From COUP 2006 to CLASS WAR 2010. Who will emerge as the eventual WINNER?

BACK THEN, IT WAS A COUP WAR,

That was year 2006.

Now it’s a CLASS WAR 2010,

It’s when the rich get richer

because money enables everything,

And the poor get poorer

because the lack of the baht creates massive fear, discontent and obvious insecurity.

Whatever the case ……

If deadlocks are not met,

Very soon it will be one big nasty civil war!

IF TRUE PICTURES CAN DEPICT A THOUSAND SORROWS …

Unsettling times are here, business, holiday or otherwise.

What on earth is happening to the romantic land of a thousand “wais”?

Where are all those ever ready put-on smiles for the camera?

What has divided ‘the Land of Smiles’?

A Buddhist kingdom, Thailand is polarised between its elites and the poor in a struggle for power that has turned Bangkok into a war zone. The violence is threatening Thailand’s vital tourism industry. Although 800,000 Britons a year holiday in the kingdom, there have been mass cancellations since the Foreign Office warned about the risks to visitors.

What started it?

In 2006, Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular prime minister, was ousted in a military coup:

a miscalculation that made him a hero to the masses. Most polls suggest he would win any free and fair election. But Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms tycoon turned politician, is feared and hated by his rivals in the elite. They will do anything to stop him coming back.

Who are the Red Shirts?

They started out supporting Thaksin but are now a mass movement preaching social change and class war politics. They are a challenge to the old order, which is built around the monarchy and the army. Among their ranks they include students and activists, as well as many down-to-earth villagers.

What do the protesters want?

They regard the prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, a British-born Newcastle United supporter who came to power in December 2008, as a puppet of the military.

They are demanding that he dissolve parliament and call elections.

What’s going to happen?

Thailand’s old hierarchy is on the way out. The gap between rich and poor is too wide. Discussion of Thailand’s most important institution, the monarchy, is stifled by strict laws. The revered King Bhumibol is old and sick. A privileged class of courtiers, soldiers and businessmen could see their status threatened, so there could be much more bloodshed before any genuine reform.

Now, when two elephants are fighting ….

The grass beneath gets trampled upon.

Haven’t you heard?

Awwww….OUCH!