UDD coup rally in progress [in Thailand]

18/09/2011
Bangkok Post

A large number of red-shirt supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have occupied the Ratchadamnern avenue in a rally at the Democracy Monoment to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept 19, 2006 coup.

Police have blocked the Ratchadamnern avenue to vehicular traffic.

UDD core leaders have begun to take turn going up the stage to speak to the crowd.

Worawut Wichaidit, the UDD spokesman, said UDD core members such as Jatuporn Prompan, Nathawut Saikua, Korkaew Pikulthong, Weng Tojirakarn, and UDD chair Thida Thavornseth were scheduled to returned to Suvarnabhumi airport from Cambodia at 4pm and they would directly head for the rally site.

Thailand: Army Chief Appointed Head of Emergency Operations

BANGKOK, April 17 (NNN-TNA) – In his determination to resolve Thailand’s ongoing political turbulence and to suppress terrorism in the country, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has appointed Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda as head of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES).

In his TV address late Friday, Mr Abhisit said Gen Anupong will immediately replace Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban as director of CRES. He said the change is needed as demonstrators against the government from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) has worsened because ‘terrorists’ have infiltrated the protesters, now occupying Ratchaprasong intersection, Bangkok’s prime business district.

The abrupt change came after police on Friday failed in their attempt to arrest UDD leaders at the SC Park Hotel.

The leaders outstanding arrest warrants were issued earlier for the bloody clashes between government troops and UDD demonstrators at the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue last Saturday.

Mr Abhisit said the change of command was also necessary as the CRES will be restructured as his government would move forward to resolve the political turbulence now prevailing in the country and to also eliminate the terrorism problem.

The restructuring of the CRES will effectively assist the government in dealing with the terrorist threat directly, he said.

Warrants for the arrest of 24 UDD leaders have been issued but so far no one has appeared before the authorities.

UDD key leader Jatuporn Prompan said all 24 Red Shirt leaders and supporters will surrender to the CRES on May 15.

Reds ready to rumble in Thailand

Jan 9, 2010
By Nelson Rand and Chandler Vandergrift
Asia Times (Hong Kong)

UDON THANI and BANGKOK - Thailand's United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) red-shirted protest movement is poised to launch a renewed campaign to topple Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's wobbly coalition government. The protests promise new rounds of instability after a period of relative political calm and threaten to derail the country's still tentative economic recovery.

The new push will commence on Monday with a planned rally of 10,000 protesters around a royal privy councilor's allegedly ill-gotten land in a provincial forest reserve and eventuate in what UDD leaders contend will be a "decisive" mass rally in Bangkok later in the month. The UDD's symbolic leader, exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wrote in a Twitter message to his supporters on Friday that soothsayers he had consulted foresaw violence on the horizon in 2010.

Since last April, when the UDD stormed and disrupted an Asian summit meeting with global leaders in attendance in Pattaya and later fought running street battles with Thai security forces in the capital, Bangkok, the movement has undergone what its proponents claim has been a major transformation. The overhaul aims to establish a better-organized and more unified movement, in part to avoid freelancers acting independently, as UDD leaders claim occurred during April's mayhem in Bangkok, and also to bolster its support from the general population after losing popularity in the wake of that meltdown.

The changes have entailed a more organized leadership structure, a formalized membership system, a fundraising program, weekend training sessions in the provinces on democratic participation and a growing media network that includes 30 community radio stations, 10 newspapers, numerous websites and a television station that boasts 10 million regular viewers.

According to the UDD's international spokesman, Sean Boonpracong, the new leadership and organizational structure have been designed as a "big tent" in which regional red-shirted associate groups and others sympathetic to the movement's call for social justice are all accommodated under one unified UDD banner. While various groups' ideologies and strategies may differ, they are now purportedly united in a common struggle to topple the Democrat Party-led coalition, which many of them point out was not directly elected by the people.

The new structure, Boonpracong said, aimed to widen the UDD's support base while distancing the movement from the actions of certain associate groups, including the Rak Chiang Mai 51, a red-shirted group known for its thuggish actions, including the violent disruption of a gay-rights parade and alleged murder of a rival yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporter's father.

Although the UDD's main support base is drawn from the northeastern and northern region's rural poor, who benefited under the populist policies of Thaksin during his six-year premiership, certain factions are bidding to disassociate the movement's professed wider democratic aims from Thaksin's personal political agenda. Boonpracong, for one, claimed that the UDD was fast becoming a more independent grassroots political and social movement.

