The Pheu Thai Party's recent decision to collaborate with parties involved in the violent military crackdown on Red Shirt protesters in 2010 may have surprised many supporters of the movement. Yet the spirit of the movement is far from broken.
Politics & Buddhism: Red & Yellow Monks
Today you will read about the polarization that arose within the Sangha around the so-called Red Shirt Movement, that wave of protests caused by the army coup against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006.
Thailand has a long history of coups, coups that should put the country back on the right track. After all, Thailand is a special country that, according to many coup-committing generals, is better off with a 'Thai-style' democracy. The country has so far not had the chance to develop properly democratically. What attempts at democratic development has the country experienced in the first 20 years of this century?
Thailand has a long history of coups, coups that should put the country back on the right track. After all, Thailand is a special country that, according to many coup-committing generals, is better off with a 'Thai-style' democracy. The country has so far not had the chance to develop properly democratically. What attempts at democratic development has the country experienced in the first 20 years of this century?
Waen: Witness to a crime and prosecuted for harassment
In early 2010, the Red Shirts occupied central Bangkok for weeks, demanding the resignation of the Abhisit government, which had failed to come to power democratically. Eventually, the government deployed the army to clear the streets, killing more than XNUMX people. One of the witnesses to this was Natthathida Meewangpla, better known as Waen (แหวน). Waen was not a Red Shirt protester but a volunteer nurse who operated from a neutral temple. This is her story.
Yingluck's 'disappearance' from the Thai political sphere is the best case scenario for this government. If she went to jail, she would be a political martyr, and if found not guilty of alleged crimes, her political prestige would be elevated, which could divert attention from the junta's agenda and reforms.
An undisclosed number of political leaders in southern Thailand, including some redshirts, were arrested and questioned yesterday. The Thai government is looking for the perpetrators of the bombings and arson attacks among radical political opponents.
News from Thailand – January 8, 2015
A selection of today's most important Thai news, including:
– 'Trial against Yingluck will increase divisions in the country'.
– Redshirts waive protests today and tomorrow.
– A lot of rain in Bangkok causes traffic jams and collisions.
– 50 people in Pattaya arrested for street prostitution.
News from Thailand – October 28, 2012
Myanmar could become the source of the spread of a new drug-resistant malaria strain that poses a global threat.
The Dutch journalist and correspondent for the NOS, Michel Maas, is today in Bangkok to testify in the case of the clash between the army and the redshirt protesters on May 19, 2010.
News from Thailand – September 18, 2012
So far, 20 percent less rain has fallen than last year. A repeat of last year's severe flooding is therefore not an option.
News from Thailand – September 16, 2012
And again Sukothai has been hit by floods, but this time ten villages in the province. Last Monday, the city was flooded after a river dike broke.
News from Thailand – August 3, 2012
About 2003 teenagers were extrajudicially shot dead between 2005 and 23 during Thaksin's war on drugs in Kalasin province, the Department of Special Investigation says. In one case, the officers were convicted on July XNUMX (three were sentenced to death), but the other cases were never brought to trial.
News from Thailand – July 11, 2012
The Constitutional Court risks a civil war with the constitution case, says Likhit Dhiravegin, a fellow at the Royal Institute.
News from Thailand – June 25, 2012
The net is slowly closing in on the man who stabbed Australian Michelle Smith (60) to death in Phuket last week when he and his mate tried to steal her purse.
News from Thailand – April 24, 2012
Two teenagers who had assaulted two tourists from Macau in Pattaya during an argument over a supposedly damaged jet ski have been arrested.
A time bomb is ticking in Thailand
A time bomb is ticking in Thailand. That time bomb is called Thaksin Shinawatra. In 2006 he was chased out by the army, in 2008 he fled from a 2-year prison sentence, but the ruling party Pheu Thai and its red shirt supporters want to bring him back at all costs.
In free translation: Thaksin talks out of his neck with the claim that he talks to judges about bail for the red shirts still imprisoned. "He must have said it to impress his supporters," said Sitthisak Wanachakit, spokesman for the court. "But the truth is, no such conversation ever took place."
News from Thailand – March 21, 2012
Two directors and three pharmacists from hospitals in the North and Northeast have been transferred because they are suspected of involvement in the smuggling of pseudoephedrine-containing cold and allergy pills. Police suspect the pills are being smuggled to Myanmar and Laos, where they are used in the production of methamphetamine.
News from Thailand – February 24
A teacher instructs his Matthayomsuksa 4 (Grade 10) students to write an essay on red shirt compensation payments and compare them to those paid to troops in the South. He shouldn't have done that, because the assignment has aroused the anger of red shirts who are demanding his transfer.
News from Thailand – February 22
Multiple-choice question in Onet exam: What should you do when you feel like having sex? Answers: (a) playing football with your friends, (b) talking to your family, (c) trying to sleep, (d) going out with a friend of the opposite sex, (e) asking a friend to go to the cinema.
News from Thailand – February 2
A volunteer military ranger was shot dead in Pattani on Wednesday and a Buddhist temple was hit by two shells. The attacks are widely seen as revenge for Sunday night's shooting, in which rangers killed four Muslims and wounded four.