Hand clappers and AK-47s

Thailand-protest

Image: An anti-government protester waves a Thai national flag during a rally at the new government offices in Bangkok`s Don Mueang airport on November 24, 2008. (Copyright AP. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.)

It was late evening when we heard that some yellow-shirted demonstrators had reached the airport and planned to block the entry and exit of passengers. The news brought a smile to our lips. I mean, how can you take something like this seriously? A group of people, whatever the colour of their shirts, cannot take over an airport. This must be a joke! How could one possibly take such a ‘threat’ seriously?

Bangkok, November 25, 2008. My mother and I were to leave for Bali in a couple of days to continue our vacation.

Obviously, we were not buying into the news that the Bangkok Post had splashed in its headline that morning: ‘Protestors To Storm Suvarnabhumi Airport’. This was going to be over as soon as it probably began. These people would be lathi charged or baton charged or just bundled into waiting police vans.
The public mood seemed to echo ours. ‘No worry, they go away,’ smiled Mai, our guide for the day — who was taking us to Kanchanaburi, and the famous Bridge on the River Kwai.We had a smug ‘we knew it’ expressions on our faces.

Protesters shut Thailand`s international airport

That expression changed to disbelief and dismay when we saw the headlines the next day. 'Protestors seize Suvarnabhoomi Airport'.

This was unbelievable. How could a handful of people do that?

More horrific tales: these people — belonging to the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - came in cars, with no weapons, except hand clappers, where a pair of wooden hands does the clapping. There were no bulletproof jackets and no ammunition - only yellow shirts or t-shirts. And hand clappers. The number of women equalled men in strength. There were mobile toilets aplenty, and plenty of packets of pork rice.

And yet, the airport security, the police, the guards allowed them to get in, block the entrances, get inside and reach the control towers and watched helplessly as they asked airline staff to leave.

In a matter of a few hours, the entire flight operations of Suvarnabhoomi Airport — the hub of South East Asia, the gateway port to the world - had come to a screeching halt. Helpless passengers were caught unawares in a no-man’s land, and those that had cleared immigration were now unable to either board their flights or get out of the airport.

Thailand`s besieged airports heave sigh of relief

Then there were those, like yours truly, who had to suddenly cancel their plans of return, a holiday, a visit or a business meeting.

‘I had asked my neighbour to put the turkey out of the freezer for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s now rotting in the sink,’ wailed an American lady. But the airport remained obstinately shut. The yellow-shirted protestors stood their ground, refusing to yield till the Prime Minister resigned.

Did anyone really try to budge them from this stance? Not that we could see.

There were no anguished media reports, no palpable tension in the capital city, no huddled discussions or outrage. An Emergency was declared at the airport. So what were the security, police, or even the Army doing? Whatever else they were doing, they were certainly not making any serious attempts to get the protestors to leave. They did take action though — they asked the protestors to leave. That’s it. They asked them to leave — and the protestors refused. As simple as that!

Terror strikes Mumbai again

That night, we were rudely jolted out of sleep by an SMS. Terrorists had struck Mumbai. The Taj Hotel had been attacked. We switched on the TV to find the hotel up in flames. At the nearby railway station, fleeing commuters were gunned down by another lot of terrorists. The police were trying to rush in force. A surreal drama was being played out.

Over the next couple of days, as Mumbai burned and people died, the airport siege in Bangkok took another turn. The airport authority and airlines made alternative arrangements to fly out stranded passengers from Don Mueang airport. The protestors, again armed with hand clappers and wearing their trademark yellow shirts, decided to shut that down as well.

Shutting down airports hits not just passengers, but also the economy. But there was no evidence of violence amidst all this. Yes, hapless passengers were agitated. The protestors were unrelenting. But that was it. No anger. No sign of public defiance, police force, army clampdown, jail term, court case, or even a security cordon.

At best, it was a standoff. The protestors had placed their demands, and they were not going to lift the siege till these were met.

26/11: Storm, Cyclone and Silence

Cut to what was happening in Mumbai. A bunch of young men, without any warning, or notice of what they wanted, or attempt at dialogue, or any alternative means other than guns, grenades and bombs, stunned the world.

By late evening on Day 2, as the Army and NSG commandos struggled to take control of the situation in Mumbai, heartrending and horrific tales of violent deaths, of innocent lives snuffed out by bullets and high explosives were being beamed out of 24/7 TV channels across the country.

For one unbelievable moment I imagined the terrorists with nothing but hand clappers.

The protestors in Bangkok won after a five-day wait. The Prime Minister resigned.

Our holiday to Bali never happened. But we lived through an amazing experience. Of being caught in a protest in a foreign country where our freedom to leave the country had been temporarily suspended, but where there was no fear of violence, hatred or mindless mayhem.

At the same time, this tragedy was unfolding at Mumbai. There was only hatred and violence in the air.

Thailand PM resigns; protesters end airports' siege

The protestors in Thailand won. The terrorists in Mumbai killed, maimed, burned, shot, held captive and let loose unprecedented violence. But they were defeated. They were cowards with only an agenda of unimaginable cruelty.

The protestors in Thailand had a purpose. And they achieved that with mere hand clappers.

The terrorists had grenades and other sophisticated arms and ammunition. But after extracting a terrible toll, they lost. Perhaps there is a lesson here.

Pritha Dutt, an HR consultant, plans to visit Bali this year. Via Bangkok.

The views expressed in the article are the author’s and not of Sify.com.

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