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Who will mourn with the women of Palestine
They could be your mother, sister, daughter, friend
They too have homes and families;
Many are now broken,
Desolate and alone,
Yet they continue to stand up
And fight for freedom.

-    From the photo exhibit captions written by Merci L. Angeles

By Clarissa V. Militante

The dusts from the melee of fleeing Red Shirts and assaulting teams of soldiers have settled, and not even the hint of smoke from the burned buildings could be detected. Bangkok’s residents are now trying to pick up on the routines of their daily lives before the red-shirted protesters mounted mass actions in large sections of central Bangkok from March to May.  But for the Thai’s intellectuals, this seeming lull is a chance to take a more in-depth look at the recent past events and deal with nagging issues that confront Thai society.  

Is it a class struggle—being manifested in a brewing civil war—that is unraveling in Thailand? This was a major question raised during the Philippine forum “Thailand: Democracy, People, Power” organized by the Focus on Global South Philippines, a week after the military dispersed the Red Shirts and dismantled their camps that have become part of Bangkok’s landscape in the past two months.  Joy Chavez, Philippine Programme Coordinator of Focus, moderated the discussion.

On June 2, around 70 members of the Stop the War Coalition Philippines massed up in front of the Israeli embassy in Makati City to convey their indignation against the attack made by Israeli commando forces on the aid-carrying Freedom Flotilla, May 31.  The incident resulted in the deaths of more than 10 activists while dozens more were injured; the ships were dragged to the port of Ashdod and hundreds of peace activists were detained in Israel. Thomas Sommer, a staff member of Focus on Global South who joined the Greek ship, was one of those detained.

In a statement read during the rally, the Coalition condemned the military action and the continued blockade of Gaza. It also demanded for justice for the victims of the Israeli military action, and for 1.5 million Palestinians who have been deprived of basic necessities and social services since the Israeli government imposed the embargo on Gaza Strip in 2008.  The rallyists, who came from various sectors including labor, women, youth, professionals as well as from Bangsa-Moro, church-based and non-government organizations, carried paper boats that represented the Freedom Flotilla; several of the protesters posted the statement on the glass entrance door of the embassy building when no staff member or official came out to receive it.