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03 Jul 2011 10:06

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World: Thailand elections: It took a year, but the Red Shirts finally won

  • last year Tensions flared so high in Thailand that the country’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva was hounded by thousands of mostly-rural opposition figures often referred to as “Red Shirts” — a conflict that, at times, got bloody — literally, they dumped vials of blood on the ground to prove their point.
  • this year A year after the conflict with the Red Shirts (which briefly shut down parts of Bangkok) took hold, Vejjajiva has been defeated in a reelection bid. Hopefully Yingluck Shinawatra (the sister of ousted, but still popular, PM Thaksin Shinawatra) has better luck keeping political dissenters happy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2010 09:52

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World: Thailand decides to treat old prime minister like terrorist

  • Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly funded the Red Shirt protests. And it wasn’t a modest amount, either – over ten weeks, Thaksin reportedly gave $1.5 million to the opposition efforts each day. So now he’s wanted on terrorism charges and could face the death penalty. He hasn’t had a super-charmed life of late – the government took $1.4 billion of his assets in February after an unfavorable high-court decision. The opposition isn’t backing down, either, as they attempted to impeach current PM Abhisit Vejjajiva. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 00:40

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World: How volatile is Thailand’s government, anyway? Very

  • 1946 the year King Bhumibol Adulyadej took power
  • 20 number of prime ministers the country has had since then
  • 3.2 the average number of years the prime ministers get to server
  • nine number of coups the country has had during Bhumibol’s reign source
  • » It’s a rough system of government. In 1932, absolute monarchy ended in the country. Since then, 17 constitutions have been drafted. Only two of those allowed for entirely elected (rather than appointed) parliaments. Current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed to the job after Thaksin Shinawatra was booted from office during a corruption trial that dissolved his political party. Thaksin was protested against, too. Those protesters wore yellow.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 00:24

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World: Thailand tries to pick up the pieces from a day of chaos

  • Physically we can rebuild Bangkok quickly, but I don’t know how long it will take to cure the psychological damage. We will never forget May 19 in our life time.
  • Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra • Regarding the chaos that surrounded the city in a major way yesterday. The chaos left buildings ablaze for hours, left many injured and forced the government to set a curfew for a third of the country. In the wake of the chaos, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he would harshly punish the “terrorists” who vandalized Bangkok. Exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ouster started this mess in the first place, gave credit to the Red Shirts for surrendering, claiming that the end of the protests saved a lot of lives. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2010 11:16

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World: Thailand’s red shirts on deal with prime minister: Try again, dude

After two months, they’ve reached a sorta-agreement with the prime minister. But they won’t leave until parliament gets a dissolution date. So much for making things easy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2010 22:44

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World: Thailand PM’s best plan to calm Red Shirts: Early elections

  • After Saturday, it may not be enough, though. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who’s been feeling lots of pressure of late thanks to the Red Shirts, is considering moving the parliamentary elections up three months in a bid to save his job. Unfortunately for him, the Red Shirts are in no mood to negotiate, after 21 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the violent protests on Saturday. “We don’t negotiate with murderers,” said Red Shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn. “We have to keep fighting.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 10:39

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World: State of emergency No. 2: Red Shirts too much for Thailand

  • Dudes apparently stormed the Parliament today. The blood-spilling, angry-at-government protesters have held parts of the capital at their whim for days, and now Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government has called a state of emergency. Why? To give the military more control. (However, they can’t harm civilians.) Have fun with that, guys. source
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04 Apr 2010 22:47

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World: Thai protesters hit new sunglasses trend before Kanye does

50,000 protesters won’t leave Bangkok’s main shopping district because Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is still in power. We want these glasses. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2010 09:50

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World: Thai protests turn a civil corner, get a live-television airing

  • protesters Thailand’s red-shirt protesters, supporters of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were able to get a debate on live TV. One key statement: “Our request is simple and direct: dissolve parliament for the people to decide again.”
  • leader Thai leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was willing to talk to protesters, but made it clear he wouldn’t bend to their demands. “I have to make a decision based on a consensus from the entire country, not just the Red-Shirts,” he said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2010 11:19

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World: A color-coded history of national protest movements

  • red The newest movement, in Thailand, is trying to push out prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva; the red team gave him a Monday deadline to resign.
  • orange Ukraine’s Orange
    Revolution     took place
    after a 2004 election
    marred by massive
    corruption – but protests
    eventually won out.
  • green The Green Movement, still strong in Iran, gained strength after president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unexpectedly won reelection last year.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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