Day of Violence - Mike McRoberts' blog

The movement of Red Shirts was founded shortly after the 2006 coup that removed Thaksin from office following his second landslide election victory. The first campaign of the Red Shirts was focused on defending the 1997 people's constitution - the first in Thailand's history that was drafted in a popular, democratic manner with participation of elected officials from all the regions - against the imposition of the new 2007 constitution, drafted by handpicked people appointed by the military junta.

The grassroots growth of the Red Shirts rapidly increased the size and influence of the group following a series of repressive actions by the government. The country's most popular political party, Thai Rak Thai, was banned by a court ruling in 2007. The elected prime minister Samak Sundaravej was ousted from office for appearing on a cooking show. The People's Power Party, successor to Thai Rak Thai, was then also banned in 2008, and more than 100 democratically elected members of parliament were disqualified from politics for five years.

The understandable anger felt by many Thai citizens after seeing their popular will suppressed was underscored by systemic double standards exercised by the country's judicial system. One constitutional court judge who banned Samak also regularly did paid appearances on radio and taught at a private university.

When the pro-government elite movement, People's Alliance for Democracy, held disruptive rallies, invaded government buildings, and illegally occupied Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport in 2008, there was not one single arrest, trial or conviction. Instead, these same people are on television every day. In comparison, scores of Red Shirts have already been imprisoned, and those arrested in the most recent protests were processed and convicted in improbably swift trials.

It was all the more impressive that tens of thousands of these activists volunteered to sleep outside at the rally site in obvious discomfort, while risking their lives before the coming violence to make their point. They came to Bangkok to remind the ruling elites and the world that they also have constitutional rights as Thai citizens, that their votes should count too, no matter their level of wealth, class, and education.

But the distractions from these basic facts are numerous. The ruling military elite argues that the killing of almost 70 civilians (only one confirmed death of a military officer) over the past month is justified because they are armed - although most often with slingshots, homemade fireworks and bamboo sticks. The ruling military elite talks about the funding of the Red Shirts, as though these people are risking their lives for some reason other than the anger over having their votes stolen.

The unlawful deployment of force used by the Thai authorities against the protesters, their flip-flopping on the issues of elections and their unwillingness to meet the protesters' pleadings for negotiations to avoid violence speaks volumes about their legitimacy to govern.

But the facts speak for themselves, and the demands by the Red Shirts for new elections and real representative government must be dealt with in a sincere and orderly reconciliation effort.

Above all, the Red Shirts simply want the right to vote, have a say in who runs the country and how.

Dear Mike,
I'm a Massey postgrad student from Thailand. Right now I'm in Thailand and following the news almost 24/7. The red shirts' leaders turned themselves in but it's was their last card. They want to escalate the unrest all over the country and render Thailand into a 'failed state'. This is critical. Many Thai people as well as some policemen are too laid back and just stay away from the trouble. This is not good at all. I therefore call for action from Thai citizen to defend their home from terrorists. This is not just political clashes but the sovereign government losing the ability to control the country and enforce the law.