But to be honest it was hard to feel truly thankful, because the protests in Thailand have suddenly gone into high gear. For months they have been low intensity affairs that have dominated headlines without really affecting many lives here. Now the politicians and VIPs behind them have ratcheted things up several notches, and nobody is untouched by their actions.
The protestors’ closure of the Bangkok airports means that mail doesn’t arrive from abroad, Thai exports don’t leave, and thousands of people are scrambling to make alternate travel plans. The stuck tourists, businesspeople, tour operators, and hotel owners will never forget how much hassle these protests caused them.Most frustrating of all for me is the seeming lack of a master plan beyond the protests. The goals are as unclear as those of Bush’s war on terror. The only certain outcome I can see is a big mess left for whichever government follows this one. Even if the protestors get the regime change they say they want, the benefits won’t outweigh the damage done to the country’s reputation.
This week the courts are supposed to rule on a case that could end up disbanding the ruling party. One group of protesters would be delighted by that outcome, and agree to vacate the airports. But another group would be incensed, meaning no net gain for the country. Or the king might weigh in Thursday evening, when he delivers his annual birthday speech. If he told people to calm down, they would.
Meanwhile, the vibe around here is pretty odd. Half the Thai people I talk to are anxious for a coup—“just so we can move on, put this behind us.” The other half are doing a variation of self-flagellation—“our country has such lovely land, lovely food, lovely weather; too bad we have to spoil it with such lousy people.” The papers say that more than half the population supports neither of the two main groups holding rallies.
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