Red vs Yellow - And the Loser is.....

It all started with a bloodless military coup back in 2006 and the prime ministership of Thaksin Shinawatra has since become history. Bloodless as it may be, the coup marked the beginning of a string of changes in the head of the Thai government.

Samak Sundaravej lost his post after the court ruled that he violated the charter by hosting cooking shows on TV,

The come Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law where the Constitution Court announced dissolution of the PPP and two other parties in the coalition government, a ruling which disqualified Somchai as prime minister and banned him from politics for five years.

On Dec 15, 2008, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the largest opposition party the Democratic Party, became prime minister. He was educated in Oxford and is the leader of Thailand's Democrat Party.

In recent years, Thailand political arena is dominated by rivalry between two factions, distinguished by the coloured shirts; mainly Yellow and Red. The Yellow shirts are well known internationally as the people who literally shut down the International Airport creating havoc and mayhems to tourists. What mystify people is that till date, no action were taken against any of them for causing this widely reported disturbances, which left a very unpleasant aftertaste for many travellers. The recent actions by the Red shirts in many areas resembled what the Yellow shirts had done two years ago.

Whether it is yellow or red, one thing is certain; the life of people in Bangkok is never the same again. Her international reputation has taken a toll, economic losses is huge. Both sides are fighting for a better Thailand that is for sure, but what good can be derived when both are fighting for their own agenda? Can there not be a common ground for the bigger good of the country? I guess only the Thai people have a say for themselves.

From a by-stander's perspective, we can only hope that things will go back to normalcy fast and there will not be anymore unnecessary loss of lives as a result of their rivalry. The likely losers will be themselves if the this is allowed to continue.

I cannot imagine if the same were to happen in Singapore, or rather, will such huge demonstration ever be allowed to happen here.