National Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship

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UDD supporters in Bangkok (March 20, 2010)

The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship ( Thai แนวร่วม ประชาธิปไตย ต่อต้าน เผด็จการ แห่ง ชาติ , RTGS ņāéō Ruam Prachathipatai Totan Phadetkan Haeng Chat , abbreviation น ป ช. , Self-chosen English name "United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship" , abbreviated UDD ) is the umbrella organization to which a large number of political groups have come together in Thailand , which belong to the political movement of the " red shirts" ( Thai เสื้อ แดง , RTGS Suea Daeng ). It was founded in opposition to the military coup on September 19, 2006 and the government that was subsequently installed by the military and is close to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted during the coup .

Foundation and development

Nattawut Saikua (2010)
Jatuporn Prompan (2008)

The group arose out of protest against the military coup in September 2006 that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra, the subsequent rule of the military junta of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin , who called itself the "Council for Democratic Reforms", and the interim government it installed under Surayud Chulanont . Leading members were Veera Musikapong and Nattawut Saikua , politicians from Thaksin's Thai-Rak-Thai party , which was dissolved by the “constitutional tribunal” set up after the coup for violating electoral law. There were also democracy activists, including former critics of Thaksin such as Weng Tojirakarn , who were appalled by the manner in which Thaksin was disempowered and the renewed military rule. A large number of different groups formed after the coup, which either supported Thaksin or rejected military rule, came together in the course of 2007 to form the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD).

The first political goal of the DAAD was to replace the Surayud government established by the military and to reject the constitution drawn up under the aegis of the military in 2007. In the referendum in August, the DAAD's no campaign received 10 million votes, but a majority was in favor of the new Basic Law. Since the campaign for this referendum, in which the color red was associated with the rejection of the draft, the DAAD or UDD has also been known as the movement of the “red shirts” - in contrast to the “yellow shirts” of the People's Alliance for Democracy , which previously opposed Thaksin's government protested and approved, if not supported, his disempowerment by the coup. After the referendum campaign, the organization added the word “National” and the slogan “Red across the country” ( Thai แดง ทั้ง แผ่นดิน , RTGS Daeng Thang Phaen Din ) to its name. In doing so, she wanted to expand her attraction to the masses of the rural population.

The movement became widely known through the political talk show Khwamching Wanni / Truth Today ("Truth Today") by former TRT politicians Nattawut, Veera and Jatuporn Prompan . It was broadcast on the government-controlled NBT TV after the successor to the TRT Party of People's Power won the election in December 2007 . They criticized the continued influence of the military and the chairman of the Privy Council, Prem Tinsulanonda , whom they blamed as the man behind the coup. The “red shirts” intensified their activities after the Constitutional Court also dissolved the People's Power Party in December on charges of election manipulation and parliamentarians changed camp and elected the former opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva from the Democratic Party as prime minister. They blamed the army commander-in-chief, Anupong Paochinda , who is said to have put the MPs under pressure. For the “red shirts” this was another case of the military's political interference, which they denounced.

Following

In the Thai public and international media reports, the “red shirts” are often portrayed as essentially a movement of poor farmers from the rural north and northeast. Political science studies have shown that the majority of UDD supporters are actually provincial. To a large extent, however, they are representatives of a developing lower middle class who can be described as “urbanized villagers”.

Many are actually small or medium-sized farmers, but are not among the very poorest landless. Some are small business or business founders, such as construction companies. Most of them have benefited from Thaksin's small and medium-sized business and rural development policies, as well as the 30 baht universal health care program. A majority does not come directly from large cities, but from the surrounding areas of urban centers. The provinces of Chiang Mai , Udon Thani and Khon Kaen , each with a larger city in the center, are considered to be the strongholds of the “red shirts” . Many “red shirt” supporters in the greater Bangkok area are domestic migrants from the less developed province who work for most of the year, for example as small traders or taxi drivers in the capital, but are still registered and vote in their home province.

The majority of the participants in the “red shirt” demonstrators in 2010 had attended at least one secondary school, and almost a quarter even had a university degree. This contradicts the accusation made by sections of the urban elite that the “red shirts” are generally uneducated, politically disinformed and immature. They often voiced the suspicion that the “red shirts” would not go to the demonstrations of their own accord, but that Thaksin paid for it. You spoke disparagingly of “prepaid demonstrations”. Most of the red shirt protesters were over 40, many over 50 or even retired. They stated that they wanted a better Thailand for future generations.

In addition to this core of UDD supporters, there is also a part of the urban middle class, office workers, students, police officers and also part of the military. The most famous officer who supported the “red shirts” was Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol (“Seh Daeng”), who was shot dead during clashes between the protest movement and security forces in 2010.