Certain academics and analysts agree. "They have tapped the sentiments of tens of millions of Thais, in both Bangkok and the provinces, and their message captures those Thais' aspirations to see a very different Thailand emerge," said Michael Montesano, a visiting research fellow and Thailand specialist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

The UDD's expanding media network now regularly spreads messages of democratic disenfranchisement, economic inequality and judicial discrimination, ills it believes a Thaksin-aligned government could resolve if allowed to govern. Critics note such claims conveniently overlook Thaksin's less than democratic record and his own alleged judicial interventions during his six controversial years in power.

"Our main message is that there is no justice - that there are more than two standards used," said Kwanchai Poipana, a UDD leader from Udon Thani who runs the pro-Thaksin community radio station 97.5 FM. "When the red-shirts do something we are always guilty, when the yellow-shirts do something they are never guilty," he said.

UDD supporters frequently point to the PAD's seizure of Bangkok's two airports in 2008 and the fact that the group's leaders have yet to be charged, while UDD leaders were arrested and detained after the military put down their violent April revolt. "Taking over an airport is a crime anywhere in the world," Kwanchai said.

As the UDD flexes its new organizational muscles, the specter of a violent rerun of April's mayhem looms. The UDD now has about 1,000 security guards, including a group of Bangkok-based Ramkhamhaeng University students trained by the UDD to maintain order and protect their protesters from outside attack, according to Boonpracong. It is also clearly bidding to create splits in military unity.

War and peace

At previous UDD rallies, uniformed paramilitary rangers, or thahan phran, have also acted as guards. Some of these soldiers are known to hail from Pak Thong Chai in central Nakorn Ratchasima province and have ties to controversial army specialist Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, known more commonly as Seh Daeng.

During the PAD protests of 2008, Seh Daeng accurately predicted bomb attacks against PAD security guards and trained dozens of youths in combat to counter the PAD. After a grenade was launched at the PAD's most recent rally in November, Seh Daeng said the attack was carried out by an "unidentified" armed group and that it was only intended as a deterrent, not as an attempt to cause violence.

He has consistently denied involvement in the various bomb attacks and no evidence has linked him directly to the blasts other than his timely warnings. In 2008, he was relegated to a military position promoting public fitness at marketplaces and is currently embroiled in numerous court battles for disciplinary violations, including an unauthorized trip to Cambodia in November to meet with Thaksin.

That trip was especially sensitive in light of unconfirmed reports of arms-smuggling from Cambodia to UDD supporters in bordering northeastern provinces - reports UDD leaders have denied. Nonetheless, they have fueled speculation that the UDD may be preparing for an armed struggle in the provinces if their next round of protests in Bangkok is violently suppressed by the armed forces. A high-ranking Thai military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, would neither deny nor confirm the accuracy of such reports, saying, "It's a very porous border, it's easy to get things across."

While core UDD leaders deny they are planning armed struggle, international spokesman Boonpracong admits that radical elements may be emerging which "may not agree with the UDD's peaceful measures". After April's failed uprising, UDD co-leader Jakrapob Penkair, who has since fled into exile, told news agencies that the UDD was willing to launch an "armed struggle" to achieve its goals.

While the UDD prepares to ramp up its protests, Abhisit's government is holding firm, despite perceptions that his Democrat party-led coalition would - despite signs of economic recovery - still come up short in new elections against the Thaksin-aligned Puea Thai party. His government is expected to vigorously resist the protests, as it did last year through frequent invocations of the Internal Security Act, which gives authorities the power to deploy troops, ban gatherings and impose curfews in the name of law and order.

The military effectively suppressed April's UDD protest, but questions are emerging about possible cracks in the chain of command. While Thailand's military has long been factionalized along graduating class lines, it is now also believed to be divided among competing units, according to experts. The 21st Infantry Regiment of the Royal Armament, more commonly known as the Queen's Guard, is now perceived as the dominant unit and is led by its former commander, army commander in chief General Anupong Paochinda.

"The cause of the current fracture derives from an upset in the promotion line - denying certain senior military deemed to be close to Thaksin their right to be promoted," said Paul Chambers, a senior research fellow specializing in Thai military affairs at Heidelberg University. "The new phenomenon with regard to [Thai] military factions is that unit, rather than class, dominates the military," he added.

