FEB 21 ― The anti-government protests that have lasted for months in Thailand have finally turned bloody. The two consecutive clearing actions by the Thai police have triggered violent clashes between government forces and protesting civilians resulting in several dead and many injured.

It was an unfortunate turn of events in the democratic history of Thailand. Once again democracy is bathed in the sounds of gunshots and explosions in the Land of Smiles.

Democracy remains very much a myth to the people of this Buddhist kingdom having experienced one after another tragic drama.

The country has seen never ending internal conflicts as democracy staggers its way over the past few decades. It has seen a total of 18 military coup d’états since 1932, and this underscores the extreme volatility and tragicalness of Thai politics.

The Thai military remains as powerful and ambitious these years as ever albeit somewhat subdued under the pressure of international consensus. That said, the so-called People’s Movement has risen to prominence and violent protests keep popping up in the Thai capital.

There have been three massive anti-government campaigns in a short span of eight years, the Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts taking turns to take to the street, and Islamic insurgents orchestrating bomb attacks in the country’s Deep South.

Conflicts keep surfacing and the Land of Smiles finds itself immersed in violent clashes and provocative acts as her people demonstrate to the world over and again how wrong democracy could go.

There is nevertheless some brief, peaceful hiatus in the midst of the country’s turbulent history, during the Thaksin administration from 2001 to 2006. But not even the tough-handed and competent Thaksin Shinawatra was able to emancipate himself from the spell of power abuse. While he successfully ushered the kingdom to the pinnacle of economic development, he was also a skillful player in money politics that sparked off powerful backlash from the middle class, culminating in a military coup d’état spearheaded by sympathisers of the Yellow Shirts which eventually saw him toppled and subsequently going into exile.

The political twists in Thailand these last few years have largely evolved around this very same person Thaksin Shinawatra. Despite his banishment, Thaksin still forms an integral part of the country’s politics in recent years. The Thai Rak Thai Party he used to control has been able to sail past some of the most unfavourable turns of events to reclaim victory in national elections.

The sad thing is, it has become a norm in Thai politics to witness the constant swap of political interests taking place. The stronghanded Thaksin severed the access of the vested interests of certain parties, thus sinking the country to endless internal conflicts.

While Thailand claims to have democratic elections, the popularly elected administrations have over and again toppled through non-democratic means of anti-government forces. Those taking to the street today could end up being comfortably seated in the Government’s House the next day, as those in power yesterday now take to the street, taking over airports, government agencies and even the parliament house.

When they swap their positions as ruling or opposition parties, they also swap their mentalities. While on the one hand they chant the slogans of democracy, the same batch of people also trample the turf of democracy as they lash out every sort of most undemocratic ploy in bringing down the rival regime.

The political impasse in Thailand today is very much a puppetry under the manipulative hands of several political strongmen in the likes of Thaksin Shinawatra, Sondhi Limthongkul, and leader of the latest wave of protests Suthep Thaugsuban. For the sake of power and their own interests, these people are locked in perpetual conflicts with one another, often resorting to every antic imaginable in the name of democracy just to see that their rivals are obliterated, often putting the image and economic well-being of the country at stake in so doing. Ironically, they all claim synchronously that they are doing this for the people, for the nation and for democracy.

The political turmoil in Bangkok began to pick up steam again after a relatively peaceful Spring Festival break. Having seen the most hypocritical aspect of Thai politicians and the tragic eventuality of Thai people offering themselves as sacrifices on the bloody altar of democracy, perhaps we should look back at ourselves and draw some precious lessons from what have taken place in Bangkok.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.