BANGKOK, Thailand -- One year after troops crushed a nine-week insurrection in Bangkok which left 91 people dead and 2,000 injured, the government and rebellious Red Shirts remain polarized, demanding prison sentences for leaders on both sides while preparing for a nationwide election.
To mourn the tragic anniversary, at least 15,000 Red Shirt supporters gathered on Thursday (May 19) in the heart of Bangkok at Ratchaprasong intersection, which they had occupied last year after installing bamboo barricades, makeshift shelters, electricity lines, water supplies, ramshackle restaurants, market stalls and other extensive infrastructure.
The intersection, flanked by five-star hotels, lavish shopping malls and expensive condominiums, was where many of the 91 mostly civilian deaths occurred when U.S.-trained troops used armored personnel carriers and snipers to storm the barricades.
Today, the Red Shirts continue to demand a reversal of the military's bloodless 2006 coup which toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, after he won three elections.