War-like violence in the streets of Bangkok

Three hours after a Government deadline to vacate their campsite in the middle of Bangkok's glossy shopping and hotel district, anti-Government 'redshirt' protestors remained defiant.

36 people have died since last Thursday in street fighting at a number of locations around the main rally site.

The redshirts have set up another stage on a highway beyond the main area, countering the army's drive to blockade the main rally area.

But yesterday’s 3pm deadline has come after tough talk and tougher action by the Thai army, which has fired live rounds on unarmed protestors.

Five journalists have been injured in recent days, in what is a volatile and unpredictable situation.

Protestors are throwing petrol bombs and burning tyres to create a smokescreen, hindering the line of fire for snipers prowling high-rise buildings overhead. The city is braced for an all-out battle for control of the central city.

The battle between rich and poor

The redshirt protesters have been holed up in central Bangkok since mid-March.

They are bankrolled by telecoms billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who they say helped improve living standards in the poor rice-growing north and north-east.

There, village life is a far cry from the high-rise, traffic-choked, 24-hour lifestyle in Bangkok, a city of 15 million people.

Until last week, their protest has been largely peaceful. In fact, negotiations had almost reached a conclusion two weeks ago after the redshirts agreed to a government commitment to elections in November (their main demand).

However, the redshirts also wanted a couple of other conditions as part of the agreement – one being that the deputy prime minister turn himself in to police for ordering earlier attacks on demonstrators that killed 8 people.

The government refused to grant these wishes and decided enough is enough. This is when the violent battle began last Thursday.

The protestors have now shed their peaceful self-image, lobbing grenades at troops, and are manned by a squad of still-unidentified black-clad gunmen.

The man thought to lead the redshirt militant faction, 'Seh Daeng' or Red Commando, died yesterday morning after being shot in the head last week.

An army sniper is thought to be responsible for the hit, although both the Government and military deny any involvement.

Seh Daeng was also at odds with the rest of the redshirt leadership, who he accused of being too soft on the Government.

The Thai Government and supporting protestors, known as ‘yellowshirts’, say the redshirts are just pawns in a high-stakes power play by Thaksin, who is currently a fugitive from Thailand where he stands accused of corruption while he was prime minister.

Thaksin was removed in a 2006 army coup, after anti-Thaksin yellowshirts (who supposedly represent the ruling class) took to the streets for months of protests, saying that Thaksin was misusing his position to enrich himself and his family.

Yellow is the colour of the country's monarchy, which officially sits above politics. The current King has reigned since 1946, and has stepped in to ease previous conflicts in Thailand.

But the reality is that Thailand's divisions are based not only on a class battle between rich and poor, but also on a power vacuum, with the King now 82 years old, and in hospital since last September.

Silent streets

Bangkok is a vast and sprawling city, much of which is not affected by the violence.

But at night, streets are empty, with some unaffected locations seeing reduced traffic and shops shuttering up early.

For what is usually a vibrant and non-stop metropolis, the eerie silence is unusual and unnerving.

The current violence is confined to central Bangkok, leaving the tourist-magnet beaches and resorts in the south unscathed.

But the images of gun fighting and explosions are making global headlines, and tourism is being affected. This sector accounts for 6% of the country's GDP (total economic output).

The redshirts are strongest in the north and northeast, and have sympathisers in the army and police.

If there is a full-on assault on the protest site in the middle of Bangkok, there could be a backlash in the redshirt rural heartland, and many Thais are worried that the country now verges on civil war.

By Simon Roughneen

Simon Roughneen is an Irish journalist currently based in Southeast Asia. www.simonroughneen.com