There is great concern about what will happen in Thailand once the government imposed curfew ends. Some expect the Red Shirts to pickup where they left off, and others expect the start of an underground movement. In both cases it spells out Thaksin is not finished with his temper tantrum.
There is a wide spread general consensus that the violence is far from over. This is reflected in that many countries have not withdrawn their travel warnings that remain at a very high level. The fact that the government has seen fit to extend the curfew also suggests things are not yet right and far from it.
The biggest problem is the independent media is just as blind as the rest of the world. Because of that everyone must simply trust what we are told about the happenings during the curfew hours. Reports of over 500 arrests are the only signs of activities. Discovering the reasons for the arrests will provide some clues to what is going on.
Looking at potential targets of continued unrest suggests there are soft targets and may be difficult to protect. It seems the Skytrain and subway have become just such a soft target. Electric power supplies, fuel depots and communication hubs are also soft targets.
As for the general inconvenience, finding transportation less than 2 hours before curfew is a real challenge. Taxies will only take passengers if they are heading in the same direction as the drivers home. Even offering extra for a ride is rejected, and this is an anomaly for sure. This suggests the curfew enforcers are riding hard on taxi drivers as most support the Red Shirts and the Red Shirts being the reason for the curfew.
As for trying to get back to normal, people who work at night still have difficulties. Any place that looks to close within 2 hours of curfew is simply causing double barrel stress and anxiety for employees looking to get home. Short of sleeping at work, there are few options.
All and all most people see the curfew as necessary to control the people who are out of control. To say this is the start of a civil war is hard to say. If Thaksin has his way, then the answer is ‘Yes bring it on!’ with that thought there is a lot of hope being placed on seeing thaksin arrested under his new terrorist warrant.
Now that it has been made public that Interpol sees Thaksin’s other warrants as political, it does leave more than a few people frustrated and feeds the anger and hopeless feeling many express. The feeling remains that until Thaksin is out of the picture, problems will continue.
