BANGKOK — The defeat of the "red-shirt" protesters under the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has restored calm and order in the streets of Bangkok after a day of rioting that resulted in two deaths and scores of injuries. The red shirts have evidently lost the battle, but their war against what they see as gross injustices in Thai society between the haves and haves-not will continue as long as they are unrecognized and unaddressed.
As a demonstration of widespread sentiments against the status quo, the UDD was able to mobilize tens of thousands of mostly poor and underprivileged protesters, reinforced by columns of red shirts in major provinces in the north and northeast regions. Since their street campaign began on March 26, their ranks swelled into the several tens of thousands who encircled Government House, the focus of their protests. Emboldened by pent-up rage at what they see as systemic injustices over the past few years, they ultimately went out of control.
When the red shirts began their day of anarchy in Bangkok on April 13 in an effort to provoke the government and the army to overreact, they became uncontrollable and self-defeating. Their moral high ground and the righteousness of their crusade for justice evaporated, replaced by public anger and a growing rightwing backlash.