The political tensions in Thailand’s ongoing colour-coded clashes continue to simmer, flaring up occasionally before subsiding but never far from the surface. They continue to be the key issue facing the country – as they have for more than a year. On top of that there are serious concerns about the health of the king, aged 82, who as of early September had been hospitalised for more than a week suffering from ‘inflammation of the lungs’ and an enduring fever according to the Royal Household Bureau, the only source of information. The king is a highly revered figure in Thailand and his ill-health has led to a focus – usually in private due to draconian lèse majesté laws – about issues surrounding the succession. The presumed heir, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn shares none of the affection of the Thai people enjoyed by his father and it is an open question how large sections of the population would greet his accession to the throne.

Set against this is a political situation characterised by uncertainty and divisions that grow more internecine by the day. Prime Minister Abhisit Veijajiva shares power in an uneasy coalition of fractious parties made possible only by continued dealings with Newin Chidchob, an old-style up-country politician. Abhisit also came to power with the approval of the so-called People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) – the ‘yellow shirts’ – the largely royalist group that shut down Bangkok’s international airports for a week in late 2008 and wants most members of parliament appointed rather than elected.

Abhisit is now paying the price for his anointment by the PAD in the form of yellow shirt demands for the return of Preah Vihear temple from Cambodia, a situation that has already seen deadly border clashes.

The dispute, largely an expression of PAD nationalism, has the potential to develop into serious clashes both between Thai and Cambodian troops and between different Thai groups who disagree on the issue.

In September an estimated 2,000 anti-Thaksin PAD protesters gathered at Preah Vihear. At least 15 were injured when PAD supporters broke through Thai police lines and ran towards the temple. They were repelled by Cambodians armed with slingshots, sticks and other crude weapons.

However, there were also clashes between PAD protestors and local Thais who depend on cross-border trade for some of their livelihood. The matter remains unresolved.

The PAD’s opposition group, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) or the ‘red shirts’, largely (but far from exclusively) supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have launched violent demonstrations of their own and led to street violence in Q209. Matters came to a head in April when the UDD stormed the 14th ASEAN Summit in the eastern beach resort city of Pattaya, forcing the meetings to be cancelled. The UDD rally, aiming to oust the government led-by Prime Minister Abhisit, later escalated into clashes with the military and Bangkok residents, leaving more than 100 injured and two dead.