No Box to Tick on the Ballot

April 21, Bangalore, India-- It's an election week in India, each state will elect its own official and delegate, but as usual many voices will go unheard. What they refer to as "ladyboys" in Thailand, and "trannies" in the US, culturally conservative India calls eunuchs, one of the many minority groups comprising India's diverse population. They're not the traditional eunuch, castrated and living a life in service to the emperor in the Forbidden City, for example, but modern day transsexuals who define their gender as neither entirely male or entirely female.

Eunuch numbers are estimated to be at around one million, and given India's population and its extraordinary number of marginalized minority groups, it's simply not high enough to catch the fancy of any candidate jostling for a minority vote--and so the likelihood that the demand for a third box on the ballot will not be fulfilled. In the meantime, another election will go by, one million voices will go unheard, simlpy because there's no line for them to stand in at the polls, and no appropriate gender box for them to tick on the ballot.

Especially in a state like Karnataka, which has become increasingly conservative in the past few years, with modern cities like Bangalore changing its curfew and liquor laws, the fear is that people like the eunuchs, who must resort to begging at intersections or jobs in the sex industry, are facing an uphill battle.

On the other hand, some voters reported that they were bribed with upwards of 10 kg of rice in exchange for a look at their voter registration cards. Muslims, and people in slums around Bangalore were targeted, primarily families with many children.

(Note: The day after elections, upwards of 40,000 voters in one slum district in Bangalore alone reported their names went missing from the voter lists, even if they had valid registration cards. Primarily women and Muslims seemed to have arrived at the polls, only to find their names had gone missing and they could not vote.)

Good Thing You Didn't Park Your Bus in Bangkok

April 13th, Bangkok-- The first official day of Songkhran, violence erupted at the Thaksin support rallies in the Din Daeng district of Bangkok (I happened to be staying at a guest house in the Thewet district, sandwiched in between the police blockades and the khlong).
What just two days ago seemed like an emotional yet peaceful crowd of red shirts today ignited buses (supposedly retired public bus lines) and tires in order to interrupt traffic. One bus sat flaming in front of the UN, not far from Khao San Road, where tourists and residents alike were playfully splashing each other with water and fragrant powders and clay.

Whether you’re getting nailed by super soakers at the Songkhran festivities or trying to avoid burning buses, the streets in Bangkok are a little treacherous today.

Last night protesters ignored a curfew that was issued by the police earlier that day in response to the violence that erupted at the ASEAN summit in Pattaya. One red shirt snacking on fried noodles on Sri Ayutaya Road, in the main area of the protest said, “I will stay here tonight, there’s a curfew but I will stay. We will all stay—there are forty thousand of us! If we stay until tomorrow morning then we’ve won. We want Thaksin to come back. Maybe he can’t be prime minister again immediately, there won’t be a military rule like last September, but we want him to come back.”
Although police came to meet and suppress destructive and violent protestors earlier in the morning, bus burning continued until the evening. Thaksin supporters dismantled buses to prepare them for burning along Phetburi Road, and a crowd of locals crowded around burning tires that had been set on the train tracks, just a block away from the UN where clouds of black smoke were rising. Police and military marched in at around 6PM, when red shirts who had occupied a highway ramp turned violent. Protestors threw things (presumably rocks or bits of rubble from the previous evening’s protests) and gunshots were fired.
Military standing on the edges of the danger zone, many with roses adorning the barrels of their guns, cheerfully directed clay-spattered tuk-tuks loaded with Songkhran partiers unaware of the violence away from the protests.
Happy lunar new year, everybody!

Get Some Red Shirt

April 12, Bangkok--The Thai government has declared a curfew of 10 PM for the entire neighborhood surrounding the Thaksin rallies in the Tewet district of Bangkok--and despite this many participants have chosen to remain in the area, just across the fences from the soldiers who have assembled there, ready to pounce should the violence in Pattaya spread. Also--there is absolutely no sticky rice to be found at those rallies past 10 PM, so don't bother looking.

Last night, April 11th, two days before the beginning of Songkhran, the Thai lunar new year festival, there were violent protests in Pattaya at the ASEAN summit meetint. Leaders were evacuated from the building as protesters crashed through glass doors, many were injured. The meetings were postponed.

After yesterday's violence, tanks have rolled in to Sri Ayutaya Rd. at the Bangkok protests, reminding many of the time after last September's peaceful coup when Thaksin was originally removed from office, during which the military junta ruled Thailand before Abhisit came into office. At the Bangkok Thaksin rallies an emotional crowd seemed much more peaceful. Protesters spoke of democracy, demanded the end of a dictatorship, freedom and truth--essentially the abdication of current PM Abhisit. Even those who were not staunch supporters of Thaksin himself seemed to be able to find a worthy cause to join. People from all walks of life, from monks to bankers are gathering together to express their distaste for the current regime. The rallies are rumored to have been financed by Thaksin himself, who is said to be in Dubai where an extradition order has been issued for his release back to Thailand so he can serve an impending prison sentence. The protests have a distinct Thai character--many have taken the opportunity to set up food stalls at the rallies, protesters are provided with food and water. Portable toilet buses, tents, even stands with people selling red clothing, flags, noisemakers--it's difficult at times to distinguish the atmosphere from a nightmarket. Sources claim many taxi drivers are paid to attend the protests, while others claim charities provide the free services that make it possible for participants to spend their time protesting.

In Bangkok today, Songkran has already begun. Tourists and Thai partiers have gathered just blocks away from the red shirts at Khao San road to celebrate the Thai lunar new year, and seem oblivious to the turmoil just next door. Walking around armed with super soakers and fragrant powders, it's hard to imagine the magnitude of the political rumblings. But again, how Thai to maintain a good amount of sanuk (fun) at a confusing time.