Bangkok Protests Explanation

More than a few people have contacted me in the last few weeks to ask if I was safe and in any way affected by the protests here in Bangkok. So, I want to give a brief background and explanation to what is going on here at the moment and suggest some ways that we can be praying for Thailand.

There are two major political factions here which we can call the red and yellow groups. The red group is loyal to the exiled former prime minister. He enjoys strong support among the rural populations outside Bangkok. The yellow group has the majority of seats in the current government and believes the exiled former pm was a criminal who was justly kicked out. The yellows are composed more of middle and upper class educated folks concentrated mostly in Bangkok.

The red group feels like their voices are not being heard and their chief proponent was pushed out by a corrupt government. The yellow group believes that the current government is duly elected and must be respected by all. So, a few weeks ago the red group launched a major march on Bangkok, and for a month they have been occupying key intersections in the city. Most recently they have occupied a key intersection that is the center of transport and shopping in Bangkok. This has led to the closure of the largest malls in Thailand and the off and on closure of the city's mass transport monorail system.

Below is a picture from outside of this area showing some of the protesters taking a nap in the midday heat.



In the below picture, the red shirts have turned one of the busiest streets in the city into a street fair. They sleep here, eat here, do their laundry here, and sell all manner of red souvenirs.



On Saturdays, the red group mobilizes and drives all over the city rallying support and making lots of noise. This is a shot I took from an overpass when we crossed paths a couple weeks ago as I was headed to church.



Yours truly as close to the action as I want to be.



The situation here is not as bad as it being portrayed in international media. There have been sporadic outbursts of violence, but all these things happen in a very isolated area of the city that can be easily avoided. The real problem is that neither side seems willing to relent and this may eventually lead to a larger scale violent showdown.

I am not going to pretend to understand this situation well enough to have an opinion about who is right and wrong. What I do know is Thai people feel very strongly about this and it is increasingly becoming a source of division in the church. Pray that Thai Christians would put their unity in Christ above their political views. Pray that God would give wisdom to all the leaders in the government, army, and in the yellow and red camps to find a way forward that will ease tensions and bring in peace.