BANGKOK - Thailand's political tensions gave way to water fights at the start of the lunar New Year holiday even as anti-government protesters threatened on Tuesday to march on the army barracks, where the prime minister is encamped. The red-shirted protesters, who are demanding fresh elections, promised they would unleash another street "offensive" on Wednesday. They have occupied two areas of the capital for a month and repeatedly staged rallies; a failed attempt by security forces to flush them out this weekend killed 21 people. But the beginning of the three-day Songkran festival, an annual ritual of dancing, heavy drinking and water fights, somewhat doused the tensions that sparked the country's worst political violence in nearly two decades. Revelers flooded some streets in Bangkok on Tuesday, driving around in pickup trucks packed with barrels of water, splashing pedestrians, passengers on buses and motorcyclists. In the tourist hangout of Khao San road ��" a bar and hotel-lined street where violence between protesters and soldiers spilled on Saturday ��" foreigners joined in, firing at each other with super-sized water guns. An elephant, under the guidance of a handler, sprayed people with water from its trunk. "This is such a great relief from politics," said Jetsada Pinyomongkol, brandishing a giant pink-and-yellow water gun. "I think many people get sick of it. Everywhere you turn to it's Red Shirt this, government that. It's great that we could put the differences aside for at least today."
