Don't let acrimony infect open wounds

Nobody knows what steps should be taken after Tuesday's bloodbath. As investigators comb the scenes of the clashes between People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters and the police to try to unlock a few mysteries, and as protesters retreat to the "People's Council" compound that was once Government House, the country remains clueless as to how to proceed. This calm before the next storm, however, may not last long enough for people to clear their heads and come up with a realistic solution to the political impasse, which seems to get stickier with each passing day.

There have been some good signs, though. The treason charges against the PAD leaders have been dropped, and two key men released from prison. With the PAD planning to launch a publicity campaign to tell the world its side of Tuesday's events, we should at least be able to rest assured that no new major confrontations will be engineered in the next few days.

That is all we get - a few days of quiet before the country possibly reaches a new boiling point. It is an uneasy and stressful point to get to, because we are back where we started, with the knowledge that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's reconciliatory approaches are either insincere or ineffective. And the vicious circle, we now fear, may get even more vicious.

We can do nothing other than pray the acrimonious aftermath of Tuesday will not lead to something worse. Both sides are blaming each other for the brutality and casualties, with the police making shocking claims that the deaths and injuries had been caused by explosives carried by the protesters themselves.

It is obvious that more pain is coming our way, and if the wounds ever heal, there is an even bigger risk of infection. On Monday, the PAD will stage a march against the police and plans a vociferous scene outside of national police headquarters. The movement, somehow reinvigorated by the tragic events, is planning to distribute books and CDs on the alleged police brutality.

If it was difficult before to make both sides take a step back, it looks almost impossible now. But at least the loss of life and limb should hold everyone back for the time being - or hopefully long enough for concrete efforts to be made to prevent a repetition of Tuesday.

The country has been divided over ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra's alleged corruption, the virtues or evil of the September 2006 coup, the worthiness of anti-graft probes and the ongoing process in courts regarding the deposed prime minister and the ruling party. But while there may be little we can do now to fix the rift, Thais should at least agree on one thing: what happened on Tuesday should not be repeated.

Police must feel sorry they fired the tear gas. The PAD must feel sorry it told the protesters to seize Parliament. The questions of what and who killed the victims do matter to a certain extent, but if our strife-torn nation is to pick itself up and move on, we need to do much more than simply find the answers to these questions.

The word "reconciliation" has been grossly overused lately. It is not about holding "summit" meetings or secretive talks. Reconciliation must be a process that is as broad and open as possible. If we want to achieve it, there is one big challenge to overcome: we must be willing to forgive others and admit our own fault. If we cannot do that, all talks, meetings and courtesy calls will be just cheap diplomacy - the art of trying to be nice until one's stockpiles are full again.