Anupong and his Queen's Guard clique, including Defense Minister Prawit Wongsawan and the deputy army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, are expected to maintain their backing for Abhisit and steer clear of another coup, according to analysts. This is in part to ensure a smooth succession at the army's top from Anupong to Prayuth when the former faces mandatory retirement in September 2010.

At the same time, the UDD is playing up the prospect that factions inside the military could break the chain of command if the UDD's rally is forcibly dispersed. "If the army starts to suppress us, there are factions of the military that will fight back," claimed one UDD leader who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If there is another coup, it will be violent."

As an indication of those fissures, the UDD points to the dozens of retired military officials, including more than 50 Thaksin classmates from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and special forces soldiers, who recently joined the Puea Thai party. "The moves by soldiers into Puea Thai [and other parties] can only further destabilize Thailand," said Chambers. Other analysts note that Anupong has strategically placed known loyalists in top command positions, including those who were instrumental in past coups.

While UDD leaders insist their campaign will be peaceful, they also indicate that their protest movement is near a breaking point over what they perceive as a series of non-democratic power grabs and partisan judicial decisions. "We fight through peaceful means," explained pro-UDD radio broadcaster Kwanchai, while suggestively placing a pistol on a nearby table. "But if the government uses force, we will fight back."

Nelson Rand is a Bangkok-based journalist with a master's degree in Asia-Pacific policy studies. He can be reached at nelsonrand@hotmail.com. Chandler Vandergrift is a consultant specializing in conflict analysis and management in Southeast Asia and is based in Bangkok. He can be reached at chandlerv@gmail.com

Red shirts turn attention to media outlets

Supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship push against a police barricade outside the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. The group yesterday demanded that the government prosecute former prime minister Surayud Chulanont for encroaching on a forest reserve at Khao Yai Thieng in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district. THITI WANNAMONTHA

24/12/2009
Bangkok Post

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship is planning a major rally next week and is considering taking action against media outlets it believes are guilty of biased reporting, sources say.

The group said it would conduct its protest on Sunday and Monday.

UDD core member Natthawut Saikua said he could not rule out the possibility that some red shirt protesters might "drop by" at media outlets they have found to take political sides.

"They have the right [to rally]," Mr Natthawut said. "And the press should be open to the customers' freedom of expression."

He said the UDD had not yet made a resolution on the matter.

The speculation about the red shirts' possible rally at the media offices comes after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra criticised the media's "unjust reporting" in his Talk Around The World programme shown on Thaksinlive.com.

Thaksin said red shirts who visited him in Phnom Penh planned to visit some press offices during a mass rally.

"I told them to come in peace ... to ask for justice," he said.

Another UDD core member, Jatuporn Prompan, yesterday insisted the group would hold a major rally early next year and it would be a prolonged one.

He said the red shirts were ready for a drawn-out rally to pressure the government into stepping down.

Mr Jatuporn yesterday also revealed a set of documents which he said supported his allegations last week that the government was orchestrating a plot to assassinate Thaksin.

The documents, allegedly prepared by the Foreign Ministry, detail steps to respond to Cambodia in the wake of the souring of relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Mr Jatuporn said the documents state: "The root cause of the Thailand-Cambodia relations problem stemmed from Thaksin who has an objective to demolish the government's existence.

"To tackle this problem, it needs to focus on the root cause ... eliminate the main threat."

Mr Jatuporn said the word "eliminate" used in the documents meant to "kill".

He also said he would today expose a scandal involving Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu, who he accused of interference in the building of a courthouse in Mae Hong Son's Pai district.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said the Foreign Ministry was consulting with its lawyers and prosecutors on whether to file a lawsuit against Mr Jatuporn for disclosing classified state documents.

The ministry is also looking into who leaked the documents.

There are at least 20 people to be investigated.

The UDD said its rally on Sunday would be held at Sanam Luang with member Jakrapob Penkair's phone-in "being the highlight".

Mr Jakrapob lives abroad after fleeing lese majeste charges.

Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, a leader of the Group of June 24, a red shirt faction, said the rally would centre on the government's failure to tackle problems.

Early yesterday, about 300 red shirt supporters rallied in front of the Election Commission offices to protest against the agency's delay in deciding whether to seek the dissolution of the ruling Democrat Party.

