Though the emergency was lifted by the government with a view to restore things, reconciliation still seems far off after three years of turmoil in the country following the removal of Thaksin in a coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

The opposing parties in this crisis are ‘Yellow Shirts’ and ‘Red Shirts’. Yellow Shirts comprise military, Urban and also middle class Thais who back Abhisit. Red Shirts on the other hand consist of millions of rural and urban poor who are drawn to Thaksin due to his populist policies such as health schemes.

In related news, Sondhi Limthongkul was discharged from the hospital under tight security. He was ambushed when he was on his way to work on April 17th by men in a pickup truck firing assault rifles.