PHUKET has been bleeding for quite a while now, so we know how the red demonstrators feel. The island continues to sacrifice its tourism industry for the sake of Thailand's quirky version of democracy.

Yet the strange thing is that, provided there is no violence, this week's bizarre bloodletting in Bangkok has probably done Thailand and Phuket a lot of good.

Thailand has demonstrated once again its ability to let the democratic process run its course. Blood runs in the streets, true. But trust Thailand to do it differently.

Ranting from the sidelines has been former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is probably now a spent force. His prospects of returning to Thailand quickly really depended on a massive turnout of support on the streets.

A total of 100,000 may be the biggest of the red protests so far, but it falls well short of being a groundswell demonstration of ''people power.''

It's all of historical interest now, but a turnout of 500,000 probably would have been sufficient to force the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva to stand aside.

Thaksin had now better be drawing up lists of Thai restaurants in Dubai, Montenegro, Fiji and other tolerant countries, because his chances of making a meal of politics in Thailand again will slip away with the final departing protesters this week.

ASTV, the yellow television channel, delighted yesterday and again today in showing the fugitive PM in full rant via video to the red shirt crowd, then cut to the bitter final scenes from 'The Last Days of Hitler.'

Viewed at its most promising, the needling in Bangkok this week has removed the PM that the reds did not want to remove. Instead of pushing out the present incumbent, they have successfully marginalised the outlawed PM-in-waiting.

Thaksin's last forlorn hope probably now rests with a royal pardon, and that's unlikely to come soon, if ever.

While its effectiveness as a form of protest left some protest observers scratching their heads (''You're meant to shed their blood, not yours'') the visual imagery proved a ratings winner around the globe.

As a marketing exercise for Thailand, the blood was definitely worth bottling. People everywhere would have been transfixed by the images of the blood being collected and then splashed around Bangkok.

''Hey, now that's a different destination. And so peaceful, too.''

What a remarkable demonstration of Thai tolerance, despite the heat of Bangkok and the frustrations of unheeded demands.

If there is no violence to mar the ending, it's possible to draw positives from the process.

And if the reds are willing to sacrifice their blood, perhaps, once the television cameras are gone, they might even be willing to try something else we haven't seen in Thailand lately: compromise.

We have it on good authority that the rival yellow-shirts also bleed red. Isn't that a sign that beneath the artificial colorings, both sides of politics actually have a lot in common?