Thailand: Bombs, Borders And Bogus Ballots

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May 13, 2011: Although the government has finally agreed to new elections on July 3rd, it has arrested two opposition (red shirt populists) leaders, with more expected to be seized. The red shirts fear that the ruling royalists will again try to fix the elections again. The border dispute with Cambodia is seen as another effort by the minority royalist government to stay in power.

On the Cambodian border, two weeks of fighting has killed dozens and wounded over a hundred. Nearly 100,000 civilians have fled the fighting. Ceasefire deals get arranged regularly, only to be quickly broken by troops (usually Thai) opening fire. Officers cannot, or will not, control their troops.

May 10, 2011: Thailand has blocked fuel exports to Cambodia, in an effort to coerce Cambodia to agree to a peace deal for the festering border dispute. Cambodian border communities can get fuel from other sources, but this will take time to arrange, and there will be shortages for a while.

May 9, 2011: The government gives in and agrees to new elections in July.

May 8, 2011: Islamic terrorists in the south killed two Buddhists.

May 7, 2011: Islamic terrorists in the south used two bombs to kill seven police and troops. The prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand met, but were unable to settle their border dispute.

May 4, 2011: Four Moslem civilians were killed by Islamic terrorists in the south. The growing cooperation with police by Moslem civilians in the south has resulted in more efforts to terrorize Moslems into not cooperating with police. However, Islamic terror groups, and some Moslems, blame attacks like this on the army.

May 3, 2011: Shooting continued on the Cambodian border, with a least one Thai soldier killed today.

May 2, 2011: Fighting died down on the Cambodian border, and some civilians returned home.

April 29, 2011: Shooting on the Cambodian border entered its eighth day.

April 28, 2011: Another truce was arranged on the Cambodian border, but it was soon broken as someone opened fire, beginning a new gun duel.

April 26, 2011: Yet another ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, but trigger-happy troops on both sides tends to make these peace deals short-lived. In the south, two Islamic terrorist bombs went off, wounding four soldiers. In the north, police shut down a pro-red shirt (populist) radio station.

April 25, 2011: Fighting on the Cambodian border, interrupted only by ceasefire days that don't even last a full 24 hours, has killed over a dozen people in the last four days.  

 

 

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