Bangkok--Five years after a bloody military crackdown on Thailand's pro-democracy 'Red Shirts', relatives of those killed say unrepentant army rulers have failed in their promise to heal the country's deep divisions.
Nongnai remembers the precise moment her younger brother died. The 38-year-old teacher was at work when the call came saying her sibling Attachai Anchalee had been struck by a soldier's bullet just above the heart.
She listened as a friend described the desperate efforts of medics to stem the bleeding and keep her brother's heart going with chest compressions.
"I was on the phone for ten minutes... until he said my brother passed away," she told AFP from her home outside Bangkok, a picture of her brother on the mantelpiece.
"He just stopped breathing."
Attachai, a 28-year-old law graduate, was one of at least 90 people killed during the crackdown on anti-government protesters in April and May 2010.
He was among thousands of so-called Red Shirts loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra who took over key intersections in central Bangkok that spring, demanding fresh elections to replace the pro-military appointed government.
The massive protests brought to a boil years of resentment following a 2006 coup that toppled the democratically elected Thaksin, a move that led to his eventual self-exile overseas.
It was the bloodiest episode of Thailand's past decade of political drama, as soldiers flanked by armoured vehicles fought running battles with protesters, leaving the streets strewn with corpses and parts of the capital in flames.
AFP
