Thailand's crisis, in 90 seconds

Farce or pantomime? The street demonstrations in Bangkok seem to have put-off foreign tourists; there are few here in Chiang Mai at peak season, although hundreds of miles from any trouble.

(There’s trouble of a different kind over in Cambodia with the unbelievable mass aid scams involving hunfreds of millions from Bill Gates.)

But back to Thailand. The leader of the mob, Suthep, is an ex-Deputy PM who is naturally as bent as any of the other corkscrew Thai politicians.

He considers that ordinary people are too stupid and ignorant to be allowed to vote so he wants to set up a national council led by — er him. He does not believe in democracy, and is calling for an oligarchy in which only people of his kidney are enfranchised.

There are three political divisions here.

The Yellows are the King’s party — self-described, of course. The King is scrupulously above politics. They represent the wealthy establishment, the army and the privileged classes.

The Reds are the ordinary people and peasants, overwhelmingly strong in the North; Thaksin’s party led by Yingluk, the most beautiful PM in the world (against little competition).

The piggies-in-the middle are the Southern middle classes who, unlike the elites, actually pay taxes and keep the country prosperous.

The security forces’ handling of the street demos was masterly; no shooting, no tear gas, no casualties inflicted by them and only water cannon with a blue dye.

When the demonstrators besieged the HQs of the police and military, the cops and soldiers simply opened the gates and let them in, where they stood around sheepishly and then wandered back outside.

All is quiet, but for the leader, Suthep. He says that this is only a lull. Yingluk has called an election in February that she will win hands down. Indeed, the secretary of the Democratic Party has already said that it will face meltdown, and is considering not contesting at all for fear that the Party will be destroyed utterly.

Suthep has promised to completely derail the election; How; he doesn’t say, but it can only be by force. So there is a clear and present danger that this relatively amiable state of affairs will degenerate into violence and killings on the scale last seen when the Reds and Yellow last demonstrated against each other.

Having called for the overthrow of the state, he now has two arrest warrants out on him for treason. The police have 20 years in which activate the warrants.

They also have long memories.

Robin Mitchinson, currently writing for us from east Asia, is a regular contributor to The Commentator, Britain’s fastest growing online, quality comment and news outlet