The protesters were led by Puea Thai Party member Arisman Pongruangrong, the leader of the red shirt protesters who laid seige to the Asean summit in Pattaya in April and forced the hurried evacuation of regional leaders.

The UDD protesters slammed the EC for its alleged use of double standards and for being indecisive in the case against the Democrat Party. The party is accused of unlawfully obtaining a 258 million baht donation from TPI Polene.

The EC has refused to vote on whether to seek the dissolution of the ruling party and referred the matter to EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, in his capacity as ex-officio political party registrar.

Mr Apichart is expected to bring down a decision after the New Year.

Thai anti-government protesters to hold prolonged rally

Supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra hold up posters during a rally at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok in this September 19, 2009 file photo. (REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files)

Tue Nov 17, 2009
By Chalathip Thirasoonthrukul

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's supporters announced plans on Tuesday for a prolonged street protest beginning in late November and lasting until the government steps down and calls elections.

It would be the first protracted demonstration by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) since their protests in April turned violent and were forcibly ended by the army.

"The government is incompetent with only a self-serving agenda. We want the government to return power to the people and we will not stop until we finish the job," Jatuporn Phrompan, one of the key protest leaders said, adding that the plan is still tentative and is subject to discussion with other members.

He insisted the rally would be peaceful and that protesters would not break into government buildings.

Jatuporn said the "red shirts", as the UDD are also known, would suspend the rally from Dec. 2 to Dec. 5 as the country celebrates the birthday of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand's sole unifying figure.

The UDD has held brief mass rallies on several occasions since a military crackdown in April, when Thaksin supporters gathered outside the prime minister's office and riots erupted in downtown Bangkok that left two dead and more than 120 injured.

After winning two landslide elections, Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He remains at the centre of a bitter political struggle in Thailand despite living in exile after fleeing ahead of a two-year prison sentence for graft.

He faces a litany of corruption charges but has long maintained he is the victim of politically motivated attacks by his opponents in Thailand's aristocracy and powerful military. Thaksin's rural supporters, who benefited from his welfare policies, say he is their legitimate ruler.

The UDD protests have heaped more pressure on a shaky coalition government already in disarray. Continued uncertainty and fears of violence have rattled investors and triggered credit ratings downgrades in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

(Writing By Ambika Ahuja; Editing by Jason Szep and Sugita Katyal)

Red shirts return

Red Shirt protesters gather at Sanam Luang in Bangkok on Saturday. -- PHOTO: AFP

More than 20,000 protesters in peaceful protest to show govt they are still a potent force

June 28, 2009
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
The Straits Times (Singapore)

BANGKOK - RED-SHIRTED United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) supporters returned to Bangkok's Sanam Luang grounds in force on Saturday, for the first time since demonstrations turned violent in April.

More than 20,000 of them packed about a third of the sprawling site, which is around the size of two football fields, braving heavy rain and slush. Over 2,000 police and soldiers were on standby, but maintained a discreet presence at the rally itself.

The government had warned the UDD that attempts to block Government House or instigate violence would not be tolerated, but the group's leaders said they would not protest beyond the rally site and that reports of plans for violence were propaganda.

The rally, essentially designed to lift the morale of supporters and send a signal that the movement is still a force to be reckoned with, had a new theme. It is exhorting people to keep the spirit of 1932 alive and overthrow the current 'aristocrat' government, a reference to the Democrat Party, which is largely backed by the capital's old elites.

In their speeches, UDD leaders told the crowd the event was a celebration of 77 years of true democracy - invoking the change from absolute to constitutional monarchy wrought through a revolution and coup in 1932.

While the 'red shirts' had been staging smaller events across the country regularly in recent weeks, they still lacked a national- level organisation, Mr Jaran Ditta-apichai, a former national human rights commissioner who is one of the UDD's ideologues, admitted. But the UDD's propaganda machine is cranking into gear after being shut down by the government in April.

Saturday's rally was beamed 'live' on the movement's new 'People's Channel' TV station. A red shirt newspaper has also been launched, featuring articles and columns by key red shirt leaders and ideologues.

One objective of the rally was to give moral support to supporters of the opposition Puea Thai party ahead of a by-election on Sunday in Si Saket province. There is considerable overlap between the red shirt movement and the opposition Puea Thai.

'We (the party) will win but we want to win by a wide margin,' a UDD insider said. 'We have to show that people still think that the Abhisit government is not legitimate.'

