Protest Mounts Against Thai PM

Now the Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts are back again protesting in Bangkok, this time together.  The Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts are joined in protest against the current government by the Blue Shirts and the Human Rights Group in Bangkok, for similar reasons.

Both the Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts want the current Thailand government to resign.

The Red Shirts, Blue Shirts and Yellow Shirts are all protesting issues related to the disputed temple and vast tract of mountainous land in Cambodia.

The newly-active Human Rights Group is protesting the unfair treatment of refugees of Myanmar formerly promised Thai citizenship, but currently without any rights whatsoever.

Since it is hard to know the players without a scorecard, the Pattaya Times newspaper has contacted each group and reports on who they are, who are the leaders, what are they protesting about, what they want to gain, which financially supports them and where in Bangkok are they forming to protest.

In a later article, the Pattaya Times will explore what will happen to Thai Society if one group gets what it wants and the others do not.

Here are the findings of the Pattaya Times newspaper reporters about the four protest groups forming and staging rallies in Bangkok now:

1.      Red Shirts - United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)

The red shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin and his policies and include a large proportion of working-class and rural-based Thais.

The most aggressive group to date since Thaksin Shinnawat was ousted as Prime Minister are the Red Shirts who caused a Civil War Zone in central Bangkok last year leading to the burning down of dozens of shops and Central World and many deaths on May 19, 2010. They also broke into government offices in Chiang Mai and Korat destroying vital documents and official records.

The year before on April 10, 2009, they stormed PEACH Convention Hall in Pattaya leading to the cancellation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

Most Red Shirts say they are non-violent and oppose the previous violent acts.  The self-proclaimed, reformed group is led by Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan, who along with Natawut Saikua and Weng Tojirakarn led the last Red Shirt revolt in May, 2010, which crippled central Bangkok for three weeks.

The Red Shirts are in Bangkok now to protest about what they claim the current government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democratic Party has done wrong, about the Red Shirts who died in the last protests in Bangkok and the government’s take over after the ouster of duly-elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawat.

The Red Shirts say at their protest meetings that Thaksin is still alive, living overseas and is healthy and they want Thaksin back in the country and want Prime Minister Abhisit to step down and have new elections.

However, the Pattaya Times newspaper on May 7, 2010, after learning from a reliable, informed source, was the first media source in the world to announce that Thaksin was rumored dead and may very unhealthy and near  death and is unlikely to be seen in public again. Thaksin has not been seen in public or on video since May 6, 2010.

The Red Shirts have been holding weekly meetings mostly on Friday always from 5pm to midnight at the Victory Monument in Bangkok and are encouraging the media and more protestors to join them. There were about 1,000 people at the last protest in Bangkok.

Protestors consists of motorbike taxi drivers, some group of taxi drivers, unemployed people, tuk tuk drivers, small shop owners and stand sellers, farmers from upcountry, homeless and people living in slums.

The new, self-proclaimed, non-violent Red Shirts are supported by a few large companies and Thaksin’s son Phantongtae Shinnawat. 

2. Yellow Shirts People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD)

The well-funded Yellow Shirts have five leaders:  Sondhi Limthongkul, Major General Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuuk, Somkiat Phongpaiboon and Phiphob Thongchai. The Yellow Shirts also have many influential financial backers amongst Bangkok’s elite.

The Yellow Shirts were afraid Thaksin would return to power so they took over all the international airports in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Only the Pattaya U-Tapao International Airport was able to assist stranded tourists who were bused from all over Thailand to the Pattaya airport for departure flights.

Sky News reported in 2008, “The [Yellow Shirt] color honors Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej - many Thais wear yellow on Mondays, the day on which the king was born. A mix of royalists, academics, business people and retired military, PAD in some ways represents Thailand's old elite. It was horrified by the ascent of Mr Thaksin and his populist policies, which secured him the votes - and the devotion - of the poor. The yellow shirts' most audacious and disruptive action was the storming of Bangkok's two main airports in late November, 2008. Their protest left up to 250,000 foreign tourists stranded and cut the country's main international link for over a week. The yellow shirts ended their protests in December, claiming victory when the constitutional court disqualified the pro-Thaksin prime minister for electoral fraud.”

The Yellow Shirts were formerly supported by the Democrat Party followers and even the leaders who joined the protest with the Yellow Shirts occupying the government house and eventually the Bangkok airport after Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup d'etat in 2006 and they feared him upon his return, possibly to power.

The current Prime Minister Abhisit himself and Korn, the Finance Minister, went to the occupied government house in 2008 to show support to the Yellow Shirts.

Now the Yellow Shirts are calling for Abhisit to resign and calling for new elections. They are protesting about the border issue between Cambodia and Thailand around the temple of Prasart Pra Viharn

The Yellow Shirts are asking the government to withdraw the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Cambodia in 2000, indicating the lack of agreement on the borders, withdraw their membership of the Committee for the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the expulsion of Cambodians living along border boundaries in areas at the center of the dispute.

In 2000, Democratic Party Prime Minister Chaun Leekpai cooperated with  Cambodia in  MOU 42 about land in dispute to share the use of it together and only Cambodians can build homes there.  Thaksin later saw this as an opportunity to build Thai-owned casinos there, which the Yellow Shirts object to adamantly.

The Yellow Shirts have been meeting at the Government House, door 5, in front of the UN building since January 26. The protest will be on-going  and no announcements have been made about when they will stop.

