March 17, 2011:
Red shirt leaders arent sure new elections would overthrow the minority government. The royalist politicians, and their yellow shirt followers, are prepared to buy votes and intimidate voters in order to win another election. Red shirts are looking to a mass uprising, like those going on in Arab nations right now, as the only way to get the majority back in power. Meanwhile, the government is encouraging red shirt leaders to take the political route.
India and Thailand are negotiating a new information sharing and anti-crime cooperation deal. Both governments want to coordinate efforts against gangs that operate out of both countries.
In the south, there are fewer terrorist incidents, but those that do occur tend to be more violent.
March 16, 2011: In the south, gunmen fired on two Moslem men, killing one of them,
March 15, 2011: In the south, three men, including a village leader, were killed by gunmen.
March 13, 2011: A Thai man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for allowing unflattering comments about the king to be posted on his web site. Showing disrespect to the king is a major crime in Thailand, and this is being used to prosecute, and intimidate, red shirt leaders and, in this case web site owners.
March 12, 2011: Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to meet with UN representatives on the 25th to discuss their border dispute, and who would pay for battle damage to a temple on the border.
In the capital, 25,000 red shirts to demonstrate and commemorate the one year anniversary of the first major demonstration to try and remove the minority government run by the royalists.
March 5, 2011: In the south, three Buddhists were shot, and one of them killed.
March 4, 2011: In Khiri Khan Province (central Thailand, the narrowest part) an infantry battalion reported that over 200 of its rifles and pistols had gone missing, along with quantities of ammo. This has happened before, elsewhere in the country. After an outcry, nothing happens, until there's another disappearance of weapons. Sometimes these are robberies, but most of the time it's an inside job. It's all part of the corruption that is so widely unpopular, yet persists. This particular theft appears to have been an inside job, as some battalion sergeants have disappeared, along with the arms.
February 25, 2011: On the Cambodian border, Thai troops resumed their regular patrol and construction duties. These were disrupted when fighting broke out with Cambodian troops. The violence lasted a few days, but troops remained on alert until today, fearing that the shooting would resume. Peace negotiations are underway.
