional demands that the government refused to accept. The military push on Friday suggests the government is willing to use force to either force negotiations that could lead to some sort of reconciliation or to out an end to the protests.
The latter seems unlikely. The protests are at their heart political, of course, but they have other deep roots as well. The protesters want a more equitable society that will allow them broader participation in society and expanded economic opportunities. Those are demands that the current government and its leaders, long accustomed to the perks of power and authority, will find difficult to meet.
The eventual outcome of the current protests and the Thai government’s response to them remain unsure. What is certain, at the moment, is that Thailand, once home to one of Southeast Asia’s most viable democracies and the region’s more vibrant economies, is in a state of flux that threatens the nation’s political, economic and social equilibrium. That, in turn, raises worrisome questions about the continued stability of the entire region.