Now the Yellow Shirts, People’s Alliance for Democracy or PAD is protesting about three things; the provision MOU 43, for the land around the temple to be a world heritage site and for Cambodian people to be removed from the area.

Every day, the PAD is bringing in scholars or experts in various fields to give knowledge to the protestors about the topic supported with analysis from the government.

The PAD’s official website has a statement by the group saying, “The judges then might be biased towards France & its protectoral state of Cambodia but they did a very thorough analysis based on all evidence presented from both parties in conflict.

It was too bad that the judges did not buy our side’s arguments and did not look beyond its decision for potential problems or ramifications in the years or hundreds of years ahead of their time.  The main objective from their decision was to settle the dispute & avoid the future conflict between the two countries.  But they were wrong; their goal has not been attained since.  The site has remained to be a hot spot and a flash point.  Armed conflicts have continued while the threat of all-out war is real & can possibly happen at any moment.”

Protestors consist of business owners such as jeweler store owners, ice factory owners, high class restaurant owners and other business owners that produce an income of 100,000 baht a month or more.  There are also students, professors and people who practice Dharma.

The last protest consisted about 2,000-3,000 people. 

They are supported by the protestors themselves. Sometimes in terms of money but most of the time the protestors would bring food and drinks etc.

3. Blue Shirts - Dharma Army formerly thought to be military personnel used to attack Red Shirts

The Blue Shirts have a new, passive leader, Monk Phopiriuk Jithpho. The Blue Shirts were formerly led by Narvin Chidchrop from Buri Ram.

Now, the Blue Shirts consist of Santi Asoke Community, monks and other religious people.

There are more than 10,000 people in the group with about 1,500 staged in Bangkok protests now. Their main purpose of the protest is to stop all of the unfairness, says its leader. Their money comes mainly by temple donations.

The Blue Shirts really dislike the Thaksin Red Shirts and first appeared on the scene in Pattaya during the Red Shirt storming of the PEACH Convention Hall to stop the ASEAN Summit. Blue Shirts tried to intervene, reports said and there are photos of Blue Shirts with weapons as in the photo above.

Sky News reported, “On the evening of the ASEAN Summit closing in Pattaya, a new group wearing dark blue T-shirts bearing the phrase "Protect the Institution” clashed with the red shirts. The identity and aims of the masked men in blue shirts armed with sticks, clubs and iron rods remain unclear. Red shirts have accused them of being a militia of pro-government thugs, perhaps affiliated to the military. The government denies this.”

The Blue Shirts also want the disputed land around mountain near the World Heritage site  around the temple of Prasart Pra Viharn along the Thai border to be a Thai territory, but is now claimed as part of Cambodia.

Recently five Thai leaders were arrested by Cambodia for trespassing on that land in protest. The land is quite large; about five times the size of Chonburi Province where Pattaya City is located.

The Blue Shirts protest Thaksin’s 2005 project with Cambodia about the disputed land. He wanted to make the mountainous area along the border a gambling city.

In 2000, before Thaksin was Prime Minister the Democrat Party elected Prime Minister Chaun Leekpai  who originally cooperated with  Cambodia in a secretive  MOU 42 about land the in dispute to share use of the land together which is why Thaksin pushed the idea forward and wanted to have casinos there.

The Blue Shirts are in Bangkok protesting at the Government House, door 4.

They are supported by donations received from the temple.

4. Human Rights group – Refugees from Myanmar of many generations with no country or rights

The Human Rights Group is a large group of refugees with no country. Forced out of Myanmar by religious persecution, they were given refuge at camps located on Thai soil, but with no rights. The group of refugees and their supporters, mostly academics, are demanding citizenship and Thai ID cards for the people so they can work and improve their lives and the lives of their children. Financial and physical support comes from teachers from Chulalongkorn University and teachers who are related to the refugees or supporters of Human Rights.

There are 200 people protesting in Bangkok in front of the parliament and protestors consist of non-governmental organization (NGO) and other freedom groups.

They want the government to grant citizenship to the refugees as promised. The Human Rights Group wants citizenship and ID cards for refugees and other human rights.

Thailand is a deeply divided nation, which has seen 18 coups since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The country has been in a state of political crisis on or off since late 2005, when the streets protests that eventually helped oust Prime Minister Thaksin began. Yet, the economy is thriving and tourism is at an all-time high with 17 million visitors recorded in 2010. It seems no matter what the political situation; as long as the protests are peaceful there is no effect on the economy; however when one group takes violent action or trespasses on airports, then the results hurt All Thais.

Box: SUMMARY

Red Shirts - Like Thaksin, don’t like Abhisit, want new elections and the Thailand government to resign and want the mountainous land in dispute with Cambodia and the temple of Prasart Pra Viharn to be taken back by Thailand

Yellow Shirts - Want new elections and the Thailand government to resign and want the mountainous land in dispute with Cambodia and the temple of Prasart Pra Viharn to be taken back by Thailand.

Blue Shirts – Formed originally to combat the Red Shirts and were thought to be military men. Now the monks have taken control and want the mountainous land in dispute with Cambodia and the temple of Prasart Pra Viharn to be taken back by Thailand.

Human Rights group – Refugees from Miramar of many generations who want citizenship promised to them by previous Thai administrations.

 

The blue shirts.