Political Update

Last weekend Mary and I made a trip to Chang Mai and Mae Hong Son Provinces.  I'll give a detailed update on that soon, but first I want to update some key events from the ongoing political unrest in Thailand.

The political situation is still quite tense here, but protest areas can still be avoided..  The government has become increasingly desperate in it's attempts to end the political crisis.  At the same time the protesters have been increasingly angered by the governments actions which seems to be adding additional energy to the protests.

Recent Violence
The government launched a campaign to retake control of a number of protest sites earlier this week.  This resulted in violence breaking out on Tuesday at the Phan Fah Bridge near Democracy Monument in Bangkok.  6 people died (1 police officer, 5 protesters) and 63 were injured.

There have also been almost daily grenade attacks near protest sites.  On Friday night 5 people were injured when a hand grenade was thrown into a group of cars near the Pathumwan protest site.

Last night a political rally in the south eastern province of Trat was attacked by gunmen.  The causality numbers are not firm yet, but reports right now indicate 2 dead and 41 injured.  At least 1 of the deaths was a young girl who was helping her grandmother wash dishes at a noodle stall outside of the protest and was hit in the head by a stray bullet.  Very sad.

Angry Rice Farmers
Rural rice farmers who are considered the voting support base of the current government are becoming increasingly upset as well.  The government's rice subsidy scheme is out of money and many farmers who supplied rice to the government under the scheme have not been paid.  The government has tried to secure loans to pay the farmers, but nobody is willing to lend money to the troubled government.

Farmers from west of Bangkok have been in the city protesting for weeks now.  Additional farmers from North of Bangkok attempted to make their way into the city this week.  However, government officials met them outside the city and convinced them to turn back.  How exactly this went down is a topic of debate in Bangkok right now.  Why they turned back is not clear, but the farmers have stated that if they are not paid soon they will return.

This did have a direct impact on my commute on Thursday and Friday as their were thousands of tractors blocking the highway that I take to work in Ayutthaya province.  I was able to detour on much slower secondary roads.

Boycott of Shinawatra Family Businesses
The Shinawatra family (prime minister) is one of Thailand's wealthiest families and protesters are now using the tactic of boycotting any Shinawatra linked businesses and have been leading marches to protest outside these businesses.  I understand the intent of this, but the execution of this plan has sometimes been misguided.  For example, Thailand's largest mobile phone service provider, AIS, was previously owned by the Shinawatras and is being targeted by protesters even though the family sold the company years ago.

A Court Ruling
There was a court ruling at the end of this week that didn't get much international press coverage, but could be significant for how things play out in the coming days and weeks.  After the violence on Tuesday, the courts clarified that the government can not use force to break up non-violent protests.  On the surface this seems good, but it could have unintended consequences.  In fact I think this has the potential to make the situation much more dangerous and unstable.  Why you ask?  The government has been turning to the police to control things so far, but this ruling really limits their ability to rely on the police.  It's unlikely the government will just let the protests continue unchecked.  There are people in the ruling government party with known (or strongly suspected) ties to underground criminal networks (Thai mafia).  Criminal gangs being paid to terrorize protesters becomes a strong possibility with police power being limited and the a government becoming increasingly cornered.

For now life continues as normal for us, but we do have emergency plans in place in case they are needed.

Finally, on a lighter note, here's one way to transport a bamboo ladder.  What could possibly go wrong?

Weekend Update

It has been a mostly quiet week for protests.  Three protest sites have been completely shut down (Lad Phrao, Victory Monument, Rama VIII Bridge).  There are still four stages in central Bangnkok quite close to our condo though.  Protest numbers during the day are quite small, but people are continuing to come out in the evenings.  There have been a number of small bombings late at night (fireworks and hand grenades), but only a few minor injuries.  These seem to be aimed at causing intimidation rather than injury.

The most serious incident this week happened just down the street from us when a confused motorist accidentally turned past a roadblock onto a closed road and sped down the empty street toward a protest site late at night.  He figured out he made a wrong turn when protest guards opened fire on his car injuring him and his passenger.

