Asia Current Events (Thailand)

Thailand is in the southeast part of Asia. It is southeast of Burma. Thailand is next to two bodies of water. These are the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. At 198,115 square miles, Thailand is not one of the biggest countries in Asia, but there are still many smaller than it. In 2010 it was estimated that almost 66 million people make up the population of Thailand. In Thailand, the official language is Thai.

In April of 2010, 87 deaths consisting of largely civilians, but still some military were brought on by a new group of protesters in Thailand called, the "red shirts". This is an opposition movement, and there has been speculation that it is funded by Thaksin Shinawatra, who was once a prime minister, but is now a fugitive. The army's efforts to mitigate the "red shirts" had been unsuccessful, because they would use bombs and grenades to prevent the army from being able to shut them down. This would result in the army firing back, and thus lives of civilians and members of the military were lost. The "red shirts" would also carry out attacks on government officials.