Tens of thousands of “Red Shirt” anti-government protesters rallied on Saturday in Thailand’s capital in a show of strength as the country prepares for an electoral battle.
The demonstration came just a day after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he would dissolve parliament by early May, with elections expected by July — at least six months early.
The Red Shirt rally marked the anniversary of the start of their two-month protest last year that deteriorated into a violent confrontation that left 91 people dead and more than 1,400 injured.
They had been demanding early elections, claiming Abhisit came to power through undemocratic means.
Saturday’s gathering at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument was probably their biggest so far this year. Police spokesman Major General Prawut Thavornsiri estimated the crowd at 30,000.
The rally and Abhisit’s election announcement — which fell short of a pledge — set up a new round in a political war that has been raging since 2006, when the military toppled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a coup after months of protests alleging he was corrupt and had treated the country’s esteemed King Bhumibol Adulyadej with disrespect.
Thaksin’s supporters came back to win elections in December 2007, only to be forced from power a year later by a combination of judicial and legislative maneuvering.
Thaksin’s supporters, many from the country’s rural majority who were wooed by his populist policies, believe the country’s ruling establishment — the royal palace, the military and Bangkok’s urban upper class — were fearful of losing their wealth and privilege under a new political order.
Thaksin’s opponents and supporters have both staged aggressive street protests, the most violent being the Red Shirt demonstrations of last year, which ended with the burning of a major shopping mall and other public buildings as the army crushed the protesters.
Saturday’s rally was also the first joint appearance on stage of the group’s top leaders since they were freed on bail late last month after being detained on terrorism charges last May. They have said they will run in the next elections, partly to gain parliamentary immunity against future arrest.
Thaksin also spoke to the crowd by video link from overseas. He fled into exile in 2008 to escape a jail term on a corruption conviction. He insists he was a victim of political persecution.
The Red Shirts also include some influential left-wing activists who share a populist agenda and anti-elite sentiment with the Thaksin loyalists.
The Red Shirts have repeatedly emphasized the issue of class differences, despite their hero Thaksin being a billionaire. Red Shirt rallies are typically raucous and earthy.
Abhisit’s Democrat Party set up a sharp contrast earlier in the week when it bought two hours of national television time to broadcast a glitzy banquet at which it claimed to have raised 750 million baht (US$24.6 million).
Nattawut Saikua, a Red Shirt leader, told reporters at the protest site that the group would struggle for justice for members killed, injured or detained during last year’s unrest.
“If there is a dissolution of parliament and the conditions for general elections are met, we are ready to push the Red Shirt people to fight in the election battle as well,” he said.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has