Return of Ratchaprasong

Today is the one month anniversary of the 19 May 2010 crackdown which saw the Thai military successfully recapturing Ratchaprasong, Bangkok’s commercial heart, from anti-government Red Shirt protesters.

I was in Bangkok recently to photograph the devastation that the Red Shirts have left behind in Ratchaprasong. Gone are Siam Theatre (an institution in Bangkok) and CentralWorld, South East Asia’s second largest shopping mall. Coincidentally, CentralWorld used to be called World Trade Centre before its billion-baht renovation in 2006. Like the World Trade Centre in New York, CentralWorld was also destroyed by “terrorists”.

All seemed calm and normal as I walked along the streets in Ratchaprasong, but I could sense that many Bangkokians remain guarded. My friends in Bangkok confirmed this when they told me that nobody dares talk about politics in public anymore. The taxi drivers (most of whom are Red) would used to curse and swear at Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government during the turmoil, but now they just quietly drive their taxis.

According to CRES (Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situation), there are about 90 dead and 1500 injured in the recent clashes. The Red Shirts are pointing their fingers at the government for causing the deaths, but the government blames it on the “men in black” militia. So who’s right and who’s wrong? One thing’s for sure – this is not a straightforward poor vs. elite class war as misleadingly reported by CNN and BBC, it’s much more complicated and one has to dig deep into Thailand’s culture and history to understand what’s really going on. From what I’ve read and heard, one man is unquestionably fomenting the Red Shirt movement and he doesn’t seem to be letting up…

With Thailand’s worst political crisis in modern history over (or is it?), is it safe to travel to the Land of Smiles? The answer is a resounding yes!