‘Red Shirts’ Spill 60 Gallons of Blood to Protest Thai Government

The protesters are farmers, taxi drivers and other working class Thais who believe the class system is unfair and corrupt. The Red Shirts want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down, dissolve parliament and call a new election.

The group launched a needle drive to collect blood from tens of thousands of protesters, stored in plastic jugs and then emptied onto the prime minister's compound, ruling party headquarters and personal residence.

"It really was quite a dramatic and grotesque scene. I was at the prime minister's home when it was splashed with blood, and his front gate was just totally red with blood," said Patrick Winn, GlobalPost's correspondent in the capital, Bangkok.

"The Red Shirts say it symbolizes the toll that's been extracted from them via double standards in Thailand, being pushed around.... They're saying 'we're bleeding instead of others,'" Winn explained.

Dueling colors

	Colors are a symbolic part of Thai culture, and protestors have adopted yellow and red as representations of their opposing movements.

Colors play a big part in Thailand's public life, often representing days of the week, religious deities or even political rivals.

Red Shirts enjoy wide support in the rural and mostly poor north and northeast of the country. They are predicted to win any new election. Their political opponents are the Yellow Shirts, mostly city dwellers who support Vejjajiva.

Vejjajiva came to power in 2006 after a military coup deposed sitting Prime Minister Shinawatra Thaksin.

The Red Shirts support Thaksin, who has been charged and convicted on corruption charges. He is living abroad to avoid the sentence.

Coups are not new to Thailand-- the military has stepped into governmental affairs 18 times since 1932.

In November 2008, when a pro-Thaksin government was in power, anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirts closed Bangkok's two international airports, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers.

The economy of Thailand is highly dependent on tourism and the takeover of the airport caused significant economic damage.

Protesters promise 'Blood Art'

	Click here for a more detailed map of Thailand and the region surrounding it.

The anti-government protesters now plan to parade through Bangkok on large convoys of pickup trucks.

"Protesters will travel around Bangkok on thousands of vehicles," said Jatuporn Prompan, a protest leader.

The group has used up most of the 80 gallons of blood collected earlier in the week on government buildings in protest, but leaders say that they have 15 gallons remaining and plan a massive public art project over the weekend.

The prime minister said he is prepared to meet with leaders from the Red Shirts if the protests remain peaceful and "if the demands of the Red Shirts are in the best interests of the general public."

Jatuporn Prompan, responded saying, "The Red Shirts are not refusing to negotiate but the prime minister has to dissolve the House first and all parties have to sign a pact saying they will respect the result of elections so the country can move ahead."

“And there must be no conditions for holding talks, as we are not subordinates of the prime minister and we have the same status as him," he added.

King has set the record for longest rule

	As the longest-serving monarch in the country's history, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej has reigned over Thailand since 1946.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the supreme head of state. He has reigned over Thailand since 1946, making him both the longest-serving monarch of Thailand and the longest-serving head of state in the world. While he is supposed to be above politics, he sometimes weighs in and reportedly blessed the coup that ran out Thaksin.

The king enjoys wide spread support and love among his people, but has suffered from health problems recently.  His successor, the crown prince, is not nearly as popular.