The rally was peaceful and festive - but drenched in heavy thunderstorm an hour before former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called in to speak to the crowd via telephone.

In an impassioned speech, the ousted premier blasted the government, saying it was good for only three things - 'borrowing, hiking taxes and hounding Thaksin'. The fugitive leader told his supporters that he was travelling around, but said he was lonely and appealed to them not to leave him 'dying in the desert'.

Thai gov't may declare state of emergency if anti-gov't rally turns violent: Deputy PM

BANGKOK, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The government would declare a state of emergency if a mass anti-government rally led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Saturday turns violent, Thai media quoted Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban as saying here on Friday.

The anti-government protestors, who are led by the UDD group, or the red-shirted people, plan to stage the mass rally at Sanam Luang in the center of capital Bangkok from late Saturday afternoon.

"I have already drafted the declaration. It can be immediately announced if the red-shirted rally gets out of control," Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, was quoted by the Bangkok Post's website as saying.

Suthep said he has authorized police chief Pol Ben Phatcharawat Wongsuwan to oversee the situation as he and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva have overseas visits.

Speaking from China's capital Beijing, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the UDD supporters have rights to protest, but they must stay within the law.

Abhisit, meanwhile, questioned reasons behind the planned rally, saying his government was democratically elected and had formed a committee comprising MPs from all political parties to scrutinize plans for political reform.

Abhisit is now on the second day of his four-day visit to China, while Suthep is to depart to Cambodia on Saturday to clarify to Cambodian Premier Hun Sen about Thailand's opposition to the UNESCO 's listing of the ancient temple -- Preah Vihear.

Suthep said he directs police to deal with the protestors with international standards, but the law must be strictly enforced.

Bangkok police chief Worapong Chiewpreecha said he believes the UDD-led protest will not turn violent since the group leaders have vowed to confine the protest at Sanam Luang.

As Pol Lt-Gen Worapong expects 25,000 to 50,000 red-shirted supporters would show up at the rally, he said police are ready if the protestors mobilize out of the rally site.

In a related development, army chief Gen. Anupong Paojinda said he is confident the anti-government rally would be peaceful since people do understand that the country is now facing the economic crisis and they would therefore refrain from worsening the situation.

However, Gen. Anupong said the military is ready to help ensure peace and order if requested by police, who are duty-bounded to control the rally situation.

Thaksin: No negotiation

Privy Council president GenPrem Tinsulanonda,centre, greets senior military and police officers from the Northeast at his Ban Rai Kangwon (worry-free home) residence in Nakhon Ratchasima. Security has been tightened near the residence to prevent any disturbances by red-shirt protesters. PRASIT TANGPRASERT

Tells red shirts to come out in force on April 8

4/04/2009
Bangkok Post Reporters

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has crushed the government's hopes of ending the political impasse, rejecting outright its offer to hold talks.

In last night's video broadcast to supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), Thaksin said he would not negotiate and called on red-shirt protesters to come out in force for a mass rally on April 8.

He also urged red shirts upcountry to gather at provincial halls on that day, saying they should put up a fight for major change in the country.

Thaksin's stance was a complete brush-off of the government's offer.

''There was a rumour that someone has negotiated with me. That's not true. My movement is not for myself but the country's democracy, so I will not negotiate,'' said Thaksin.

He also denied a report that he had managed his phone-ins from somewhere in Cambodia.

Earlier in the day Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva welcomed attempts to find a charismatic figure to mediate between the government and the UDD.

Upon arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport from the G-20 summit in London, Mr Abhisit said the government was ready for talks, but on the condition that everything must proceed under the law and in the country's interests.

''Demands can be made but they must not be against the law and national security. In that case the government is not in a position to negotiate,'' the prime minister said.

Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej said a potential mediator was being approached and mediation was expected to take place before the April 8 rally.

The UDD was planning to demonstrate outside the Bangkok residence of Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda to demand his resignation. Gen Prem has been accused by Thaksin of engineering the Sept 19, 2006 coup that toppled his government.

''Phuyai [senior respected figures] are highly concerned about the current situation. I think it should be done before the Songkran festival. Coordination is being done,'' said the Senate speaker.

Pongthep Thepkanchana, Thaksin's personal spokesman, yesterday cast doubt on whether Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was in a position to hold talks with Thaksin.

Mr Suthep early this week extended an olive branch to Thaksin.

According to Mr Pongthep, Mr Suthep would be better off discussing the matter with the UDD leaders.

