Thailand political unrest continues as hundreds of thousands rally in Bangkok

Thailand political unrest continues as hundreds of thousands rally in Bangkok
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Less than five months after yellow-shirted anti-government protesters seized and closed Bangkok two airports stranding hundreds of thousands of international tourists, the country is headed towards further political unrest after more than 150,000 pro-democracy red shirt protesters rallied in Bangkok today.

The mass rally saw supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), now commonly referred to as the red shirts‚ due to the colour of their clothing, travel from the farthest reaches of the kingdom in what was billed by many as D-Day, after months of smaller rallies

The protesters first massed in front of Thailand Government House before an estimated 60,000 of them headed to the nearby residence of revered former prime minister and current Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda and broke through a large police cordon to lay siege to the compound.

Calls mount for resignations

The protesters then demanded the current government headed by England-born and educated Abhisit Veijajiva and three privy council members, including General Prem, resign without any condition.

Thai police attempt to block pro-democracy protesters from reaching the residence of Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda
Thai police attempt to block pro-democracy protesters from reaching the residence of Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda John Le Fevre

The protesters also called for Thailand to be governed under the constitutional monarchy and by international standards, with a person who abides by democratic principles and is accepted by society allowed to take responsibility.

General Tinsulanonda and the privy councillors have been targeted by the red shirts after fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra named them as being masterminds of events leading to the 2006 military coup d’état that forced his elected government from office.

Mr Shinawatra was elected for a second term as prime minister in February 2005 in a landslide victory which saw the largest voter turn-out in Thailand’s history, but deposed by a military coup d’état in September 2006 while he was in the US.

The UDD has close links to Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year while on bail prior to being convicted in absentia of a corruption charge stemming from land purchased by his now former wife.

Over the last few months Mr Shinawatra, who was born in the Northern Thailand province of Chiang Mai and who has a large following in Thailand’s rural north, has constantly infuriated and frustrated the Bangkok establishment and elite by moving from one country to another, while making dozens of video and telephone calls to rallies of his supporters.

Red-shirt pro-democracy protesters from Udon Thani in Thailand's north arrive at Government House.
Red-shirt pro-democracy protesters from Udon Thani in Thailand’s north arrive at Government House. John Le Fevre

Attempts by the Government to disrupt his telephone calls and block his video calls have largely failed, with the former telecommunications industry tycoon and billionaire constantly making the current government appear inept in their attempts.

For the last few weeks PM Veijajiva and his Democrat Party government have largely dismissed the rallies by the pro-democracy UDD as being little more than an irritation, while at the same time desperately trying to coerce countries which Mr Shinawatra has used as a base for his video calls to extradite him, despite Thailand not having formal extradition agreements with most of them.

Today the irritation became major, festering puss-filled boil for the government when hundreds of buses, private cars and trains began disgorging red-shirted supporters of the UDD from Thailand’s northern, southern, eastern and western-most provinces.

Anti-government protesters defiant

By 7.00am tens of thousands of red-shirt protesters had already gathered in front of Thailand's Government House.
By 7.00am tens of thousands of red-shirt protesters had already gathered in front of Thailand’s Government House. John Le Fevre

Between 4.00 and 4.30am alone more than 150 buses and coaches arrived at the Government House assembly area, sending a clear message to PM Veijajiva that Thailand is now divided and those who live outside of Bangkok are not pleased with his governments policies, which tend to favour the Bangkok establishment and elite.

Prior to the rally members of the government had predicted as few as 30,000 people would attend but by 6.00am this figure was well and truly exceeded as convoys of buses converged on the area surrounding Government House‚ with many having taken more than 12-hours to get there.

The Government, some segments of the media, and the so-called People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement, which last year seized control of both Bangkok airports and engaged in violent clashes with police and anti-PAD protesters, try to paint the red shirts as uneducated, working-class poor from Thailand’s rural provinces.

Today’s turn-out shattered this misnomer with protesters comprising the young, the old, the firm, the frail, Buddhist monks, current and retired university lecturers, school teachers, civil servants, and small and medium sized business owners, as well as the rural, working-class poor who benefited most from the policies of former prime minister Thaksin.

Rejecting the call by protesters for him to resign and call fresh elections, PM Veijajiva said his government also wanted to advance democracy but this had to happen in a peaceful manner via political reform.

As dawn broke over Bangkok tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters had already gathered at Government House.
As dawn broke over Bangkok tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters had already gathered at Government House. John Le Fevre

While stating the protesters had a right to rally, PM Veijajiva, whose Democrat Party formed a government last December after the Thailand’s Constitutional Court disbanded the then ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) and two smaller political parties who formed the coalition government, said, we will not respond to threats of violence.”

He said that while the red shirts had a right to rally and protest his government will not allow the protesters to riot or stage a people’s revolution. The government will try its best to deal with the protesters using non-violent measures, he said.

This most recent round of protests is expected to do little for Thailand’s tourism industry, which has suffered severely on the back of last years protests by the PAD which stranded hundreds of thousands of tourists when Bangkok and regional airports were closed amidst violent street protests and images of yellow-shirted protesters shooting at opponents from the back of pick-up trucks.

 

Photos John Le Fevre

 

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John Le Fevre is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer and editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Most recently he was the Thailand editor/ managing editor of AEC News Today . Prior to that he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.

Opinions and views expressed on this site are those of the author’s only. Read more at About me

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5 Responses to "Thailand political unrest continues as hundreds of thousands rally in Bangkok"

  1. mikel   May 26, 2009 at 11:01 am

    MAI 30ht THE RED SHIRT IN MUKDAHAN CITY !
    FROM 6 PM —-24 PM !!!

    Reply
  2. Jeg   April 12, 2009 at 6:14 am

    But then again, what is Real Democracy? The yellows wanted the same and the reds are now copying about it. I wonder if they believe in UNITY and perhaps that way they can work it out. The PM cannot perform miracles in such a short time, the red shirts have been protesting since the PM was appointed. This is more a “who’s got more power spoiled brats’ behavior”…

    Reply
  3. Jason Geddes   April 11, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    It certainly appears as the Thai population are not as happy as the Royal Thai propaganda dept would have us believe. One has to seriously question the holding of such meetings within such a country.

    Reply
  4. Dr. Will   April 11, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Excellent background and informative report on the Wednesday events, with some fine photos. I will be following your blog from now on.

    Reply
    • John Le Fevre   April 11, 2009 at 11:50 am

      Thanks very much. I’m glad you found it informative.

      John

      Reply

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