The Red Shirt protests continue at Ratchaprasong and the rhetoric from both sides grows increasingly hard line. The last few days, however, have been more peaceful than usual. It’s hard not to believe that it is just the calm before a storm.

Today, a group of hardcore Red Shirts gathered behind the Silom- Radjadamri barricade – now reinforced with razor wire – and readied themselves for a move to another site within Bangkok – something that the government has said it will not allow.

It’s impossible to describe this motley crew as anything more than thugs. They have also been told by leaders to stop wearing red shirts so they can move around easier outside the main camp. Armed with staves, golf clubs and an assortment of other weapons they do little to help the genuine plight of the rural poor.

Meanwhile, at lunch hour on Silom Road a small but vocal demonstration was held by office workers and local business owners. Staunchly royalist and distinctly middle-class the group sang the national anthem while waving the Thai flag and condemning the Red actions.

As an outsider who has lived in Thailand for 12 years, it’s hard to watch the rift in society grow. My affection for this country runs deep. It has been generous to me, given me the love of my life and memories that will sustain me in my twilight years.

But I fear for Thailand’s future. Labels of red, yellow, pink and multi-coloured serve only to oversimplify the complex problems inherent in a hierarchical, corrupt and unjust society; problems that have never been addressed. The common thread running through all coloured flags is leadership motivated by self-interest, greed and power. In the end, as usual, it’s the common man who will lose out. Undoubtedly order will soon be restored by force but the division in society could take decades to heal.