Stalemate at the 11th Infantry Regiment

I swear I should be a political analyst. This morning Abhisit said that he won't negotiate with the Red Shirts if they come to the 11th Infantry Regiment. Since the Red Shirts are already on their way (I can hear them honking their horns while I'm writing this) it seems that the situation will be at a stalemate again. What are the Red Shirts going to do? They can't take the military base. The military will impose martial law and that might lead to violence (who do you think will win- army or Red Shirts?). What a mess! One thing is for sure. No matter how many grenades explode in Bangkok, AUA (where I teach) will still be open for learning. So, off to work I go! At least I'll get some pictures on the way to work!

Red Shirts Push Back and Grenade Attacks Increasing Today

It appears that the Red Shirts are going to march again tomorrow. They threatened to "storm" the Government House today, but were somehow talked down by police authorities (the reports give a vague notion of what the agreement entailed). But apparently it was enough to make the Red Shirts return to Saphan Faa with the expectation that some sort of negotiation with the government will take place in the next 24 hours at the 11 Infantry Regiment in Bangkok. The taxi driver that dropped me off at my apartment tonight told me that they are expected to meet with Abhisit at 10:30 a.m. to "officially" discuss the possibility of dissolving parliament. I don't know if that is really expected to happen, but it seems unlikely given Abhisit's rhetoric concerning the Red Shirts and their movement.

I do, however, know that I keep hearing reports of grenades going off in different parts of Bangkok every few days it seems like. This doesn't really scare me, but it is very strange. Of course, on The Nation's website I saw reports of a grenade going off and injuring three people (including one soldier) on Viphawadi-Rangsit at around 7 p.m., while apparently another grenade injured two people at around 9:40 p.m. (???). Glancing at the Bangkok Post an hour later, I see that there were three separate attacks in Bangkok today! These kinds of mysterious attacks, which seem to have no suspects, appear to be occurring fairly frequently and no one knows where the hell they are coming from or exactly why the TV stations are being targeted. I suppose there are only three possible suspects: A) Red Shirts B) Yellow Shirts C) A "Third Party." Well, that really narrows it down, doesn't it?

At any rate, it was uplifting to see that after one of the bombings there was a drastic need for AB and O blood for a few of the victims. It appears that Twitter was used to post an announcement calling for these blood types to quickly donate to help these individuals. Soon thereafter, another announcement asking people to stop donating blood was given because there was such an overwhelming response to the first announcement. I guess modern technology and good old compassion can be used hand in hand for a greater good. No word yet on whether the victims will recover, but it's still a nice story.

We'll see what happens with the political debacle in the coming days. I don't really expect that much will change in the Red Shirts' favor, but who knows...

Red Shirts Rally On

The largest artery of Thailand, Phahonyothin Road, filled with red shirted demonstrators on March 15th. Hoping to spur the dissolution of parliament to bring about new and “fair” elections, the Red Shirt Movement pulsed through the heart of Bangkok towards the 11th infantry base near Kasetsart University where the current Prime Minister, Abhisit Vechajiwa was taking refuge.
Abhisit appeared on television this morning to clearly signal he had no plans to bow down to the Red Shirt’s demands. The Red Shirts began to march towards the base and by 11 a.m. one could hear the horns and festive music from a short distance near the intersection of Phahonyothin and Ratchayothin Roads. The procession of Red Shirts came slowly, at first, but soon began to pick up pace and numbers.
The message during the march was clear. The Red Shirts wanted to have a non-violent demonstration to bring about the following changes: a new constitution, the dissolution of parliament, fresh elections, Abhisit’s removal from office, a “fair” democracy, and most importantly, Thaksin’s return to power. The Red Shirts, who are also known as the United Front for Democracy (UDD) or นปช. (Nah-Bah-Chah), paraded down Phahonyothin for three or four hours before reaching their destination at the 11th infantry Army Base.
Their morale was high and the atmosphere of the procession was definitively festive, reminiscent of Songkran (the well-known Thai water festival). We were greeted by many Thaksin supporters who expressed gratitude when we took their pictures.
Hundreds, thousands, and then tens of thousands drove by the giant Elephant towers which seemed poetic given that Thailand is often represented by the auspicious white elephant (an animal that is said to be highly revered here). Each truck, car, taxi, tuk-tuk, motorcycle, and van was jam packed with Red Shirts who shouted slogans like “Get out, Abhisit!” (“ออกไป!”), and “No more mafia.” The slogans were sometimes heard in Thai and sometimes in English.
The protestors, who had earlier in the morning given Abhisit and his government an ultimatum to dissolve parliament by noon, seemed to be unscathed by Abhisit’s refusal to step down. As the clock passed 12 p.m. the Red Shirts continued onward to their destination. By nightfall, there had been unconfirmed reports of shootings, and later there were confirmed reports of M179 grenades injuring several infantry soldiers; although the details of the latter occurrence seem unclear. Clearly, the Red Shirt plans to dissolve parliament were not yet successful, and so by Monday evening their leaders had announced a plan to gather 30-40 cc of blood from each demonstrator in order to douse Government House with the blood of the movement. The act, they proclaimed, would be symbolic of their united actions against the current government.
By Tuesday evening, the Red Shirts had gathered and spread the blood over the entrance to Government House. Soon after, the blood was cleansed with bleach and other chemicals and removed with water. It seemed that by the end of the day (March 16th) the Red Shirts had been thwarted in their efforts to overthrow the government and humiliated by the Thai media. Many people were asking the question: “Why throw blood on the government house? What good will that do?” By the end of Tuesday evening, the Red Shirts were probably asking themselves what they are going to do next and what effect their actions have had on effecting change in their favor. At this point it is unclear if they have had any real effect at all on the current government.

