Newley Purnell
Quick note — this NYT story does a good job of surveying the scene ahead of the upcoming red shirt protests, which are due to start tomorrow (Fri. the 12th) here in Bangkok.
I will, as ever, be blogging here and posting snippets on Twitter. If you see any good articles or have any first hand accounts to share, let me know: newley AT gmail.com
Stay tuned…
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The Bangkok Post has details on today’s planned red shirt rally here in the Thai capital.
For a big picture look at why the anti-government demonstrators are gathering, I suggest this CSM story: “Briefing: Why Thai protesters are taking to the streets again.”
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Reuters: “Thailand passes tough security law to control protest”
Thailand’s government passed a security law Tuesday that clears the way for the military to be brought in to control a planned rally by supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), better known as the “red shirts,” plan to demonstrate Sunday outside Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s office, calling for his resignation.
A three-week occupation of the premier’s office in April sparked Thailand’s worst street violence in 17 years, forcing Abhisit to call a state of emergency and stoking concerns over the stability of Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.
Straits Times: “Thailand invokes ISA”
Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved the invoking of an internal security law to keep order at an anti-government rally in Bangkok on Sunday.
The law, which suspends some civil rights and puts the military in charge of law and order, will apply only to the historic Dusit district where the rally will take place.
The red-shirted United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) is holding the rally with a twin message: it is calling for dissolution of the House and fresh elections; and for the government not to stall over the petition for a royal pardon for fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The petition, signed by more than three million people, was sent last week by the King’s office to the government for review.
The invocation of the law, which allows the military to move quickly without declaring a state of emergency, reflects mounting anxiety over the administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is perceived as weak.
You can find more info in this Nation story, as well as in this article from the Bangkok Post. And Bangkok Pundit has some analysis here.
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If you’re wondering about traveling in Thailand following the recent political unrest here, you might be interested in this Q&A I did with World’s Hum’s Julia Ross yesterday. Julia asked me about the current atmosphere in Bangkok, what impact the turmoil is likely to have on Thailand’s tourism industry, and what advice I have for those considering a trip to Thailand.
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Anti-government red shirt protesters here in Bangkok dispersed yesterday, bringing an end to the unrest that has engulfed the Thai capital over the past few days.
Army troops secured major intersections throughout the city, and demonstrators who had gathered at the Prime Minister’s office have now left.
Throughout Bangkok, people are celebrating Songkran — the Thai new year — in earnest, splashing water and dancing to music in the streets.
Here are five observations I have after speaking with people and reporting on the situation here. I’ve been sharing some ongoing thoughts and links on Twitter, but here’s a longer dispatch:
1. While normalcy has returned to the Thai capital, the images of chaos may prove lasting. Last week, protesters invaded a hotel in Pattaya where a meeting of Asian leaders was being held, and then demonstrators clashed with police here in Bangkok. Red shirts set city buses on fire and blocked roads with taxis. It was only when army troops fired automatic weapons into the air and moved to disperse them that the demonstrators retreated. This is dramatic stuff, clearly, and while things have returned to normal now, these images are powerful, especially so for those watching from outside the country.
2. PM Abhisit was successful in putting down the uprising, but what comes next? When he came to power a few months ago, many hoped that he would mend the divide between the two factions battling here. And…
3. No progress has been made in settling the differences between pro and anti-Thaksin forces. On the one hand is the red shirts, who are commonly characterized as coming from the rural north and northeast of the country. Many of them support exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. On the other side are the yellow-shirts (the PAD), who say Thaksin and his associates are corrupt, and that their influence must be removed from politics.
4. The red shirts claim that they’ll be back. Yesterday a red shirt organizer said that they’ll now go home and rest over Songkran. And then they’ll return to Bangkok in even larger numbers. Red shirt demonstrators I spoke with indicated that they were merely suspending their demonstrations, but that the fight isn’t over. What comes next?
5. There are serious worries here about tourism and the economy. Tourism accounts for 6.7 percent of the Thai economy. And the goal was to attract some 14 million tourists this year. Some estimates say that number may now fall to less than 10 million. The industry was already suffering following the PAD’s week-long closure of Bangkok’s international airport in late November, 2008. And the global financial crisis has also taken its toll. The government has announced that it may seek to increase its recent economic stimulus pacakge. Analysts say, though, that a key component in shoring up the economy is achieving political stability. That now appears to be a long way off.
That’s it for now. I’ll be back and blogging next week.
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Here’s a short video and some images I snapped at Bangkok’s Government House yesterday, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters gathered to demand the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister. (More details on my observations from yesterday are here.)
I took this 32-second video clip (embedded below) near the main stage:
And below are the pics. You can find five more images on Flickr here. Click the images for bigger versions.
Protesters with a banner near the main stage
Listening to a speech
Cheering
One of many banners
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The latest from Bangkok: red-shirt protesters have shut down the Victory Monument area, one of the city’s busiest intersections, with parked taxis.
Here’s more from The Straits Times, The Nation, and the Bangkok Post.
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Tens of thousands of red-shirt (anti-government) protesters descended on Government House here in Bangkok today to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit step down. I spent a few hours there speaking with demonstrators and taking in the scene.
Some observations, a few of which I mentioned in various tweets earlier today:
One man, a 34-year-old taxi driver from Bangkok, told me that he didn’t like Thaksin, in fact, but that he wanted a change in government. “I want democracy but I didn’t come for Thaksin,” he said. “I want democracy…I don’t like Abhisit. He came to power not through democracy.”
For ongoing updates the protests, you can search Google News or consult the Bangkok Post or Nation newspapers.
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Two developments here in Thailand today:
First, Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva’s car was attacked by ant-government red-shirt protesters in Pattaya this afternoon. It was the first violence targeted at Abhisit since he came to power in December. Reuters has the story.
And second, tension is mounting ahead of a massive red-shirt rally planned here in Bangkok tomorrow. Abhisit has vowed to prevent a “civil war.” The AP has this story.
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Today’s WSJ has this story: “Thaksin Ups Ante In Thai Struggle”
BANGKOK — Thailand’s fugitive former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, has picked a fight from which he may find it hard to back down — and which economists say could hinder this Southeast Asian economy’s efforts to recover from the global slump.
Mr. Thaksin on Friday rejected the Thai government’s offer of talks to resolve political conflicts. He told his supporters — who are barricading the main government complex in Bangkok — to prepare for a “people’s revolution” in defense of democracy.
“Negotiation is out of the question. We are talking about the nation’s future now,” Mr. Thaksin told cheering supporters in a live video link from an undisclosed location overseas. He urged people to turn out for a mass show of support in Bangkok on April 8.
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