A summary of Thailand’s recent political protests
Event Summary:
Thai Protesters have been protesting and expressing their points of view on the Thai government since Thaksin Shinawatra was still in office. There are two alliances; the first one is the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) with an anti-Thaksin point of view, and the other alliance is the UDD or pro-Thaksin, whose alliance is currently protesting against Prime Minister Apisit Vejajiva. This is a crisis in Thailand because the protests have been going on since early 2006 and it has been taking tourist confidence away from Thailand.
Closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, 26th of November, 2008
After six months of campaigning by the PAD to remove the government the PAD invaded
Suvarnabhumi airport as an act to provoke a military coup to remove the old government. The PAD pushed through the lines of the (assigned-because-of-the-riot) police into the airport the night earlier and stormed into the main entrance forcing officials to cancel all outbound and inbound flights. This action caused many airlines to cancel their flights, forcing some inbound Thai Airway flights to reroute to Don Muang airport.
The reasons the PAD had cease Suvarnabhumi was to demand the control tower to check the schedule flight of the return of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, due to return from the APEC summit in Peru. The closure stranded around 3,000 angry and scared passengers, some of whom even said that they would never come back to Thailand again. Some passengers were confused and didn’t know what to do as their airlines did not give them instructions. This event caused not only Thailand’s tourism image to be damaged but also cost around 290 billion baht ($8 billion), according to a study conducted by the Bank of Thailand.
Somchai Wongsawat Steps Down, 2nd of December, 2008
Thai court judged that Somchai Wongsawat must step down for his election fraud by his brother-in- law Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr. Wongsawat accepted his ruling and stepped down, provoking a political division to the emergence of a group of formal Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra loyalists, who called themselves the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The PAD withdrew from Suvarnabhumi Airport and dissolved the protest a few hours later.
Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes New Prime Minister, 17th of December, 2008
After gaining a majority of votes in the house of Representatives, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva became the new Prime Minister, and with that, confronted many challenges. One challenge was to reduce the intensity of the political crisis. However the UDD emerged again and began heavy protests against the new PM, protesting the government led by the Democratic Party. The protests carried on until late December and started again in late January, continuing until April. During these gatherings there have been a series of phone-ins from Thaksin Shinawatra.
Closure of Victory Monument Road, 9th of April, 2009
After intensifying protests since January, the UDD gave an ultimatum. UDD gathered and protested on the streets of Bangkok along with an alliance of taxi drivers who also support Thaksin Shinawatra blocked the road around the Victory Monument in the center of Bangkok’s metropolis area paralyzing Bangkok’s traffic for at least 12 hours. Traffic Police and other public sectors such as the Paolo Hospital (a hospital located in the area of the Victory Monument) pleaded for the protesters to remove vehicles from the roads so that emergency patients could have access to the hospital.
UDD Breaks Into ASEAN Summit, 10th-11th of April, 2009
On April 10th over 10,000 UDD protesters left Bangkok on multiple buses to Pattaya aiming to disturb the ASEAN summit, where Prime Minister Apisit Vejajiva was, along with other leaders from countries in South East Asia, Asia and Oceania including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The day prior to the Summit UDD protesters arrived in Pattaya and blocked off the road where the PM is traveling, damaging the PM's car with rocks, bricks, and other materials. His car was severely damaged but the PM was safe from the attack. The day later the PM return to Pattaya to the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit, the UDD have been camping in the province and started heavy protesting until the afternoon when they actually broke into hotel of the summit, causing the PM to cancel the event. The cancellation of the summit cost an estimated 200 billion baht, according to Tourism Council of Thailand.
Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency in Bangkok, 12th – 24th of April, 2009
The situation worsened, with UDD protesters blocking roads around Bangkok with metro buses blocking all major junctions in the capital, and a maliciously attacking the PM's car yet again. Over 100,000 UDD protesters showed up to join the others, prompting the PM to take action. On noon of the 12th of April Mr. Apisit Vejajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and its surrounding areas. The state of emergency bans an assembly of five or more people in effort to control the situation. However, UDD protesters resisted and set up even more road blocks using metro buses and even gas trucks to keep the soldiers from stopping them. Throughout the week the UDD destroyed various Bangkok properties, including traffic lights, mobile toilets, flower beds, metro buses, and surveillance cameras. Up until the 24th of April when the PM ended the state of emergency, the UDD riot is believed to have damaged an estimated 10 million baht worth of properties.
Thailand Today, Writer’s Comment
As a Thai I am sorry for what has happened in my country and the damage it has caused. However, I would like to inform the world that Thailand has now restored its peaceful state and even though there are still protests going on I can assure everyone that Thailand tourism hasn’t changed. I hope you have a better understanding about the situation that has happened throughout our recent history, but believe me, Thailand is still one of the best places to be.