My visit to a non-prof in Nana and the impending red shirt demonstrations

I'll get right to the point. There are two interesting things that have happened in the last few days. One is a personal note, which highlights the gamut of interesting opportunities available in Thailand if you take the effort to learn to speak and read Thai. The other is a public event, which has grabbed the attention of nearly everyone in Thailand over the last two days.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a well-known non-profit organization to determine if I was a good fit for their translating needs. They required someone who was not a Thai national and could speak Thai well enough to communicate with a certain group of detainees in a volatile area of Thailand. I'm keeping the details vague on purpose as part of a contractual agreement. I met with the head of the operation conducting this inquiry into detainees lives and she was very pleasant, but did not offer me the job because I am American and the detainees that I would have been speaking too would be decidely anti-American. She apologized for the oversight in the hiring process, admitting that she had overlooked the fact that my nationality would be a problem, but then promised to pay for my time (i.e., just for showing up). All in all it was a great experience and she took down my contact number in the likelihood that they will have future translation jobs develop. I was excited about the possibility of putting my Thai to use and I hope that one day I can work for an organization like theirs that provides an important humanitarian function. For now, I think I'm going to sign a contract with a translation service in the hopes that they will find me other translation jobs throughout Thailand. The only thing that concerns me is that the contract they expect me to sign requires me to work exclusively for them, and for ten years from my start date I cannot solicit business from any of their clients. I intend to get a good sense of how that works by speaking directly to the manager of this translation service before I sign - but at least by signing I will be able to have access to a range of new opportunities.

Now on to the ongoing red shirt demonstrations in Thailand. Today is what they're calling "The Judgment Day," even though I was under the impression that the "Judgment Day" was when Thaksin had his court case concerning his 2 or more billion US dollars that were frozen by the government. Nevertheless, from what I gather from Thai t.v., the red shirts are planning to proceed through victory monument and up Phahonyothin, reaching Mo Chit where they might set up stages and possibly continuing a march through to Central Lat Phrao, Major Ratchayothin, and Kasetsart University. They also plan to occupy Vipawadi Rangsit near this general area. It'll be interesting to see how the demonstrations turn out. The news is adamant that the government does not want to use force to quell the demonstrations, which makes sense - given the violence in so many previous rallies throughout Thai modern history (e.g., Bloody May 1992). I saw that the police will not have "weapons," according to the news, but will have batons. The police and military appear to be well organized, numerous, and ready for whatever. Meanwhile, American ambassadors appear to be encouraging Abhisit's government to refrain from using force in all efforts to control the red shirt demonstrations. The effects of violence today would be devastating for Thailand's image, particularly among potential tourists who keep a large portion of the Thai economy going. Right now, it is unclear to Thai's and foreigners alike how this situation will play out. But, all of the Bangkokians I've talked to are afraid and aggravated by the demonstrations. I plan to check out the march from Phahonyothin, as I live near Major Ratchayothin and will have easy access to the situation. I'll try to get some good pictures and I will possibly get a chance to converse with a few of the demonstration's supporters.