The Thai capital is seething with tension as anti-government groups continue to clash with riot police, writes David McNeillin Bangkok
SEKSAN JITJAMONG and his comrades are tooled up for battle: combat fatigues, masks, slingshots, metals bars and water for washing tear gas from the eyes - the arsenal of a street fight, topped off with crash helmets emblazoned with the words "cop killer".
"We don't want to use violence but if the police use it against us we have no choice but to defend ourselves," he warns. His friends nod in agreement. Some show scars from bloody clashes with Thai riot police this week, in which two were killed and 480 injured. Pictures of amputated limbs and battered protesters have been circulated, inflaming already bitter feelings against the authorities.
Bangkok is a city divided, with talk of more violence to come and even another coup. Thousands of Thais like Jitjamong occupy the area around government buildings, making it a no-go area for the police. In August, supporters of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stormed these buildings armed with machetes and golf clubs, chasing the occupants out and sparking Thailand's worst political crisis in a generation. They are refusing to leave until the government falls.
New prime minister Somchai Wongsawat has been forced to lead his cabinet from a makeshift parliament near the old Bangkok airport, as the protests grow.
"This government has no legitimacy to rule," explains PAD leader Somsak Kosaisook. "They got into office by fraud, and under the constitution we have the right to challenge them. We will keep going until they are gone."
When Somchai turned up on Tuesday to give his first policy speech, the crowds erupted in dawn-to-dusk protests, barricading MPs and ministers inside, cutting off their supplies and reportedly dumping the contents of a sewage truck on the steps of Government House. Somchai fled, dealing a perhaps fatal blow to his credibility. "Whatever dignity he had left was lost as he scrambled over the fence and on to the waiting helicopter," said political analyst Suranand Vejjajiva.
Anti-government activists claim parliament was preparing to grant amnesty to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile in Britain since being ousted by the Thai army in a bloodless 2006 coup.
The billionaire businessman skipped bail on corruption charges in August and fled with his wife back to London, leaving behind the equivalent of some €1.25 billion frozen in Thai bank accounts. The British home office confirmed this week that he and his wife have applied for political asylum.
Many Thais wonder if he will ever be back. Although hugely popular among rural supporters, who say he helped alleviate poverty especially in Thailand's poor north, the forces ranged against him are a powerful, if odd, coalition of academics, businessmen, trade unionists and diehard royalists loyal to the Thai king. His allies have won three elections and dominate the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but critics call him a corroding influence on Thai politics who rules by proxy from London though the new prime minister - his brother-in-law.
This week's street battles have upped the ante in the two-year battle between pro- and anti-Thaksin sides. PAD leaders were charged with insurrection but the charges were dropped yesterday, giving them a huge propaganda boost.
The government's deputy prime minister was so angered by Tuesday's bloodshed that he has resigned and now demands another coup to end the political strife. "There is no other way out," Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told the Thai press yesterday.
To the relief of many, army commander-in-chief Nupong Paojinda has waved such talk away, and ordered his troops to wear white ribbons around their left arms to show that they are neutral. Around the government buildings, PAD supporters are digging in for a long fight. A makeshift protest city has grown up, festooned with flags and portraits of the Thai king and equipped with weapons depots and free-food tents.
Many are gearing up for a protest on Monday, when they will march on the police headquarters to demand the names of those responsible for Tuesday's violence. The protest is another potential flashpoint. "We want peace but will match violence with violence," says Seksan Jitjamong.
Outside protest city, PAD leaders are accused of using young hotheads like Seksan to provoke the government and force the army to again step in. Somchai's government believes pro-PAD arsonists tried to torch the education ministry several times this week in a bid to create more chaos.
Newspapers urge the government to begin serious truce talks with their opponents, before anyone else dies.
"The bloodshed has benefited no one except the couple seeking asylum in London," said the Bangkok Post.
"It's very sad," said Hassaya Chartmontree, a Thai journalist covering the occupation of Government House. "We're all Thais. We shouldn't be fighting."