"Red Shirt" Protesters Terminate Thailand Summit
PM Abhisit Vejjajiva Declares State of Emergency in Pattaya
Apr 11, 2009
The red-shirted protesters, an estimated 2,000 strong, broke into one of the conference centers where the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were meeting to discuss regional strategies regarding the global financial crises. Political unrest in Thailand had already caused the Summit’s relocation from Bangkok to Pattaya, a resort town about 90 miles southeast of the capital city.
“Red Shirts” Demand Prime Minister Step Down
The “Red Shirts”, named for representing the color of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party, have called for the resignation of current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in support of the deposed Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted from power via a military coup in 2006. Mr. Thaksin’s removal from power had been precipitated by a slew of violent protests accusing him of corruption.
Though Mr. Thaksin lives in exile, his red-shirted supporters, otherwise known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) have accused Mr. Abhisit of being a mere pawn of the military. According to an April 10, 2009 article in The New York Times, protest leader Arismun Pongreungrong said the protests were meant to “explain to leaders that this is a government of thieves.”
Up until Saturday, the protests had been relatively peaceful. On Friday, April 10, 2009, the crowd of protesters had dispersed shortly after delivering a letter to Mr. Abhisit’s deputy prime minister that called for the PM’s resignation. The summit had then continued on, though the protesters vowed to return indefinitely until their demands were met.
“We must stay until the prime minister resigns. We do not want violence,” said protester Natcha Kingkalong in the aforementioned New York Times article, “We are here for democracy.”
Peaceful Protests Descend into Violence
The Pattaya protests are eerily reminiscent of last year’s rallies in the capital city of Bangkok, when protesters had first vowed to besiege the government peacefully until then PM Samak Sundaravej resigned. These protests, in which protesters donned yellow shirts, led to violent scuffles and the closure of multiple airports.
As with 2008’s protests, yesterday’s peaceful rallies quickly escalated into violent clashes, as two red-shirted men were wounded in a shooting this morning. According to an April 11, 2009 article in China View, the government has therefore been forced to postpone the summits indefinitely, and Prime Minister Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Pattaya until the ASEAN leaders could be safely airlifted out of the area.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who had planned on attending the ASEAN summit in Pattaya, expressed his regret in an e-mailed statement cited in an April 11, 2009 Bloomberg News article. “I understand the circumstances that led the Thai government to take this difficult decision,” said the Secretary-General, “I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means.”
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