Bangkok Is Heating Up and I Don’t Mean the Weather

Red shirts begin arriving in Bangkok

Both the cast and the issues are the same: (1) the yellow shirts vs. the red shirts; and (2) will deposed ex Prime Minster Thaksin be brought back, or will he continue in his self-imposed exile as a fugitive felon. The yellow shirts are the anti-Thaksin forces who closed down Bangkok’s international airport for five days in 2008, and the red shirts are the pro-Thaksin forces who perpetrated a rampage through Bangkok 11 months ago, which caused burning, violence and death, as well as the emergency closing of a summit meeting of regional heads of state, who fled the country in fright.

Right now, life in Bangkok is focused almost entirely on the mass rally of red shirts planned for this weekend. The organizers egged on and financially supported by Thaksin from Dubai, claim that one million red shirts will descend on Bangkok beginning Friday (March 12, 2010) with the avowed purpose of bringing down the government. In contrast to their violent performance nearly a year ago, they avow that all will be peaceful this time. Most observers doubt that they will be able to muster anything near a million protesters, but the government is taking no chances. On Tuesday, the coalition government of Prime Minister Abhisit invoked the Internal Security Act, which transfers security from the corrupt police, to the more stable and reliable army. 30,000 troops and 10,000 police, all unarmed, are in Bangkok to maintain law and order.

How do things look on the ground to this Bangkok resident? For starters, it is important to this expat that none of the issues bringing the mob to Bangkok involve foreigners and no foreigners have been made scapegoats or targets. Therefore, I feel more like an interested observer than a threatened resident. Yesterday (March 10) the United States Embassy issued this very sensible “warden’s alert,” which will govern my actions over the weekend:

“This message alerts U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Thailand that political demonstrations by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (aka UDD or "red-shirts") are expected to begin in Bangkok towards the end of this week and could last well into next week. The main demonstration is expected to occur near Government House and along Ratchadamnoen Road in the Dusit district of Bangkok, but the UDD hasalso announced plans for demonstrations in other parts of town. As a result, traffic congestion and difficulty of movement is possible throughout Bangkok. U.S. citizens should be alert to the possibility of UDD demonstrations or gatherings elsewhere in Thailand as well. While UDD leadership has pledged that the demonstrations will be peaceful, the possibility of violence cannot be ruled out and the government has invoked the Internal Security Act (ISA), which gives the police and military expanded powers to maintain security. U.S. citizens are reminded of the small bombs which exploded (or were detected) in Bangkok in late February; Thai authorities are closely monitoring the possibility of similar occurrences.

“Therefore, U.S. citizens should, particularly over the March 12-14 eekend, pay close attention to public sources of information, including media reporting and the U.S. Embassy website, concerning events on the streets of Bangkok and should be aware of their surroundings at all times. We remind U.S. citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence.
U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations and to exercise caution in their movements around Bangkok or if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.”

As a practical matter, this means that I will stay in my apartment most of the time and when I leave, I will stay within my neighborhood and go to such well-frequented sites as the Internet café, my favorite restaurant and the local supermarket. In the past, troubles in Bangkok have never reached my neighborhood and, unless you were watching TV or the Internet, you couldn’t tell that anything untoward was happening elsewhere in the city, such as the military coup of 2006. Many events in Bangkok scheduled to take place this weekend, have already been postponed and some school closing have been announced. Banks and other vital services have told of their contingency plans. I was thinking of going to a Saturday afternoon concert at the Mahidol Salaya campus, but I’ve canceled that idea from concerns about traffic conditions, not out of fear of personal safety.

The only visible sign in my immediate neighborhood that trouble might be expected, is that the park at the head of my soi, has been occupied by a small platoon of police 24 hours a day for about the past two weeks. A supply of riot shields for their use, are stored partially hidden behind a sign within the park. But Thai friends of mine are indicating that their level of concern appears greater than is mine. For instance, they report to me that many Thais are withdrawing money from their bank accounts, presumably because they fear the closing of the banks and their ATM machines. Others report to me that people are buying and husbanding food in anticipation of the red shirts closing down Bangkok. A Thai friend who works for a government department was told to stay late last night and complete his work scheduled for Friday and Monday, because his boss believed that the office might be closed on those days. An alert text message I just received (10:00 AM Thursday) says that since midnight, security checkpoints have been activated at designated rally points throughout Bangkok.

So, my friends and family in the United States, if you want a little excitement, Bangkok is never dull. If anything occurs which might make the international news and give you concern, I’ll post to Facebook to assure you that I’m okay.