In Bangkok, Thailand there are huge anti-government rallies going on at the moment and over the weekend 20 people have been killed on both sides. Apparently 16 civilians and 4 soldiers have been killed along with 825 wounded. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship or "Red Shirts" are demanding that the lower house of the parliamentary body be dissolved and new elections called. Thailand earlier ordered a state of emergency to allow the military to break up large gatherings and search people without court orders. The fighting broke out when protestors attempted to break into military barracks and were fired upon by rubber bullets and tear gas. The protestors are largely supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was taken out of power by a bloodless coup in 2006.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/11/thailand.protests/index.html?hpt=T2
I actually hadn't heard anything about this before I read this article but looking at the pictures and reading the reports this looks to be a huge issue going on in Thailand. Whenever there is a coup there are obviously those who supported the person taken out of power and in this case large protests have broken out over Bangkok. With the protestors firing real bullets at the security forces who are returning fire with tear gas and rubber bullets this will quickly escalate into the kind of civil war that could tear the country apart. With 20 dead just over the weekend we have to hope that the temporary truce that was established can hold until leaders from both sides are able to sit down and negotiate. I'd like to see some international involvement from the United Nations if it could help to facilitate discussions and prevent further bloodshed. I think all there is to do now is wait for the coming week and see how negotiations pan out and whether some kind of lasting truce can be reached or if further protests will occur.
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While I was in Taiwan over spring break, this was all over the news. There are a bunch of clips of protesters beating soldiers who have been overwhelmed as well as soldiers firing into crowds with rubber bullets. Even though they called in the military to put down the insurrection, it doesn't seem to be very effective. There were some cases where the soldiers had to beat a hasty retreat to avoid getting overwhelmed by the massive mobs.
Hopefully things settle down eventually...all of this must be really hurting Thailand's tourism...lol
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