Protests and their Effects

Although as a Peace Corps Volunteer I am expected to not get involved with or discuss politics, I think it's ok if I give a brief objective overview of what's occurring in Thailand right now. It's been a bit exciting lately.

The current Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been a rather controversial figure. About two months ago, to demonstrate to the opposition that he should not resign, he called a "snap election." In Thailand, this means that an election must be held within 60 days. Election day is this Sunday, April 2nd.

To show their disapproval of Thaksin, the opposition parties announced that they would boycott the election. This leaves Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party running virtually unopposed, except for a few tiny political parties who will be on the ballot in some areas.

There have been anti-Thaksin protests in Bangkok for a couple of weeks now. They were initially being held around the Banglamphu area -- a cheap backpacker area where PCV's often stay when in the city. This week these protesters moved over first to the Siam area -- a major shopping mall district -- and then to the Sam Sen area, near the election headquarters. Counter-protests in support of Thaksin have been holding their events in Chatuchak Park, near the biggest weekend market.

This has made our days in Bangkok this week a little more interesting, as we've had to switch guest house plans and stays as the protesters move around the city. (Peace Corps wishes us to stay far away from them.) Yesterday was made even more exciting by the arrival of a mid-day storm, just as we were checking out of one accommodation and moving to another. I thought I had seen enough of floods for a while, but we got to wade through a bit with our big backpacks as we made our way to our new guest house! Hey, at least it made our 100-degree air feel a bit cooler for a while. And it was only ankle-deep, which feels like nothing to me now!

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens after Sunday. By then, we'll be sitting on the beach with my sister Annie, who arrives here in 3 hours!