Relative calm after political protests grip Thailand

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva restored order to Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok today, following clashes between soldiers and anti-government protesters clad in red shirts. The protests began when the supporters of deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, referred to as “Red Shirts,” crashed the East Asia summit the current prime minister was hosting, forcing him to cancel meetings with regional leaders. Despite two deaths and some 120 injuries, the government troops largely avoided bloodshed when soldiers were given orders to enforce a state of emergency over the weekend. The government has now succeeded in pressuring the Red Shirts to end their sit-in and protests peacefully. Aura Bogado speaks with Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon, he was Thailand’s foreign minister during the coup in 2006 and is now the Senior Fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA, where he is also a professor of diplomacy.