''If Mr Suthep wants to talk, he should talk with the UDD leaders. Mr Thaksin is in no position to give any answer.''

Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun yesterday urged the public to exercise their judgement during the current political strife.

He said certain issues such as bureaucratic polity had been turned into pure nonsense and they should not be taken seriously. The political quandary started a couple of years ago, but became more complex as time went on.

However, he was confident the political tension would ease if all parties concerned made a concerted effort to resolve the conflict.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Second Army commander Lt Gen Wibulsak Neepal yesterday led a group of army officers and government officials to welcome and give moral support to Gen Prem who visited the province.

Gen Prem had a 20-minute talk with Lt Gen Wibulsak, Police Region 3 commander Pol Lt Gen Krissada Pankongchuen and provincial governor Prachak Suwanphakdi.

Lt Gen Wibulsak said Gen Prem was in the province for the weekend and he did not raise any concerns.

About 200 policemen were deployed along the route to Gen Prem's residence. The red-shirt rally there proceeded without any incidents and the protesters dispersed shortly afterwards.

Privy councillor Gen Pichitr Kullavanijaya yesterday voiced frustration over the government's failure to take action against Thaksin.

He said Thaksin had offended the royal institution on several occasions and accused the ex-premier of attempting to bring down the monarchy.

Thai protesters demand premier resign

Supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sit on the road outside the Government House during an anti-government protest in Bangkok February 24, 2009. Thousands of protesters marched on Thailand's seat of government on Tuesday to demand that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down, adding to his troubles as the economy slides into recession. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Supporters of an exiled populist prime minister surround a key government building in Bangkok, a move similar to one by their opponents last year that led to the current premier's being chosen.

February 24, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Thammarat Lomthong
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- Thais took their politics back into the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday, with a sea of red-shirted protesters surrounding government headquarters and demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down.

The prime minister responded with a pledge to defy the demonstrators by walking through them into Government House.

Protest leader Jatuporn Prompan described the siege as a peaceful protest meant to expose what he described as Thailand's dictatorship in disguise. Members of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, or UDD, known for its red shirts and fierce allegiance to deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, say the 2-month-old Thai administration was not democratically elected.

The UDD is also demanding the prosecution of key figures linked to the yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, the group that occupied Bangkok's two airports for eight days in November and December, and for three months occupied the same government compound the UDD now encircles. The two groups have had violent clashes and street battles in the past.

"The real enemy of Thailand is the PAD, the government, the Democrat Party [of Abhisit] and bureaucrats," Jatuporn told the crowd outside Government House. "Today we proved Thailand is run by our UDD."

As the anti-government mob swelled to a reported 20,000, thousands of riot police and soldiers were deployed and barbed-wire barricades erected to keep back the protesters.

The current ruling coalition was formed in December after a court ruling that ousted a pro-Thaksin government. Some feel the coalition is held together only by the political poise of Abhisit, a 44-year-old Oxford-educated economist whose Democrat Party came in second in the most recent balloting at the end of 2007.

The rally came just days before the annual meeting of the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations is set to open in Hua Hin, a beach resort about 85 miles southwest of Bangkok, the capital. After Thailand's tumultuous 2008, which included the high-profile PAD protests and a border skirmish with Cambodia, the prestigious event has been viewed as a way to reassure regional allies that Thailand is free from political turmoil.

Abhisit was in Hua Hin on Tuesday to inspect the summit's venue, but has told local media that he intends to return to work at Government House today.

"We will not use violence," Abhisit told reporters. "I am ready to walk into [Government House] as long as there are no weapons."

Thaksin, a flamboyant telecommunications tycoon, remains popular in rural areas on account of his populist programs. He was removed in a 2006 military putsch and now lives in self-imposed exile while facing charges for corruption and abuse of power.

Jatuporn told local media that the UDD would camp outside Government House before marching again to demand the resignation of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya for his links to the PAD's airport occupations.

McDermid and Lomthong are special correspondents.

[Thailand] UDD presses for Kasit resignation

Monday January 12, 2009
Bangkok Post

Thailand will vote on Sunday in the biggest set of by-elections ever in what amounts to major test for the new government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, both in Bangkok and in the provinces.

Chatuporn Promphan, a leading member of United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), told the media the "red shirts" refuse to accept Mr Kasit as a minister fit to represent Thailand in international meetings.

