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.
Statement of the week: 'Red' is not the political solution for Thailand, neither is 'yellow'.
Chris de boer believes that neither the red shirts nor the yellow shirts will help Thailand any further and that both political movements are not the solution for Thailand.
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.