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The raid on the government channel NBT gave the PAD more than a black eye. It showed an ugly face of the movement that confounds and defies the conventional political dichotomy of right and wrong, justified and unjustified. There is dispute as to who those black ninjas who forced themselves into the station really were. It remains to be proved if they were extra-terrestrials planted by the government, by good-intentioned, pave-the-way-to-hell PAD sympathisers in the armed forces, or by a splinter PAD faction.

So far, the use of force has not been standard PAD procedure, but it does not necessarily entail that when push comes to shove, the PAD would shy away. The press around the world, even in Mongolia, reported on this ghastly incident with varying degrees of condemnation and stupefaction. But the marijuana leaves reportedly found among the seized weapons of the perpetrators gave the whole thing a rather curious twist.

As public sentiment turned increasingly against the PAD, the prime minister did a fine job in reversing the tide. He could not help dwelling on long and winding petty grumbles. He set deadlines that proved unattainable and simply could not back up his tough talk and open threats with needed measures. Without the cooperation of the military, which has shown laudable self-restraint, an incredible sense of latitude and timing, there is little chance, if any, that the police could go it alone successfully, risking blood on the their hands and in the streets. Taking out the key PAD leaders could prove as catastrophic for the authorities as hitting a wasps' nest, as was the case in May 1992. Once again, the prime minister humiliated himself in front of our eyes. Once again, we were reminded of all the things that are wrong with the people at the helm, and why the PAD came to be.

Why did the PAD stage a shootout now, after months of digging in their heels to root out the government?

If we care to look, we will find that after the new Cabinet was sworn in, not many Cabinet members did their work as per their job description. They have been preoccupied with party shopping and hopping. New political parties have been set up and there are factions, and factions within factions. These are driven not by concern for the welfare of the country, short-term or long-term, but by shameless self-serving motives. Naturally, it takes time for all the alignments of self-interest and greed to be achieved. Those in power and those vying to be in the seat of power need time to maximise the prospects for profits and windfalls.

Take for example, the initiative by the government to build a new parliament at a new site: if we rule out mental deficiencies, were the Cabinet members high on some illicit substance to come up with this idea (upon which they thereafter acted), given the many more serious and immediate problems that Thailand is facing? Or is it that the project represents the enticement of a delicious pie that whets the appetite of those that clamber to get a piece of it? How many of these pork-barrel projects have gone under our nose and off the radar screen to grease the political engine?

The prime minister has time and again tried to pull a rabbit out of a hat (like the 116-day Mother's Day to Father's Day celebration scheme) to buy time to finish the political positioning and line-up that would secure his future piece of the action. He might have achieved it had it not been for his own destructive inclination to return all fire, even when it comes from a harmless, albeit noisy, toy gun.

Instead of trying to reach out and begin the process of national reconciliation and redemption that could be a redeeming legacy, the prime minister and his team continue to fan the fires of political discontent and further deepen and widen the real and dangerous divides in society. Quelled were the hopes and dreams of better days and a brighter future for the country that come as a result of setting a clear vision, assembling a team of keen minds and able hands with stalwart determination to execute the national agenda to the best of their ability. Sadly, our vessel has been left sputtering along on turbulent seas waiting for a new group of pirates to come onboard.

The PAD does not want to give the time needed by the powers-that-be. It wants to waste no more time in forcing the speedy demise of the government. In order for the PAD to uproot all the remnants of the previous administration, it has to take from them the time they need to regroup and regenerate. Ideally, the PAD wants to believe that it will not stop the disobedience unless and until its objective is met. They will be in for a long haul. But, in reality, it is running out of ammunition and resources, the troopers are exhausted and its targets out of focus.

Those close to the PAD could not tell with real confidence how many supporters would show up for the showdown yesterday. Its leadership could only hope that with the brisk sale of over a million ASTV satellite dishes, they have created a new breed of believers across the country who will constitute a credible, if not winning, army. They would put the wind at the PAD's back and, together with some luck and a miscalculation on the part of the government, would pave the road that leads to Rome.

It is said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In the case of Thailand, the woman scorned is the disfranchised people who have suffered a series of indignities caused by the shambolic government and an unyielding political force that refuses to go away quietly. We have taken sides; everybody has an opinion, but nobody has a solution. From being leery to being weary, some are now mad as hell, and do not want to take it any more. But where is the exit and what is the salvation?

When dealing with a society as shattered as Thailand is, it will be a long process to put the pieces back together so that we can once again become one no-nonsense nation, marching to the same drum, towards the same goal. This will remain a pipedream without real national reconciliation and redemption. The dire political situation is heading towards the point of no return.