-Sarin Tiatragul
KIS International School
Thai Protesters have been protesting and expressing their points of view on the Thai government since Thaksin Shinawatra was still in office. There are two alliances; the first one is the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) with an anti-Thaksin point of view, and the other alliance is the UDD or pro-Thaksin, whose alliance is currently protesting against Prime Minister Apisit Vejajiva. This is a crisis in Thailand because the protests have been going on since early 2006 and it has been taking tourist confidence away from Thailand.
Closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, 26th of November, 2008
After six months of campaigning by the PAD to remove the government the PAD invaded
Suvarnabhumi airport as an act to provoke a military coup to remove the old government. The PAD pushed through the lines of the (assigned-because-of-the-riot) police into the airport the night earlier and stormed into the main entrance forcing officials to cancel all outbound and inbound flights. This action caused many airlines to cancel their flights, forcing some inbound Thai Airway flights to reroute to Don Muang airport.
The reasons the PAD had cease Suvarnabhumi was to demand the control tower to check the schedule flight of the return of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, due to return from the APEC summit in Peru. The closure stranded around 3,000 angry and scared passengers, some of whom even said that they would never come back to Thailand again. Some passengers were confused and didn’t know what to do as their airlines did not give them instructions. This event caused not only Thailand’s tourism image to be damaged but also cost around 290 billion baht ($8 billion), according to a study conducted by the Bank of Thailand.
Somchai Wongsawat Steps Down, 2nd of December, 2008
Thai court judged that Somchai Wongsawat must step down for his election fraud by his brother-in- law Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr. Wongsawat accepted his ruling and stepped down, provoking a political division to the emergence of a group of formal Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra loyalists, who called themselves the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). The PAD withdrew from Suvarnabhumi Airport and dissolved the protest a few hours later.
Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes New Prime Minister, 17th of December, 2008
After gaining a majority of votes in the house of Representatives, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva became the new Prime Minister, and with that, confronted many challenges. One challenge was to reduce the intensity of the political crisis. However the UDD emerged again and began heavy protests against the new PM, protesting the government led by the Democratic Party. The protests carried on until late December and started again in late January, continuing until April. During these gatherings there have been a series of phone-ins from Thaksin Shinawatra.
Closure of Victory Monument Road, 9th of April, 2009
After intensifying protests since January, the UDD gave an ultimatum. UDD gathered and protested on the streets of Bangkok along with an alliance of taxi drivers who also support Thaksin Shinawatra blocked the road around the Victory Monument in the center of Bangkok’s metropolis area paralyzing Bangkok’s traffic for at least 12 hours. Traffic Police and other public sectors such as the Paolo Hospital (a hospital located in the area of the Victory Monument) pleaded for the protesters to remove vehicles from the roads so that emergency patients could have access to the hospital.
UDD Breaks Into ASEAN Summit, 10th-11th of April, 2009
On April 10th over 10,000 UDD protesters left Bangkok on multiple buses to Pattaya aiming to disturb the ASEAN summit, where Prime Minister Apisit Vejajiva was, along with other leaders from countries in South East Asia, Asia and Oceania including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The day prior to the Summit UDD protesters arrived in Pattaya and blocked off the road where the PM is traveling, damaging the PM's car with rocks, bricks, and other materials. His car was severely damaged but the PM was safe from the attack. The day later the PM return to Pattaya to the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit, the UDD have been camping in the province and started heavy protesting until the afternoon when they actually broke into hotel of the summit, causing the PM to cancel the event. The cancellation of the summit cost an estimated 200 billion baht, according to Tourism Council of Thailand.
Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency in Bangkok, 12th – 24th of April, 2009
The situation worsened, with UDD protesters blocking roads around Bangkok with metro buses blocking all major junctions in the capital, and a maliciously attacking the PM's car yet again. Over 100,000 UDD protesters showed up to join the others, prompting the PM to take action. On noon of the 12th of April Mr. Apisit Vejajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and its surrounding areas. The state of emergency bans an assembly of five or more people in effort to control the situation. However, UDD protesters resisted and set up even more road blocks using metro buses and even gas trucks to keep the soldiers from stopping them. Throughout the week the UDD destroyed various Bangkok properties, including traffic lights, mobile toilets, flower beds, metro buses, and surveillance cameras. Up until the 24th of April when the PM ended the state of emergency, the UDD riot is believed to have damaged an estimated 10 million baht worth of properties.
Thailand Today, Writer’s Comment
As a Thai I am sorry for what has happened in my country and the damage it has caused. However, I would like to inform the world that Thailand has now restored its peaceful state and even though there are still protests going on I can assure everyone that Thailand tourism hasn’t changed. I hope you have a better understanding about the situation that has happened throughout our recent history, but believe me, Thailand is still one of the best places to be.
-Sarin Tiatragul
KIS International School
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