The urban-rural conflict, which is often assumed to be the cause of the political conflict in Thailand and the formation of the “red shirt” movement, cannot therefore be confirmed in view of its mixed composition of villagers, provincial and capital city dwellers.

Most rural “red shirts” joined the movement because they profited from Thaksin's policies and felt that the 2006 coup had robbed them of their democratic voice. They are often enthusiastic followers of Thaksin. However, not all of the urban UDD supporters are convinced of Thaksin. Some of them are more motivated by democratic convictions, rejection of the perceived injustice and the action taken by politics and the judiciary against the opponents of the coup. A number of intellectuals also support the UDD. For example, the British-Thai political scientist and avowed Marxist Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a well-known supporter of the " red shirts".

The Thai trade unions are rather remote from the UDD. Important parts of the organized workforce joined the "yellow shirts" because of their hostility to Thaksin. Others support the core demands of the “red shirts” for more participation and equality, but do not agree with the hierarchy and elitist leadership of the UDD.

Organization and leadership

Weng Tojirakarn (2011)

The management team of the “red shirts” is also a very heterogeneous association. Its members come from very different social backgrounds and political directions. The former left-right scheme, which still led to violent arguments and clashes in the 1970s, no longer plays a role. The spectrum of leaders ranges from former activists of the Communist Party of Thailand to liberal civil rights activists and pragmatic professional politicians to right-wing hardliners. The movement is made up of a large number of internal groups and networks. The “trio” of the three professional politicians Veera Musikapong, Nattawut Saikua and Jatuporn Prompan play a central role. Contrary to the widespread perception of the "red shirts" as a movement rooted in north and north-east Thailand , their three best-known leaders come from the southern region .

In addition, at least eight other circles are to be distinguished, each of which exerts an influence on a part of the "red shirt" movement. This includes a group of intellectuals, doctors and university lecturers, who are mainly based in the capital, and some of whom were already active in the student movement of the 1970s. The most prominent among them is Weng Tojirakarn . Populist agitators such as the former pop singer Arisman Pongruangrong , the comedian Yoswarit Chooklom ("Jaeng Dokjik") or the MP Suporn Atthawong from the north- east Thai city ​​of Nakhon Ratchasima , who calls himself "Rambo Isan", have greater popularity in the country . Finally, there is the uncompromising and militant group of General Khattiya Sawasdipol ("Seh Daeng"), who was in charge of fighting the communists as an army commander in the 1970s. He built an armed arm of the movement called the "Warriors of King Taksin " at the "red shirt" events to ensure security .

After the violent crackdown on the violent “red shirt” protests in April 2009, the movement established so-called UDD schools, in which it teaches democratic principles, Thai history and its own ideology.

In August 2009 there was a split among the “red shirts”. The leadership of the UDD distanced itself from the group around Jakrapob Penkair and Surachai Danwattananusorn , which calls itself "Red Siam". Previously, there had been a dispute over a petition for a pardon for Thaksin. The UDD leadership had organized a signature campaign for a pardon for the former Prime Minister addressed to the King. Jakrapob's group rejected this because, in their opinion, it contradicted the anti-aristocratic principles of the movement and, given the attacks by the “red shirts” on the Chairman of the Privy Council, Prem Tinsulanonda, would be futile anyway. The UDD leadership accused “Red Siam” of advocating armed struggle in the style of the Communist Party of Thailand , of which Surachai was a member in the past. After the separation from Jakrapob's wing, the UDD was led unchallenged by the trio Veera, Nattawut and Jatuporn.

After the violent suppression of the unrest in May 2010 , the organization was temporarily dissolved. After the state of emergency was finally lifted in December 2010, the UDD was able to organize again. Since the main leaders were still imprisoned at the time, Thida Thavornseth , Weng Tojirakarn's wife, took the chair.

The group is associated with the Pheu Thai Party , founded at the end of 2008 , the current successor party of the People's Power Party, which in turn emerged from the Thai Rak Thai founded by Thaksin. In the parliamentary elections in July 2011 , a number of UDD activists ran on the list of the victorious Pheu-Thai party and were elected to parliament. In January 2012, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra appointed the “red shirt” spokesman Nattawut Saikua to her government.

In March 2014, Jatuporn Prompan replaced Thida as chairman of the UDD. Unlike his predecessor, he is more of a hardliner within the organization.

There are a number of media that are close to the "red shirts" and spread their point of view. These include People's Television and MV5 television networks, local radio stations, Voice of Thaksin , Truth Today Magazine , Thai Red News and Red Flags newspapers .

