Despite Abhisit's best intentions, there are extremists on both sides who would like to derail the process
Red-shirted leaders were singing pop music and taking loved ones to McDonald's near the Rajpasong protest site. On Friday, their press conference hinted at an imminent "suspension" of their almost two-month-old rally. Chulalongkorn Hospital was resuming full services and many reporters were no longer wearing helmets. Then people woke up on urday morning to learn about the Sala Daeng and Lumpini attacks.
We can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Extremists on both sides are not happy about Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's roadmap, and it is they who speak the loudest. Despite what looked like a clear majority of the public welcoming the prime minister's peace initiatives, what will dictate the course of Thai politics remains the decisions of a handful of people.
Abhisit has won the backing of his Democrat Party and its coalition allies. Even the Pheu Thai Party is said to be kick-starting its election campaign preparations. The pro-government "multicoloured" shirt group welcomed the roadmap in general, though it said the election date set for November 14 was too early.
The red shirts have made additional demands, partly to save face and partly to make sure that they would not be double-crossed.
Even the Army, publicly at least, was relieved that it would not have to be the one charged with reclaiming Rajprasong from the protesters.
The real resistance has come from the yellow shirts. The People's Alliance for Democracy has denounced the road map as nothing short of a betrayal, a shameful deal between Abhisit and a movement he had just days ago virtually accused of being infiltrated by terrorists and anti-monarchy elements.
The PAD did not threaten to torpedo the road map yet but it asked Abhisit to revise it or resign.
Realities of war can always easily overshadow dreams for peace. The gravitational pull toward something that is worse is always at work. All parties must be totally on guard, because this is the time when the dark force is naturally most powerful. History, modern or ancient, shows us that the process of reaching out to enemies is often when political leaders are most vulnerable, because all of a sudden, the base to stand on is not quite there.
Prime Minister Abhisit, in trying to reach out to the red shirts, is undoubtedly at that juncture. Nobody seems to trust him when his agenda requires strong faith from everybody involved.
During a TV interview on Friday, Abhisit said he had never thought he would ever face anything this tough, complicated and challenging. He has been called a "murderer" by his foes and "betrayer" or even "traitor" by some allies. Suddenly, as Abhisit joked, Thaksin Shinawatra and some of Thaksin's enemies are wanting the same thing - his removal as prime minister.
Polls, meanwhile, seem to suggest there is a silent majority out there who believe that Abhisit is trying to do his best - not trying to strike a secret deal to save himself - for the whole country.
Can Abhisit make it through this increasingly blurred and hostile political landscape? Obviously, success or failure is not up to him. Nothing that is happening at the moment is up to any one particular man.
In fact, this is not about one man. Abhisit has simply taken the first step, brave in some people's eyes and cowardly in others', and it will be up to all Thais to look at his proposal with unbiased minds and decide for themselves.