Forgive me for being totally ignorant on this situation, but can someone explain really quickly “Who are the good guys?”, and “What is the bad guys’ real problems?”.
Lately, I’m loathe to read a news article without trying to read between the lines, and I don’t know enough about this conflict to understand it! Someone has to be upset about something here to want the bloodbath you speak of...
Are the “Blue Shirts” who sound like the aggressors in the article like Communists, or Muslims, or Anarchists, what kind of “protest” was this? And the Red Shirts — they were just “regular citizens” who were protecting the building? “protesting” against the Blue shirts???
It sounds like the reporter was giving us a play by play of a sporting event. This doesn’t sound like a “protest” either, it sounds more like a “rumble”...
Thanks if you can help me figure this out! :)
Killjoy would be the best placed to answer this one .
Me...I think they are all nuts , and they are destroying the
reputation of Thailand in the process of acting up in these riotous ways . And have been for a long time . Enough already.
The quick and dirty answers to your questions:
Yellow shirts: Those against the former PM Thaksin. They are the ones that shut down the airport last year.
Red shirts: Those in favor of the former PM Thaksin.
Blue shirts: A bunch of thugs put together by the government to attack the red shirts because the Army and Police were not willing to do it.
As for who the good guys and bad guys are, it depends on how you view things. The Thai government refused to crack down when the protesters took over the airport last year and now they are getting a taste of their own medicine. They are screwed no matter what they do since it is exposing a huge double standard in the way the two groups are being handled.
The current PM supported the yellow shirts and that is how he came to power. Prior to him becoming PM, he was calling for the parliament to be dissolved and new elections to be held. Of course, after he got power, those demands went away. IMHO, his only way out of this is new elections which are highly unlikely since he will lose.
Pop some popcorn, fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the show.
Boy The red shirts supported Thaksin and the UDD party, The Yellow shirts, mostly Urban dwellers support the current administration, The blue shirts from what I could figure out are the people in between the to factions bickering and are fed up with the BS. Kind of what it boils down to is a Urban (Bangkok) against Rural(most of the country) conflict. PM me and I can explain it a bit furture if interested.
Who cares? Why is it any of our business?