But, as the anti-establishment, pro-Thaksin “red shirts” staged huge protests of their own against the army’s suppression of their fellow demonstrators in April-May of last year, the men in uniform became agitated. A major tipping point may have been the red-shirt leaders’ allusion to the conspicuous royal silence in response to the army’s violent suppression, which heightened the army’s fear of a clear and present danger to the monarchy.
人民民主联盟的叫嚣原本并未起到什么作用。对这场古寺争端泰国军方选择置身事外，阿披实政府也作壁上观。但随着反当权派亲他信的红衫军发动了一场抗议军方在去年4，5月间镇压其示威者的活动时，军方终于被激怒了。而其中的一个爆发点可能是红衫军领袖对于泰国王室明显纵容军队暴力镇压的指责，使军方感觉君主制正在受到实实在在的威胁。