Democracy in Bangkok

Thursday, October 30th, 2008. “Freedom isn’t free” is an expression in the USA that’s often abused. It’s used to sell country songs, to deride pacifists, and to glorify death in combat. Still, in my mind, the meaning of this expression is profound – freedom doesn’t come without cost.

Before Sara and I visit any country, we take a look at the US State Department’s official “Travel Warnings.” Travel warnings are usually used to discourage or caution US citizens from visiting certain parts of the world. Afghanistan, for example, isn’t a very safe place to travel (go figure). While there aren’t any travel alerts for Thailand, some recent events made us a little cautious:

• Thai protesters in downtown Bangkok clashed with government forces outside the Thai parliament building on October 7th, 2008. The People’s Alliance of Democracy effectively took control of Thailand’s parliament building, but not without suffering. 420 people were hurt and 2 were killed by police.

• The sitting Thai government, in an effort to draw attention from their incredible problems in Bangkok, likely authorized an attack on neighboring Cambodia over a disputed piece of land (the ancient Angkor Preah Vihear temple).

• Thai citizens in the rural areas (who are said to be less educated) support the sitting Premier, while middle class and wealthy people (mostly living in the city) want the sitting Premier (who is likely quite corrupt) gone.

Some say the stage is set for conflict. Sara and I were nervous to visit Thailand for all of these above reasons, but all of the reading we did online indicated this sort of thing is somewhat normal. Still, there was one caution that stuck with me – according to the US embassy in Bangkok, US citizens should avoid areas where protests or demonstrations are occurring.

Today, sitting at a Starbucks in touristy Sukhumvit, Sara and I were caught completely by surprise when a large group of protesters marched down the main road. At first, I was very nervous – this is exactly what we’re not supposed to do. However, I was put at ease by the way that many local Thai’s were reacting. There was no concern on their faces, no worry. So, we stuck it out.

Sara and I (and a dozen other tourists) sat and watched as nearly 10,000 demonstrators marched down the street. They sang, they yelled, they carried signs, and they all wore yellow. We would later learn that these people were marching to the British Embassy to protest Great Britain granting a visa to former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra convicted of corruption. These protesters wanted the British to revoke the former Premier’s visa (which they recently did) and ship him back to Thailand. The protest was exciting yet peaceful. Many of the people were smiling and cheerful.

Traffic of course ground to a halt, and many of the local businesses (like our Starbucks) stopped what they were doing and watched. While I recognize this was a single, simple event, I can’t help but feel that I might have witnessed something extraordinary. People fighting for freedom, but doing it without violence. Freedom isn’t free of course – 10,000 people missed work (and thousands more were delayed for more than an hour), and everyone in this group was taking a great risk. The police (nowhere in site, by the way) had every legal reason to disperse this crowd with force, and many of the ringleaders wore bandannas to cover their faces (I would assume so they couldn’t be identified and arrested later).

Days later, Sara and I learned that a few hours before we witnessed this demonstration, someone decided to toss a grenade into a crowd of these people. Freedom isn’t free, after all.

I’m not sure what’s really going on in Thailand – I doubt very few people are. Still, I have a great appreciation and respect for what I saw today. I hope that this issue is resolved peacefully, and I hope that the people of my own country never take for granted what they have. I also hope that Americans would have the courage to march against the government no matter what the risk. Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.