Fuelling the pyre

摘要

Clad in black and attended by a clutch of photographers, Queen Sirikit and a daughter, Princess Chulabhorn, led the cremation ceremony on October 13th of Angkhana Radappanyawut, who died in violent clashes in Bangkok six days earlier. Ms Angkhana had been supporting the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in its attempt to blockade parliament. Her family said the queen had told them she was a "good girl" and a "protector of the monarchy and the country".rnThe PAD, which has occupied government offices since August, says it is defending the crown against the supposed republicanism of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister who was deposed in a coup in 2006 but whose allies returned to power after an election last December. By provoking violence the PAD hopes to trigger another coup.rnNeither the queen nor other royals had attended the funeral of a pro-Thaksin protester killed in earlier clashes, in September. After the latest violence, the queen criticised the police's use of tear-gas and paid the medical bills of injured PAD protesters.