Tuesday will either mean the end of the Red Shirt demonstrations in BKK or violence

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Prime Minister Abhasit has completely outmanouvered the Red Shirts. The Red Shirts represent the last hope for fugitive former Prime Minister Taksin to create the opening for a coup or enough domestic conflict that he could negotiate to get back some of the B 72 billion that the courts said that he gained illegally while Prime Minister.

For the last couple of months Red Shirt demonstrators who are openly financed and paid daily by Taksin have been occupying key intersections in BKK causing even more massive traffic jams. Many businesses in the surrounding areas have been closed and thousands of people have been left without work.

Abhasit has patiently waited the Red Shirts out and has even angered the Yellow and Multi colored shirt factions which represent the residents of Bangkok, the Central region and the South.

Taksin's plans have been slowly exposed. Bank withdrawals amounting to more than B 5 billion have been documented from Taksin's relatives and close associates to pay for the continued demonstrations.

Taksin has recruited an ambitious general to provide security advice and, presumably, bring together an army group that would establish a coup to put down the violence.

But despite using ex Army Rangers to fire on the police and demonstrators the Government stayed calm. Additional policeman have been killed. But the police also refused to take the bait.

Abhasit has offered a compromise that virtually the whole country sees as being highly concilatory, especially after the Reds debacle at Chulalongkorn Hospital.

The Reds have said that they would stop the demonstrations if the Deputy Prime Minister would surrender to charges and the government announced that the Deputy Prime Minister (in charge of the Govt's response to the rebellion) will surrender to police be arrested. (And then nothing will happen, in Thailand any civilian can bring a criminal suit against anyone just like we can bring a civil suit here. Obviously these private criminal prosecutions are rare and never effective).

At that point the Reds will either give up their demonstration or the government will finally use force to remove the illegal demonstrations from the intersections.


Here is an explanation of the most recent events

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/37114/suthep-agrees-to-arrest



Here is an article about the Maj General Khattiya who is about to be cashiered and prosecuted




http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/37115/khattiya-gets-his-marching-orders

Arrest warrants have also been issued for Maj Gen Khattiya and other UDD leaders relating to terrorism charges and violations of the emergency situation act.

Maj Gen Khattiya said he will not surrender to answer the charges.

He said if the red shirt protesters end their protest, he may go into hiding somewhere in the country. He said he believed the government will look for him after the red shirts disperse.