THE anti government protests that have rocked Bangkok over recent weeks are a stark reminder that despite the relative calm in Thai politics over the last two years, social tensions continue to simmer under the surface and Thai society remains as polarised as ever.

The protests were apparently triggered by a sweeping amnesty bill proposed by the governing Pheu Thai party led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, under which former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (Ms Yingluck's brother) would be able to return to Thailand and be absolved of the corruption charges against him. The bill also proposed pardoning, among others, soldiers responsible for the killings of demonstrators in the 2010 anti-government protests.

The bill passed the lower house of the Thai parliament, but was rejected by the Senate and therefore cannot become law. It was clearly ill-timed and poorly crafted; its main aim appeared to be to clear the path for Mr Thaksin's return to Thailand. Ostensibly, the bill was a step towards national reconciliation, but it had the opposite effect of re-opening old political wounds and bringing the country's latent political divisions to the surface.