The Criminal Court's verdict that acquitted 24 leaders of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) of terrorism may baffle some political observers.
The court said the violent protests and unrest caused by the group -- loyal to Thaksin Shinawatra -- against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in 2010 were politically motivated.
Even though the ruling by the court is not final as the group still has to go through two higher courts in a process that could take one to two years, we have to admit that such a ruling may pave the way for political reconciliation in the country, which has been trapped by colour-coded divisions.
Such speculation is valid given the series of rulings against the yellow- and red-shirt groups that have been involved in the country's conflicts.
The 2010 riots were a result of extended political conflict and division between the yellow- and red-shirt factions. These divisions, which lasted for 10 years from 2005 to 2014, plunged the country deep into political and economic crisis.
The first round of conflict began in 2005 when yellow-shirt demonstrators led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took the streets by storm in order to chase out Thaksin's government and those who were deemed as his nominees between 2005-2006 and 2008-2009.
The second round of unrest saw the rise of the red-shirt UDD group who came out in force to oust Mr Abhisit's government which they alleged had taken power as the army's nominee. The protests, which resulted in the collapse of the Asean summit, was suppressed in a crackdown.
The third and final round of conflict broke out as yellow-shirt elements united under the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) in rallies against a blanket amnesty bill issued by Yingluck Shinawatra's government in 2013. The street protests snowballed into a shutdown campaign which ended in 2014 when Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, then army chief, staged a coup under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Three major demonstrations, which were deemed peaceful at the beginning, became tainted with violence. Several thousand demonstrators from both sides were injured and nearly 200 lost their lives in bloody clashes between the protesters and the authorities.
After things returned to normal, both sides were slapped with court cases, totalling nearly 10, which have gradually unfolded over the years with some even reaching the Supreme Court. As a result of some of these cases, a number of core leaders from both sides have been sent to jail.
In fact, the Hong Kong crisis, which has led to a shutdown of business districts and an airport siege, reminds many of the events in Thailand which also included arson attacks on department stores and provincial halls in Bangkok. Unknown armed groups who used bombs and guns to attack state offices, the courts, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha significantly escalated the violence. The general elections in 2014 were aborted by the PDRC protesters as the nation came to a standstill.
To better understand the political crisis, we should look into the background of the long-standing conflict in detail.
The red-shirt UDD core leaders turned to street demonstrations which lasted 70 days from February 2010 until May 2010. They claimed that the Abhisit coalition government had no legitimacy as the army was allegedly behind its rise to power following the dissolution of the People's Power Party of Thaksin Shinawatra, which they claimed was politically motivated.
Peaceful demonstrations turned bloody when security forces cracked down on the demonstrators following failed negotiations. There was a group of "men in black" who exchanged fire with the authorities. The violence caused big losses to both sides, with about 100 killed and more than 2,100 injured. As earlier mentioned, the 24 leaders were slapped with terrorism charges and these were subsequently dismissed by Criminal Court.
Despite dismissal of the terrorism charge, the red-shirt leaders still face penalties for derailing the Asean summit in 2009 and also the riots in front of the residence of then-president of the Privy Council Prem Tinsulanonda. Rulings have been handed down in both cases, with 13 UDD members receiving four years' imprisonment for the former. Without being allowed bail, they were jailed and later released. The Appeal Court found the seven UDD leaders guilty of the Si Sao Thewes riot, giving them two years and eight months in jail. The case will be finalised next month when the Supreme Court gives its verdict.
Meanwhile, the PAD, took the lead in ousting the Thaksin government and its nominees (the administration under Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat). The case was closed with six yellow-shirt leaders partially serving eight-month sentences -- before getting a royal pardon -- for laying siege to Government House and NBT station.
The Supreme Court also ordered the yellow-shirt leaders to pay 522 million baht for damages in the airport siege. Criminal penalties are pending in this case as an investigation is still under way.
The Criminal Court dismissed charges against yellow-shirt leaders for shutting down parliament in their attempt to block Somchai Wongsawat from giving a policy statement in 2008 as it viewed that the demonstrations were peaceful. The Criminal Court also acquitted Mr Somchai for ordering a crackdown on the demonstrations.
Finally, last month the Criminal Court found four PDRC leaders not guilty of treason for their role in ousting the Pheu Thai government in the Bangkok shutdown campaign.
We can see that the courts give mixed verdicts, with both sides taking turns winning and losing. While the leaders cannot escape penalties, it should be noted that the punishments are not harsh. Some have faced imprisonment only for a brief period as the penalties are based on acts that breached the law. This is probably because these cases are political and all those leaders were driven by different political beliefs so it can be hard to judge if they were absolutely right or wrong.
We realise that reconciliation is still a remote dream but it is my hope that society and those political actors learn from past lessons. Each side must think thoroughly and do their best to handle conflict and not allow the country to plunge further into a political crisis like that seen in the past.
Chairith Yonpiam is assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.