Goal setting and ideology

Stage for rallies at the "Red Shirts" protests in April 2009. Inscription: " Overthrows the ammat "

According to the “red shirts”, Thailand is still a society of estates. A privileged, aristocratic elite of state officials, whom they call ammat ( อำมาตย์ ) after the traditional title for court officials , rule over the common people and ignore their democratic will. The members of the movement identify themselves as phrai ( ไพร่ ), after the historical name for the subjects obliged to labor in the feudal society of ancient Siam . The " red shirts" claim that Thailand is not a democracy ( pracha-thippatai ), but an ammataya-thippatai , that is, a rule of the unelected elite consisting of civil servants, the judiciary and the military. The feudal Sakdina system, in which the phrai had to do unpaid work for their masters, was abolished by King Chulalongkorn at the end of the 19th century, but according to the UDD, comparable relationships of dependency also exist in modern Thai society. By attacking these perceived class differences and identifying themselves as an exploited and rightsless lower class, the movement appeals to the rural poor, among whom the feeling of being disregarded and disadvantaged by the urban elite is widespread.

The “red shirts” question the social distribution of power, but mostly not the capitalist economic order. On the contrary: many participants in the movement have a positive attitude towards globalization, entrepreneurship and the market economy. While core members of the “yellow shirts” were active in civil society organizations who advocated a pre-materialistic local economy and culture that was decoupled from global capitalism, these were romantic illusions for most “red shirts”. For them, the focus is on concrete improvements in their material situation.

Most supporters of the “red shirts” see more elections at all levels as a means of solving the country's problems. They suggest electing provincial governors and district captains, who have so far been appointed by the Interior Ministry . They usually understand democracy to be the established, representative system. Unlike the “yellow shirts”, who distrust elected politicians, they strictly rejected the 2006 military coup, interventions by the Constitutional Court and the 2008 airport occupations. They usually stand behind their elected local politicians and constituency MPs (who in the north and north-east mostly belong to the Pheu-Thai party, which is allied with the UDD). While the “yellow shirts” are convinced that even democratically elected politicians only pursue their own benefit, the “red shirts” believe in politicians who stand up for the interests of their electorate. For them, the most important example of such a politician is Thaksin Shinawatra. Politicians with whom the voters are dissatisfied could vote them out again at the next opportunity.

The American Thailand reporter and lecturer at Chulalongkorn University Philip J. Cunningham estimates that the UDD, despite its organization as an independent NGO and mass movement, primarily serves the interests of the disempowered Prime Minister and billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. According to Cunningham, the UDD's advocacy for justice and the interests of the poor is only fake. He characterizes the UDD as a partly personalistic and militant organization in which xenophobic and homophobic positions are represented. The political scientist Federico Ferrara, who specializes in Southeast Asia, also notes anti-gay tendencies in the leadership of the red shirts. In fact, in 2009 a group of “red shirts” attacked the Gay Pride Parade in Chiang Mai . Supporters of this local group (Rak Chiang Mai '51) also showed in questioning a hostile attitude towards immigrants from the poorer neighboring countries, especially from Burma , and represented nationalist clichés about them.

Protest actions

"Red shirts" clatter with plastic feet during a speech by Jatuporn Prompan, Bangkok, April 6, 2010

After Abhisit Vejjajiva took over the government in December 2008, the “red shirts” protested violently against the change of power, which they viewed as undemocratic, and the government, which for them was illegitimate and a puppet of the military leadership. The mass protests reached their first peak in April 2009. Up to 100,000 people gathered in front of the government headquarters in central Bangkok to demand the end of elite rule and the immediate resignation of Abhisit and the Crown Councils Prem and Surayud. By blocking them, they also prevented the ASEAN summit from being held in Pattaya . Red plastic feet that clatter when they move, an ironic takeover of the yellow clattering hands of the “yellow shirts”, with which they applaud their leaders, became the trademark of the “red-shirt” protestors. The protests were put down by the military, with numerous UDD supporters injured and several killed.

The protest movement formed again in September 2009 and held a demonstration on the occasion of the third anniversary of the 2006 coup. On December 10, 2009, Constitution Day, the “red shirts” gathered in front of the democracy monument and demanded a return to the 1997 constitution, which they consider more democratic than the one in force since 2007, which had been drawn up after the coup.

The movement's renewed protests from March to May 2010 were even bigger and bloodier as a result . Hundreds of thousands of "red shirts" occupied Bangkok's central business district around Ratchadamnoen Boulevard and Ratchaprasong Junction. After several requests to release the occupied territory and the rejection of a compromise offer by the UDD leadership, the government declared a state of emergency at the end of April and had the military put down the uprising from May 19. 92 UDD activists died and over a thousand were injured. Movement leaders and hundreds of other supporters were arrested.

