‘If they violate the laws, such as blocking roads and intruding into government offices,’ he warned on 12 March 2010, ‘we will have to disperse’ them.
The official’s name was Suthep Thaugsuban, and two and a half months later, after a week of steadily increasing violence, he followed through on that threat. Suthep ordered a crackdown that saw the army rip through the protesters’ tire-and-bamboo-barricaded encampments and fire M-16s into crowds of fleeing protesters.
In 2011, Suthep’s party was soundly defeated in elections. Today, he is leading a protest movement that has itself blocked roads and broken into government offices - an extraordinary role reversal that underscores not only the cyclical nature of Thai politics, but the total lack of progress toward bridging a political divide that has plagued the country for nearly a decade.
Suthep says his movement is aimed at routing out corruption he claims is endemic within Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration. Just like the so-called Red Shirts who seized downtown Bangkok in 2010, he is demanding the resignation of the country’s government. And just like the Red Shirts, his supporters are trying to achieve that by shutting down parts of capital.
Among the places his supporters occupy is the place the Red Shirts made their last stand four years ago: Ratchaprasong, the country’s glitziest intersection, where just like the Red Shirts, protesters are camping in the middle of the road, in front of a huge stage complete with speakers and a giant video screen.
The official’s name was Suthep Thaugsuban, and two and a half months later, after a week of steadily increasing violence, he followed through on that threat. Suthep ordered a crackdown that saw the army rip through the protesters’ tire-and-bamboo-barricaded encampments and fire M-16s into crowds of fleeing protesters.
In 2011, Suthep’s party was soundly defeated in elections. Today, he is leading a protest movement that has itself blocked roads and broken into government offices - an extraordinary role reversal that underscores not only the cyclical nature of Thai politics, but the total lack of progress toward bridging a political divide that has plagued the country for nearly a decade.
Suthep says his movement is aimed at routing out corruption he claims is endemic within Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration. Just like the so-called Red Shirts who seized downtown Bangkok in 2010, he is demanding the resignation of the country’s government. And just like the Red Shirts, his supporters are trying to achieve that by shutting down parts of capital.
Among the places his supporters occupy is the place the Red Shirts made their last stand four years ago: Ratchaprasong, the country’s glitziest intersection, where just like the Red Shirts, protesters are camping in the middle of the road, in front of a huge stage complete with speakers and a giant video screen.