Mary and I have mostly been avoiding protest sites, but at times this is difficult.  This morning we took care of a number of errands that we have been putting off for a while due to protests.  In the process we passed through all four of the main protest sites in Bangkok's main business district (Asoke, Ratchaprasong, Phathumwan, and Lumpini).  We even caught another glimpse of protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban given a passionate speech just down the road from our condo by Lumpini Park.

When the protests first started, markets started to pop up in protest areas selling shirts, whistles, hats, and food to protesters.  We've noticed that these markets have evolved greatly over the past weeks and are now essentially large street markets for all sorts of merchandise and services. Below is a list of some market stalls we observed while walking between Ratchaprasong and Pathumwan today.  Some are protest related, but most are certainly not.

• Protest shirts, whistles, hats, etc
• Food and drinks
• Thai massage or foot massage (in a chair or on mat in the street)
• Shoes, Dress shirts, Ties
• Watches
• Lamps
• Masks: Batman, Joker, Nixon, Obama, etc
• Bras, panties, lingerie
• Fishing poles
• Pottery
• Bunnies

It makes me wonder if the "Bangkok Shutdown" is still about politics, or is it just turning into a profitable new street market?

Here is a map of the current protest / market sites near our condo.

In other news, Thailand's roads continue to be much more deadly than the political protests.  I regularly see traffic accidents, often with fatalities while commuting to Ayutthaya.  I rarely mention these as they are just an everyday part of life here, but one accident this week was particularly horrific and made headlines in Bangkok.  A truck carrying a loaded shipping container lost control on an elevated expressway.  The truck stayed on the elevated road (that I take every day), but the container on the truck crashed over the side onto the busy road below.  A commuter van was completely flattened.  It had just dropped off a load of passengers, thus the van driver was the only fatality.  It could have been a lot worse.

Finally, Bangkok bid farewell to the legendary Lumpini Muaythai Boxing Stadium last night.  The final fight was packed with people wishing to bid farewell to the 58 year old venue.  The stadium is across the street from our condo and we have enjoyed going to watch the world class fights here a number of times.  A new larger stadium in suburban Bangkok will take it's place.

Election Day

Thailand held elections today.  There was no major violence, although some polling stations were blocked by protesters, did not have ballots, or did not have election officials show up.  Overall 89% of the polling stations across the country were open.  People who were not able to vote were rather upset in many cases, and it is possible the election may end up being ruled invalid in the courts.

Saturday leading up to the election was not quite as peaceful.  There were a number of small bombings, and a rather significant shooting incident when pro and anti government demonstrators clashed.  7 people were wounded, including an American journalist.  Nobody was killed.

Mary and I took this weekend as a good opportunity to get out of Bangkok.  We drove down to the beach town of Hua Hin after work on Friday night.  We enjoyed time at the beach, good food, drink, and even a stop at the historic train station.

There was a ban on alcohol sales from 6PM Saturday through midnight on Sunday.  This bar chose to follow the law, although their communication on why they were closed was just a hair off the mark.

Protests are expected to continue this week. We will keep you updated. 

Chess Match

The political situation has been rather quiet the last few days.  There are still lots of protests going on, but violence has been minimal.  This may just be the calm before the storm though.

Mary had a tense moment this morning when large explosions happened next to her school.  Turns out it was just a planned building demolition.  People are tense here though.  There have been many reports of bombs going off the last two days.  As far as I know, all of them turned out to be fireworks related to the Chinese New Year (or a building demolition).

Mary also caught a glimpse of the main protest leader this evening on her way home from work.  This was not intentional, and neither of us would recommend a foreigner to go anywhere near Suthep Thaugsuban right now.  Anyway, here's the picture near her school.  Suthep can be seen on screen, and also in the red shirt on stage in the background (the red is for Chinese New Year).

I've read the opinions of quite a few political analysts the last few days. There are all sorts of ideas for how the current political chess match might play out over the coming days, weeks, and months.  Sadly not one of them is predicting a quick and peaceful resolution to things.  I have my own predictions, but you'll have to email me privately to get those.

