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Mar. 16 – An estimated 100,000 Thai “Red Shirt” protestors gathered in the country’s capital of Bangkok on Sunday to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva disband parliament by noon Monday. Failing to achieve their goal, the anti-government protestors are now lining up to donate blood with plans to splash, splatter, or spill it at the Government House on Tuesday evening.
“The government must listen to the demonstrators,” said Prime Minister Abhisit during a nationally televised address in an attempt to restore calm. “Although the demand can’t be met by noon, we are willing to hear what they say.”
The demonstrators, also known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, are demanding fresh elections and are taking drastic measures to be heard. Nurses are currently drawing blood from the masses today in an attempt to fulfill the “blood sacrifice” quota of “one million cubic centimeters” set by Red Shirt leaders, drawing criticism from the Red Cross for being both wasteful and unhygienic.
If there is still no compromise after tonight, more blood is planned to be spilled at the headquarters of the ruling Democratic Party and the Prime Minister’s house.
Despite this somewhat off-putting method of dissent, the protests in Bangkok have been largely peaceful. However, two guards were injured in an isolated incident when four grenades went off inside the compound of the 1st Infantry Regiment, also known as the King’s Own Bodyguard. The attack has not been linked to the Red Shirt demonstrators.
Many of the protestors are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who remains in self-imposed exile after charges of corruption, treason, and tax evasion were brought against him. He was ousted in a silent coup by the military junta now renamed the Council for National Security. Prime Minister Abhisit came to power in 2008 amid hopes that he would restore democracy to the nation. Some are apparently tired of waiting.
