Surreal

Bangkok, Thailand (December 2013)

It’s been a strange few weeks in Bangkok. Although there hasn’t been much coverage in the international media, Bangkok has been filled for weeks with tens of thousands of passionate demonstrators – some calling for the current prime minister to step down, dissolve government, and be replaced by an unelected “people’s assembly” to recraft democracy in Thailand, and others vehemently supporting the current government.

While mostly peaceful, things started to get ugly over the weekend. Simmering tensions erupted into violence as protesters attempted to claim government house and other key buildings around the city. Several days passed in a heady blur of tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, Molotov cocktails, and long, impassioned political speeches and by Tuesday morning several people were dead, hundreds injured, and no end was in sight.

Then Thailand threw a curve ball.

Early Tuesday morning protesters surged towards their key target, the metropolitan police headquarters. As they approached, police lay down their riot gear and greeted them as brothers, handing out hugs and red roses. Next they helped the protesters to dismantle the razor wire and concrete barriers that had been keeping them at bay.

Demonstrators declared victory, occupied the gardens of government house for an hour or so, and then left again.

Everyone was bemused. Protesters, police, and foreign correspondents alike were left scratching their heads. While this was a surreal turn of events, all parties were happy to see the violence come to an abrupt end.

Nobody knows yet why or how the truce was negotiated. My guess is that the current calm is in order to honour and respect Thailand’s King, who celebrates his birthday tomorrow. Most people expect demonstrations to resume by early next week because nobody has yet won and nobody has conceded anything. In the meantime the truce has allowed all parties to back off, take a deep breath, and still save face.

It certainly feels like this turn of events could only happen in Thailand. And it somehow makes me love this country more.

Note: Unlike all other photos on this site, I did not take the above pictures – they were found from various sources on twitter