In February 2011, several of the “red shirt” leaders were released on bail. In the July 2011 election, several leading members of the “red shirts” on the Pheu-Thai Party's list were elected to parliament. Although her party had won the election, the new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra did not initially give her government posts . It was not until a cabinet reshuffle in January 2012 that Nattawut Saikua was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture. After another reshuffle in October 2012, he moved to the Ministry of Commerce.

Well-known activists of the UDD

literature

  • Pavin Chachavalpongpun: Thailand's Red Networks. From Street Forces to Eminent Civil Society Coalitions. Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Freiburg, Occasional Paper No. April 14, 2013.
  • Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. The Red Shirt Movement. In: Cleavage, Connection and Conflict in Rural, Urban and Contemporary Asia. Ari Springer, 2013, pp. 201–222
  • Michael J. Montesano, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Aekapol Chongvilaivan (Eds.): Bangkok May 2010. Perspectives on a Divided Thailand. ISEAS Publishing, Singapore 2012
  • Jim Taylor: Remembrance and Tragedy. Understanding Thailand's "Red Shirt" Social Movement. In: Sojourn - Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia , Volume 27, No. 1, April 2012, pp. 120–152, doi : 10.1353 / soj.2012.0004 (currently unavailable)
  • Naruemon Thabchumpon and Duncan McCargo : Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests . Not Just Poor Farmers? In: Asian Survey . tape 51 , no. 6 . University of California Press, California December 2011, pp. 993-1018 , doi : 10.1525 / as.2011.51.6.993 (English, analysis of interviews with 400 demonstrators and 57 organizers during the riots in Bangkok 2010).

Web links

  • Xavier Monthéard: King, Citizen, Peasant. Pictures of the failed revolt in Thailand. In: Le Monde Diplomatique . July 9, 2010, accessed June 23, 2011 (background report on the mood among UDD members in the aftermath of the unrest).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Red shirts protest against judicial apparatus Thousands of supporters of the opposition are demanding the release of their leaders who have been imprisoned on terrorism charges. (The time 2011-02; according to dpa)
  2. ^ A b Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 209.
  3. ^ A b c d e Mark R. Thompson: Class, charisma and clientelism in Thai and Philippine populist parties. In: Party politics in Southeast Asia. Clientelism and electoral competition in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Routledge, Abingdon / New York 2013, p. 75.
  4. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, p. 999.
  5. ↑ Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 203.
  6. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, pp. 1000-1002.
  7. ↑ Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 208.
  8. ↑ a b Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt protests. 2011, p. 1002.
  9. ↑ a b c d e Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 212.
  10. ^ A b Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, pp. 208-209.
  11. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, 1016-1017.
  12. ↑ Andrew Brown, Sakdina Chatrakul na Ayudhya: Labor activism in Thailand. In: Social Activism in Southeast Asia. Routledge, Abingdon / New York 2013, p. 115.
  13. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, p. 998.
  14. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, pp. 995-996.
  15. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, p. 997.
  16. ^ Nicola Glass: State of emergency lifted again. In: the daily newspaper. December 21, 2010, accessed December 27, 2010 .
  17. ↑ Nicola Glass: In the shadow of the populist. In: the daily newspaper . July 4, 2011, accessed July 4, 2011 .
  18. ↑ Aekarach Sattaburuth: Red shirts welcome Jatuporn. Praise for new UDD head's fighting spirit. In: Bangkok Post , March 17, 2014.
  19. ^ Jatuporn as UDD chief may be hardline. In: The Nation , March 21, 2014.
  20. ↑ Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 210.
  21. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, pp. 1005-1006.
  22. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, pp. 1015-1016.
  23. ↑ Debating the Crisis in Thailand: Is Red Shirt Movement a Genuine Grassroots Struggle, or Front for Ousted Ex-PM, Billionaire Tycoon? Discussion between Giles Ji Ungpakorn and Philip J. Cunningham, hosted by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now .
  24. ^ Federico Ferrara: The Grand Bargain. Making “Reconciliation” Mean Something. In: Bangkok May 2010. 2012, p. 122.
  25. ^ Walter L. Williams: Thailand. In: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide. Greenwood Press, 2010, p. 514.
  26. ↑ Naruemon, McCargo: Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests. 2011, pp. 1015-1016
  27. ↑ Jim Taylor: No Way Forward But Back? Re-emerging Thai Falangism, Democracy, and the New "Red Shirt" Social Movement. In: Bangkok May 2010. 2012, p. 295.
  28. ↑ Chairat Charoensin-o-larn: Redrawing Thai Political Space. 2013, p. 204.
  29. ↑ No room for Red Shirts in new Thai cabinet. AFP, August 9, 2011.
  30. ↑ Pavin Chachavalpongpun: Thailand's New Yingluck Cabinet. Asia Sentinel, August 10, 2011.