Chaotic meeting before the bloodshed

Many fingers have been pointed at former deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who was assigned to take care of the rally by an urgent Cabinet meeting and resigned after the incident.

People are desperate to learn what went on in that urgent Cabinet meeting the night before the clash. In fact, as the time for his policy address drew near, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat decided to consult his Cabinet members about what should be done.

"The PM had the power to command the operation without calling the meeting, but he is too much of a novice," one minister said, asking not to be named.

It was a chaotic meeting. Most ministers were not ready, some wore T-shirts, and others were drunk and given to shouting.

Somchai finally decided to go ahead with his policy address, and the ministers were divided into two camps about handling the protesters.

The first camp, including Chavalit, Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissanananthakul and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat, proposed that the policy address be shifted to another venue. They feared violence and bloodshed. Somchai supported the idea.

The other camp, led by Public Health Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, Public Health Deputy Minister Wicharn Meenchainant and PM's secretary-general Choosak Sirinin disagreed.

"Parliament is a sacred place. Every government makes its policy address there. We won't allow them to obstruct us," Chalerm was quoted as saying.

Choosak called House Speaker Chai Chidchob for his opinion on shifting the policy address to an alternative venue, and Chai insisted on following the original schedule. Somchai's Cabinet finally agreed with Chai and assigned Chavalit to take control of maintaining security.

Chavalit then went to the Metropolitan Police Bureau and gave two instructions: police should gently negotiate with the protesters to allow MPs into the Parliament building; and if this failed, they should do nothing more.

However, the police cracked down on the protesters with tear gas. The clash claimed two lives and injured more than 400.

A close Chavalit aide, Chavalit Witchayasuth, claimed: "The police from Metropolitan did not listen to Chavalit's commands."

Do we take it, then, that police will listen only to police?

There are two former policemen in the Cabinet who played a crucial role in the incident: Chalerm and Interior Minister Kowit Watana. To whom would the police be more likely to listen?

As well, there was a long-distance call, with the message: "It's too much. I can't take it any more."