ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters splashed bottles of their own blood outside the Thai prime minister’s office yesterday as a sign of their “sacrifice for democracy” as the protests appeared to wane.
Rural supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wearing their signature red shirts, have started to trickle back home and it seems that Abhisit Vejjajiva has ridden out the latest threat to his government.
The protests are the latest destabilising political unrest in Thailand, which has seen regular demonstrations since a 2006 coup that ousted Mr Thaksin. While the Abhisit government was not elected by popular mandate, Mr Thaksin also favoured anti-democratic measures during his time in power, making it a difficult political situation to read.
The supporters threw 300 litres of their blood at the gates of Government House. Despite the dramatic nature of the action, they have been protesting peacefully for four days to call for the resignation of Mr Abhisit and fresh elections.
Mindful that Mr Thaksin’s supporters would most likely win an election, the PM has refused to step down and he has the backing of the country’s monarchy, the Bangkok elite and the army.
Mr Thaksin, who was elected twice before the coup toppled him from power and who was later sentenced to two years in jail for corruption, fled into exile before he was sentenced and lives mostly in Dubai. His core support is among the rural poor and in the north of the country.
All day long, the supporters had donated 10 cubic cm of blood to medical volunteers and nurses, which they then displayed in five-litre bottles in a grisly symbolic act.
There had been worries about violence when three grenades exploded at a Bangkok army base, wounding two soldiers on Monday.
In December 2007, Mr Thaksin’s allies won the first post-coup election, but they too were ousted from power in December 2008 after “yellow shirt” supporters of the current government occupied public buildings and both of Bangkok’s airports, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
Mr Abhisit insists the government’s chief goal is to avoid confrontation and violence, and has said he would be willing to listen to the opposition protesters’ demands. He is required to hold an election before the end of next year, and analysts believe that he is trying to stay in power as long as possible to shore up support for an election campaign.