The links below provide some interesting and informative analysis.  I certainly learned a few things reading these.

First, the background on the current conflict that (as far as I have seen ) has not been well reported by western media.  This is written by a Harvard trained political analyst who has been living in Thailand for 45 years.  It's long, but it's worth the 20 minutes it will take to read.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-01-130114.html

The next article makes some predictions.  It's a dry read, and I don't agree with all of it, but it is informative. Budget another 20 minutes for this one.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-02-300114.html

If you're to busy too read these, sorry it's supper time in Thailand, so I'm not going to summarize them.  Also, I need to pack for a weekend at the beach.

I will leave you with something that made me laugh though.  Groups from both sides of the political fence have been holding candle light demonstrations supporting a non-violent approach to resolve the current political situation.  The thought is good, but in one instance the execution was just a hair off the mark.

What do you want?  Peace... Or perhaps, a new Mercedes?

Election Sunday

A brief update on Thailand:

The Thai election commission proposed that the election scheduled for Sunday Feb 2 be delayed.  The prime minister said this would violate the constitution.  The election commission asked for clarification from the Constitutional Court, and the court said the election can be delayed.  The prime minister said the election must go ahead.  All 50 of Bangkok's election officials resigned today.

So it sounds like there will be an election in Thailand on Sunday, although folks are not sure who will administer things.  There are still significant concerns over the legitimacy of any election right now, the potential for groups blocking polls, and political violence.  Here's a maps of where early voting was blocked last weekend.  The areas in red are the locations with the strongest potential for trouble leading up to Sunday's election.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is also moving ahead with corruption charges against the prime minister over a rice subsidy scheme.  This had been talked about in concept previously, but they are now moving forward with a formal impeachment process.

We're thinking it's a good weekend to get out of town and relax at a beach.

Happy Australian Day

It was a bad day if you were trying to vote early in Thailand's elections.  A protest leader was shot and killed blocking a polling station in Bang Na, about 20 minutes from our condo. Most polling stations were blocked by protests in greater Bangkok.  The video link below shows the incident.  View the link at your own discretion.  It is uncut, and violent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzAkLyclys

In happier news, it is Australian Day.  We wish the best to all or our Australian friends.  We enjoyed some food and drinks (keep quiet, it's early voting day, alcohol is banned) at a fine Aussie establishment in Bangkok this evening.

Mary managed to squish her toe in a subway escalator on the way home, and subsequently enjoyed a motorcycle taxi right to our doorstep.  It was about 1 minute faster than walking from the train station.

Mark and Kathy, Ubon Ratchithani is about 3 hours from my factory.  It has been cool, but not freezing.  The child you support should be okay, albeit chilly.  It is warming up here now. Lows should be in the upper 60's (F) this week with highs in the low 90's.

Khon Ramakien: Thai Masked Dance

On Friday night, a girl from church organized an event to go see Khon: Thai Masked Dance at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre. I invited a friend from school to join and there ended up to be six of us for a night out.

The group of girls I know from church with the performers after the show. 

The performance followed the story of Hanuman, a monkey with supernatural powers, that while not perfect, is destined to be the Prince Phra Ram's warrior. The costumes and dance were simply amazing to watch. A friend explained that everyone's mask is uniquely made for each dancer and each night they must be sewn into their outfits. The girls I was with

The performance was divided into 8 scenes that followed Hanuman's life. Accompanied by an onstage band of Thai instruments, the dialogue was in Thai. There was scrolling marque to follow along in English. The hour and a half show went by quickly.

I can imagine coming to a show at the theater back in 1933 when it first opened was quite the event. The 50 or so people in attendance for the show on Friday did little to fill the massive auditorium, however it was in excellent condition. This is just one of the many venues hurting from fewer tourists being in the city because of the massive protests.

If you're planning a visit to Bangkok and want to experience a night of traditional Thai dancing, I would recommend visiting. Shows are every Friday night at 7:30 and the theatre is just a short taxi ride away from the Hua Lumpong MRT train station exit 1. http://www.salachalermkrung.com/