After being tortured by the quality of Thai media in reporting political events in recent years, I am glad that the BBC's Jonathan Head has produced what I deem a rather fair and reasonable assessment of Thai politics. This kind of high-quality analytical work has been lacking in the Thai media for so long.

One important thing that sets this piece apart from other opinion pieces usually found in the Thai media is that Jonathan Head has written his piece based, to extent possible, on objective reality, not subjective or perceived reality. Unlike some journalists, who write with some "moral grounds" or "the country's best interest" in mind, Jonathan Head refrains from offering value judgment.

Rather, he tries to understand who different groups of people are, how they see things differently and why that is so. He does not suggest that the yellows or the reds are "good" or "bad"; he just tries to present the actions and motives of these people.

In other words, his goal is to offer a positive, not normative, analysis of the situation. Of course, Head's positive analysis, just like any other kind positive work, may not be totally accurate but at least it is an attempt to get the truth out using an objective approach. This is what sets this piece apart from many others written by Thai journalists who often write according to their own stance and often fail to look deeply beyond the surface of things.

.........

Here are some key points made in the article:

He first argued that noone - not the UDD, Abhisit, army, police, Thaksin - won from the recent crisis. This is what he has to say about PM Abhisit:

"Although he clawed back a lot of his authority through the successful military operation to disperse the UDD protesters, the promise he made on taking office four months ago to promote reconciliation in his country now looks hollow."

On the army:

"Its decision to suppress these protesters, when it did nothing about the equally damaging actions of the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) last year, makes a mockery of its claim to be a neutral force."

"...the 2006 coup that deposed Thaksin Shinawatra have irrevocably tarnished its image with a sizable part of the Thai population."

On Thaksin:

"[Thaksin's] melodramatic call for a people's uprising fell flat, and who is still stuck in exile, without a secure place of refuge."

On the division of Thai society:

"The division between Red and Yellow cuts across many lines; it is not simply just rural-versus-urban, or poor-versus-rich. Spend long enough with either group and you meet people from very varied backgrounds."

"But there is one issue that clearly divides the two camps... That issue is Thaksin Shinawatra..."

"Not all the Reds love this brash and controversial figure. But they pretty much all think he was unjustly removed from office by the 2006 coup, and that the various legal cases brought against him... are without merit."

"They also believe in the power of his populist agenda... not just because it improved the lot of the rural poor... but because for the first time it gave poorer Thais a sense that their vote mattered, that voting for a particular policy platform could bring you tangible benefits."

"This approach politicised a previously neglected class of people in Thailand, and made them a powerful, new force."

"The many, well-founded criticisms made of Mr Thaksin's style of government do not affect that view: that he was autocratic, fatally weakening Thailand's fragile democratic institutions; that he presided over a sharp escalation of human rights violations; that corruption continued to flourish under his administrations; that he shamelessly promoted on the basis of loyalty, not competence."

"But because so many poorer Thais saw this flawed politician as their champion, they resented it bitterly when forces aligned with the wealthy elite decided to bend the rules to kick him out of office... Mr Thaksin's followers felt robbed."

"That sense of being robbed continued last year when they saw the governments they had voted for harried by the PAD, and then disqualified by bizarre court decisions."

"Go to a red-shirt rally and you will hear the same mantra; 'We are grass-roots people, fighting for democracy, against the ruling class'."

"Go to a yellow-shirt rally and you will almost inevitably hear a different mantra; 'We are educated people, fighting against corrupt politicians who abuse democracy'."

"There appear to be no towering, Obama-like figures in Thailand, who can win the respect of both camps. Certainly not Mr Abhisit, who often looks uncomfortably out of place in the rural, red heartlands of the north and north-east."

.........

So, as pro- and government-supporters continue to debate heatedly to defend their cause and the media continue to present shallow and biased news based on what they perceive to be in the public interest, the truth is that unless and until the two opposite sides begin to stop dismissing their opponents and learn to understand, if not appreciate, their opponents' motives, Thailand will unfortunately remain a deeply divided society.