2 weeks have passed since the 9 week protest abruptly and violently came to a bitter end. The streets have now been cleaned up and Bangkok is functioning as usual again.
However the burned and wrecked shopping centre stands testament to the violence and arson which happened here. The Thai military moved in with great force to break up the “red shirts” (protest group), that ended up with a few deaths and several injuries. It was at this point that the Red Shirts leader surrendered.
In total the protest which was calling for early elections, resulted in 80 deaths and more that 1000 people injured. Now the protest is over, and the government is still in place, no early election has been called.
After the Red Shirts had returned home, it came time to ask themselves if they had achieved anything. Certainly there had not been a change in government, people had been killed, several injured and some members of the Red Shirts are now in detention or on the run.
However what the Red Shirts did achieve was government attention. They not only spread their passionate feelings toward the government across Thailand, but their message was heard across the world. The question is, did the Thai government listen?
Many of the protestors feel a sense of bitterness, their anger at the political situation that has not subsided. They ask themselves “why is it hard to get real democracy?” Most of the protesters have travelled home and turned to their local governments, which resulted in the burning down and destroying of several town halls
The government are all too aware of the feeling these protests have. The acting governor says “They’ve been storing up these emotions for many years; it will take a long time to counter-act these feelings”.
The government seems to be placing the blame else where though. They imply that the exiled ex-prime minister is encouraging the protests. He knows that there is a lot a support for the ex-prime mister among the Red Shirts. There was even suggestion that he was providing financial support.
Now that Bangkok is back to normal, and it is safe to travel there once again, I ask what are the government doing to ensure the Red Shirt protesters of their capabilities? Should the government be held accountable for all those killed during the protest? Is there any real proof that the old Prime Minister is encouraging these protests? And was the protesting really worth it?
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About Tessa Biddulph
Other articles by Tessa Biddulph
Tessa Biddulph works in the marketing department and is new to Bales Worldwide. She is spending a year at Bales Worldwide before heading back to university to complete a PR degree. Tessa’s favourite destination she has travelled to is Sydney, Australia, but since working at Bales she has already drawn up a long list of places she’d like to visit (number 1 being Machu Picchu, in Peru). 