A series of grenade blasts ripped through a pro-government rally in Bangkok on Thursday, April 22, leaving at least one person dead and 70 injured, including foreigners, in the latest bloodshed in the heart of the Thai capital.
For over a month, anti-government “Red Shirts” have occupied the city, causing massive disruption to business, especially the tourism industry. The red protesters are mainly supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and is living in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Many of the demonstrators have been bused in from the northeast region of Thailand, the country’s most populous and poorest area.
The protesters say that the current government is illegitimate because it came to power in a parliamentary vote rather than a popular election at the end of 2008, after a court ruling removed Thaksin's allies from office. The Reds also claim that the government is a tool of Thailand's elite in palace, military and bureaucratic circles. Their protests have paralyzed the capital's commercial heart and they have ignored repeated calls by the authorities to disperse from their base in an upmarket retail and hotel district, despite outstanding arrest warrants in place against core leaders.
According to authorities, five grenades were fired on Thursday from the protesters' sprawling encampment, which has been fortified in recent days with sharpened bamboo stakes and piles of car tires. The blasts shattered windows in the city’s financial district and prompted people to flee in panic. The blast scene was littered with pools of blood along with abandoned shoes and Thai flags, in an area home to dozens of corporate towers and a notorious red-light district. The grenade incident comes after a failed attempt on April 10 to disperse protesters sparked clashes in various parts of the city that left 25 dead and more than 800 injured in the country’s worst political violence in almost two decades.
A rival faction, the "Yellow Shirts" who are backed by the country's elite and most Bangkok residents, vowed Sunday to take matters into their own hands if the government fails to deal with the protesters within a week, raising fears of further violence. Yellow protesters in 2008 blockaded Bangkok's two main airports, leading to a controversial court verdict that ousted Thaksin's allies and allowed the parliamentary vote that brought in the current government, led by Oxford University-educated Abhisit Vejjajiva.
While all the Christians in the Bangkok Christian Church are safe and accounted for, we are asking everyone to please join us as we pray for peace in Thailand. Bangkok right now feels like a city under siege. Like street gangs, the Red Shirts roam the streets in truck, motorcycle and taxi convoys, blocking roads and terrorizing residents. Last month, thousands marched to hurl water bottles filled with blood collected from among themselves onto the gates of Government House and the prime minister’s home in an elaborate ritual. The Reds have taken over huge city blocks, rendering them impassable and causing enormous disturbances to our daily lives.
In this tense atmosphere, we are praying, as Paul urges us in 1 Timothy 2, for God to guide the authorities in our land so that peace would prevail. We know that God will cause good to come out of this (Romans 8:28) and as followers of Christ, we will choose to put our trust in God.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2
In Christ,
Your brothers and sisters in Thailand
Sources: AFP, BBC News, The Times (UK)