The UDD has protested that Mr Kasit was a leading speaker for the People's Alliance for Democracy, in particular backing the eight-day closure of the two Bangkok airports last month.

He is a "terrorist", said Mr Chatuporn.

Unless he resigns or is fired,protesters will lay siege to the foreign affairs ministry before the Feb 27 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and eventually ring Government House as well.

The UDD also threatened to demonstrate during the Asean summit to pressure Mr Abhisit to dismiss Mr Kasit.

Jakrapob Penkair, another leading UDD member and minister under former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, said letters will be sent to government leaders of all nine other Asean member countries to explain the current political situation in Thailand and the alleged "unfitness" of Mr Kasit as foreign affairs minister. The UDD will call for them to review their plans to attend the Asean summit.

Mr Jakrapob said the group would also submit letters to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - on the Thai political situation.

Other UDD leaders told a press conference at a Bangkok hotel on Monday that they would demand that House speaker Chai Chidchob, who also is president of parliament quickly amend the 2007 constitution. They also will demand that Prime Minister Abhisit take legal action within 30 days against the PAD protesters who closed the airports. (with reports by TNA)

Thailand: Following the yellow shirts tsunami, now comes the red shirt storm

Thousands of red-clad demonstrators gather at Sanam Luang to start their three-day rally in a bid to deter Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva from delivering his government’s policy statement at parliament today. THITI WONNAMONTHA

Red shirts gather forces

Advance guard moves to House overnight

29/12/2008
Bangkok Post

United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protesters have started surrounding parliament ahead of today's policy statement by the government.

Almost 20,000 red-shirted supporters converged at Sanam Luang on Sunday in preparation for the seizure of the ground outside parliament on Monday.

An advance guard of several hundred Sunday night blocked a key road outside the legislature.

The rest are to move to the site on Monday, and plan to stay put for the next three days. They will disperse for the New Year break and then return for a protracted demonstration until parliament is dissolved.

UDD core leader Jatuporn Promphan announced the plan to the Sunday crowd at Sanam Luang.

The government is due to deliver its policy statement to parliament on Monday morning, with a two-day debate - a constitutional precondition to legalising its administrative power.

The protesters believe the Democrat-led coalition government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lacks legitimacy, and want him to dissolve the House.

Mr Jatuporn said the protesters will not cut electricity or water at parliament.

But if the government changes venue for the policy statement, the protesters will follow them.

Groups of UDD supporters moved to the front of parliament on Sunday night and blocked Uthong Nai road which approaches its main gate.

Natthawut Saikua, another UDD leader, said protesters will leave a narrow path for the MPs to walk into parliament. Surrounding protesters will shout "give us back democracy" while MPs make their way through.

Police have closed the gates of parliament and are guarding the legislature in front and at the rear.

Deputy Metropolitan police chief Amnuay Nimmano said professional photographers and cameramen drawn from the police force and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will record the activities of UDD demonstrators.

Video footage and photographs will be used as evidence against any law-breakers.

In the event the protesters commit offences in view of police, they will be arrested on the spot.

Pol Maj-Gen Amnuay said police need help from photographers and cameramen because protesters have covered surveillance cameras around parliament with black plastic bags.

Whenever police remove them, the bags are put back on again.

"This shows they intend to do something bad and want to cover it up," Pol Maj-Gen Amnuay said.

Protesters who commit violence to stop the government delivering its policy statement would be charged with insurrection.

Demonstrators would have to pass through metal detectors installed around parliament before entering the protest site.

Demonstrations must be peaceful and demonstrators must not carry weapons of any kind.

Pol Maj-Gen Pongsant Jiam-on, another deputy city police chief, said he had received information that many UDD protesters assembling outside parliament were seen carrying catapults and metal rods.

At the same time, the Democrats said they will not force their way through anti-government protesters if they are blocked.

Democrat deputy spokesman Warong Dejkitvikrom said Deputy Prime Minister and Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban told party MPs to be careful when confronting protesters.

The Democrats will not insist on entering parliament if the building is sealed off by protesters.

"The government has asked 3,600 police officers to ensure security at the site.

"Mr Suthep told authorities to avoid the use of force or tear gas" to disperse the crowds, Mr Warong said.

Democrat MPs were told to gather at party headquarters before travelling together to parliament. Supplies of food and drinking water are in place in the event the MPs manage to enter parliament but are later trapped inside.