Red shirt “mobile rallies.” Remember those?
Well, today the yellow shirts, also known as the People Alliance for Democracy (PAD), took to the streets.
Here are a few cell phone snaps of what appeared to be the latter stages of a rally that began at the UNESCO Bangkok office and made its way down Sukhumvit Road.
I took these images in the Asoke area around mid-day.
As I tweeted, the demonstrators carried “Vote No” signs, encouraging people not to vote for anyone, since the yellows are unhappy with politicians — all of them.
There were also placards saying the Preah Vihear temple — that’s the UNESCO connection — had been “stolen by Cambodia.”
From The Economist:
Thailand’s nationalist protesters: Yellow badge of courage:
YELLOW polo shirts? Check. Plastic hand clappers? Check. Nationalist banners? Check. And so the supporters of the right-wing People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) once again took to the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday, ready to stand up to a treacherous government. In the past, the PAD staged marathon protests against the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and his allies. They claim credit for toppling two elected governments in 2006 and 2008, though on both occasions the army or the courts delivered the coup de grâce.
This time their fire is directed at the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is accused of betraying the nation along its border with Cambodia…
(Image: Economist, via Wikimedia Commons.)
Red Shirt leaders say they won’t leave the Rajaprasong protest site until an exact date for potential new elections is set. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier proposed Nov. 14 for a new poll.
But the red shirts say they want to ensure that the Democrats’ coalition parties are on board with the plan, and the reds point out that only the election commission, not the PM, can call new elections. Red Shirt leaders also say they want to know the exact date that Parliament will be dissolved, which would determine the date for a new poll.
Meanwhile, the PAD — the yellow shirt group that shut down Bangkok’s international airport for a week in Nov. 2008 — have voiced their displeasure with Abhisit’s plan. They say he should step down if he cannot enforce the rule of law, and that he shouldn’t give in to the Reds’ demands.
Earlier, there was a sense that the red shirts might take the deal, and that it would be a few days until they dispersed. Not anymore.
Here are stories about the current state of affairs from the BBC, WSJ, and Reuters.
Two stories from Bangkok today that I wanted to point out:
- Anti-government red shirt protesters will gather today at Bangkok’s Democracy monument for a demonstration between noon and midnight. Ousted PM Thaksin is expected to speak via video-link at 7 p.m. This story from Bloomberg has more info.
- Thai Airways has sued the PAD — including Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya — for shutting down Bangkok’s airports just over a year ago. The airline wants $17 million for lost revenue. AFP has more.
That’s the title of this post at Prachatai, which describes the PAD rally that took place here in Bangkok on Sunday:
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the stage at Sanam Luang with intense nationalism. Fiery nationalist rhetoric was stressed and repeated, while decades-old nationalist anti-communist songs were played throughout. The ‘Hun Sen Model’ was the latest term introduced to characterize the Cambodian leader. A larger rally was called for 5 Dec.
On 15 Nov, on stage with a pink backdrop which read in Thai ‘Unite the Strength of the Land. Protect Nation, Religion and King’, and in English ‘Fight for Thailand. Fight for our King’, the event started around 4 pm with some lesser known speakers.
Prasert Lertyaso called for the beheading of Hun Sen, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to an old Thai saying of shedding blood to wash royal feet. He banished Thaksin’s supporters to Phnom Penh and Dubai.
Saken Sutthiwong said that Cambodia was afraid that [Thai] F16 fighter jets would miss their targets and bomb Angkor Wat and Prear Vihear instead, because they earn their living from those ‘old stones’. Afterwards he sang ‘Ayutthaya’ and ‘Bang Rajan War’ songs which are about defending the country from its enemies, the Burmese in this case. He said he wanted Cambodia to get rich, so it could take its tens of thousands of beggars back home. Cambodian people are poor, as can be seen on TV when they storm through the border checkpoint like hell breaking loose. Thailand is not like that, because the Thai people have the King and Queen, he said.
(Emphasis mine.)
WSJ: “Thai Protest Group Votes to Form a Political Party”
PATHUM THANI, Thailand — Members of Thailand’s yellow-shirt protest movement voted to form a political party, creating a potentially influential force as the country struggles to pull itself out of recession.
Tens of thousands of members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy — a movement instrumental in bringing down two governments — converged on a sports stadium in this town near Bangkok on Monday and voted to transform the grass-roots campaign against corruption into a formal political party.
The apparently overwhelming assent — almost the entire stadium stood up to vote for the change — points to an expanded political role for the group’s leaders after it gained global notoriety for shutting down Bangkok’s international airports for a week last year.
The new party, which the PAD hasn’t yet named, could further elevate publisher and broadcaster Sondhi Limthongkul, the 61-year-old driving force behind the movement.
The PAD’s vote comes as Thailand grapples with its worst economic slump in more than a decade. The state economic planning agency said GDP contracted 7.1% in the first three months of 2009 from a year earlier, the worst performance since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Also in today’s WSJ: “Thai Economy Enters Recession, but Recovery Is in Sight.”
Thailand’s economy plunged into recession in the first quarter as the global downturn hammered exports and tourism slumped due to political unrest. But the government and economists say the economy is probably at or near the bottom.
Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product shrank 1.9% in the three months ended March from the prior quarter, said the head of the National Economic & Social Development Board, Ampon Kittiampon. The state economic planning agency said GDP contracted 7.1% in the first three months from a year earlier, the worst performance since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Today’s Bangkok Post has a story about a UDD (anti-government) rally planned for Wednesday, April 8 and the possible return of the PAD: “PAD plans revolt against red shirts” Sub-hed: “Fears of bloodshed spark comeback plans”
The People’s Alliance for Democracy is pledging to stage a comeback and mount a counter-rally if the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship’s political gathering on Wednesday escalates into violence.
The PAD, which has kept a low profile since the Democrat-led coalition government came to power in December, fears the red-shirt rally could deteriorate into violence and lead to military intervention.
Supporters of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda will also hold a rally on Wednesday, raising fears they could be on a collision course with the red shirts.
The PAD, you’ll recall, is the group that shut down Bangkok’s international airport for a week in late November.
Here are some recent stories about the newest wave of anti-government protests here in Bangkok (the most recent is the first story):
AFP: “Thai protesters march on foreign ministry”
Red-clad protesters marched on Thailand’s foreign ministry Wednesday, hours after the prime minister evaded demonstrators besieging his offices for a second day in their bid to unseat the government.
Up to 10,000 supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra dressed in their trademark crimson shirts surrounded Bangkok’s Government House compound Tuesday demanding fresh elections, with many camping outside overnight.
AP: “Thousands demand dissolution of Thai parliament”
Thousands of protesters surrounded the prime minister’s office Tuesday demanding Thailand’s parliament be dissolved and new elections held, the latest challenge to the two-month old coalition government.
The rally by demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came three days before Thailand is to host the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The crowd swelled to about 20,000 people as dusk approached, police said.
VOA: “Former Thai PM Supporters Hold Rally in Bangkok”
Government opponents and supporters of Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, launched a rally by blockading the government’s main administrative building and calling for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign. The rallies appear to be part of a new strategy by Thaksin supporters to weaken the Abhisit government that came to power in December.
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.
