Good morning,

This is the day.

There were plenty of red-shirted people on their way to the demonstration as I came to the office this morning. The estimates of the numbers of people involved nationwide vary enormously – those in Bangkok alone range from 30-300,000 people. Pressure is expected to be stepped up on General Prem Tinsulanonda. Now that Khun Thaksin has openly named Prem and other unelected elite members as being the plotters behind the 2006 military coup, it is as if the whole world has changed and a powerful taboo broken. Ordinary people are talking about genuine democracy for the first time. Bangkok Pundit is running this story from the Bangkok Post which expresses the same point.

One significant problem that might arise is the outbreak of violence, especially that instigated by ‘third parties’ – yellow shirt thugs and military types are sure to be acting as agents provocateur. An apparently foiled assassination plot to murder one privy council member organized by various army types has been announced by police.

The political temperature in Thailand is also rising because of the succession of job losses, which are giving rise to demonstrations – her indoors reported being held up yesterday when people from the Michelin factory (according to hearsay) used up to 50 pickup trucks to block Victory Monument, before moving on to the Ministry of Labour. There are other reasons for protest.   

Back tomorrow, unless the sky falls.