Tag: yellow_shirts

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Thai politics Thailand

A few images from today’s PAD protest in Bangkok

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.”

Categories
Thai politics Thailand

“Where is the PAD going this time with its protests?”

That’s the title of an op-ed in today’s Bangkok Post by Thitinan Pongsudhirak. Thailand watchers won’t want to miss it.

Categories
Thai politics Thailand

Economist on yellow shirt protests

preah_vihear.jpg

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.)

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Misc.

Reds and yellows protest in Thailand

Yesterday’s red shirt protest here in Bangkok attracted some 30,000 demonstrators. Despite concerns about the potential for violence, the rally was peaceful. CNN.com has details here.

Meanwhile, on the Thailand-Cambodia border, yellow shirt demonstrators fought with local residents near the Preah Vihear temple. Here’s a BBC News report with video of the clashes.

I spent a few hours at the red shirt rally and will be writing more about that soon.

Categories
Misc.

The Economist on the state of Thai politics

A story in the current Economist sums up the political landscape in Thailand.

Discussed here are PM Abhisit, the red shirts, the yellow shirts (and the PAD’s new political party), and the insurgency in Thailand’s south. Worth a read.