Blast and after: The fiery red and yellow of Thailand’s curry politics

Who is behind Monday’s blast?

Though the investigation is still on, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the head of Thailand’s ruling military junta, called it the “worst ever attack” on Thailand and said he believed an “anti-government group based in Thailand’s northeast” was behind the blast. He was referring to the kingdom’s Red Shirt rebels who are supporters of Shinawatra and opposed to the military junta.

Who are the Red Shirts?

Formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, they are mainly rural workers from the north and the northeast of Thailand who have benefited from Shinawatra’s schemes on education and healthcare. But they also include students, left-wing and pro-democracy activists who see the military as elite and a threat to democracy. Wearing red T-shirts, the group has led several protests in Bangkok against the junta and clashed with the Yellow Shirts.

Who are the Yellow Shirts?

They are a loose grouping of royalists, right-wing politicians and the urban middle class who have come together under the umbrella of the People’s Alliance for Democracy. They are staunch supporters of monarchy and wear yellow, the king’s colour. With Shinwatra’s policies shifting the power centre from Bangkok to the country’s north, this group felt threatened. They have accused the Shinawatras of nepotism, corruption and of creating a rift in the country. The Yellow Shirts were behind some of the biggest street protests in Bangkok, including the one that led to Shinawatra’s ouster in September 2006.

Does the military suspect any other group to be behind Monday’s attack?

Besides the Red Shirts, the other irritant for the military government are the rebels in the Malay-Muslim provinces of southern Thailand. For close to a decade, these groups have waged a separatist insurgency that has claimed the lives of over 6,000 people. Since the junta came to power, peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the most powerful of these groups, have stalled. But experts say these groups have never carried out attacks outside their zone. Besides, Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr, chief of the Royal Thai Army, said in a televised interview that the “type of bomb used is also not in keeping with the south.”