Suthep Thaugsuban

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Suthep Thaugsuban in his uniform as a member of the government (2010)

Suthep Thaugsuban ( Thai: สุ เทพ เทือก สุบรรณ , RTGS transcription Suthep Thueaksuban ; pronunciation: [ sù.tʰêːp tʰɯ̂ːak.sù.ban ]; born July 7, 1949 in Amphoe Phunphin , Surat Thani Province , Thailand) is a Thai politician. He was a Member of Parliament for Surat Thani Province , Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Thailand, and Deputy Prime Minister for Internal Affairs in Abhisit Vejjajiva's cabinet . In November 2013, he resigned his parliamentary seat and resigned from the party to become the leader of the mass protests against the government .

Life and political career

Suthep comes from the Surat Thani province in southern Thailand . His father was the community leader (Kamnan) of Tambon Tha Sathon. He studied political science at Chiang Mai University and completed a master's degree at Middle Tennessee State University . When he was only 26 years old, he was elected mayor of Tha Sathon to succeed his father. Suthep and his family own significant shares of the oil palm plantations and shrimp farms in his home region, which are among the main sources of income in southern Thailand.

MP and Minister

He was first elected as a constituency member of Surat Thani Province for the Democratic Party in 1979. Since then, he has succeeded in extending his mandate at every election in this stronghold of his party. From 1986 to 1988 he was Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the Prem Tinsulanonda cabinet , and again in the first Chuan Leekpai cabinet from 1992 to 1994. He was involved in the scandal surrounding the implementation of the Sor Por Kor 4-01 ( ส ปก. 4-01 ) program. Government-owned land to be distributed to poor, landless farmers was given to rich families from Phuket . Suthep was forced to resign, and the Chuan government eventually fell over the scandal. When the Democrats were back in government from 1997 to 2001, Suthep was again a member of the cabinet, this time as Minister of Transport and Communications.

Suthep Thaugsuban with his wife Srisakul (left) and Princess Ubol Ratana (right), December 2009.

When Abhisit Vejjajiva became chairman of the Democratic Party in 2005, he made Suthep its general secretary. When Abhisit took over government responsibility in December 2008, Suthep became vice premier with responsibility for internal security.

Riots 2010

During the protests of the anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD; "Red Shirts") in April and May 2010 and the occupation of the Bangkok business district by them, Suthep became director of the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), which protects public order should restore. After violent clashes between “red shirts” and security forces, the leaders of the UDD turned down a compromise offer from the government, among other things because they held Suthep responsible for the violence against their colleagues. They demanded his release from his position as vice premier and criminal prosecution. He faced an interrogation at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), but stressed that he could not be held responsible because the state of emergency was in effect at the time in question.

accusation

The Democrats lost the 2011 election, and the previously opposition Pheu-Thai party under Yingluck Shinawatra took power. On December 13, 2012, the DSI filed murder charges against Suthep Thaugsuban and former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva . According to the authorities, the charge was based on testimony and a judgment and concerns the case of a taxi driver who was shot by soldiers during the riots in 2010. Both defendants pleaded not guilty. They were initially released on bail during the trial .

Mass protests 2013/14

Suthep speaks to a meeting of his "People's Committee" (February 2014)

Suthep was the most prominent leader in the mass protests launched by the opposition in October 2013 against the Yingluck Shinawatra government's draft amnesty law. On November 11th, he announced the abandonment of his parliamentary mandate in order to dedicate himself to the extra-parliamentary opposition to the "Thaksin system". Even after the government abandoned the amnesty law, Suthep continued the protests. He said that even resigning the prime minister and holding new elections would not be enough unless Thaksin and his allies were fundamentally ousted from power. From November 25, he participated in the occupation of government institutions. In the course of this, the competent criminal court issued an arrest warrant against him the next day.

On November 30, 2013, Suthep declared himself general secretary of the “People's Committee for the Change in Thailand to Full Democracy with the King as Head of State” formed by the protest movement (Thai for short Ko.Po.Po.So .; English mostly People's Democratic Reform Committee , PDRC ). He sought the appointment of a new government by the king, bypassing parliament, and the formation of a "people's council", which was to reform the country's political system from the ground up.

After the military coup led by army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha on May 22, 2014, Suthep, like other political leaders of the two warring camps, was imprisoned for a few days. Prosecutors opened a riot lawsuit, but he was released on bail. In July 2014 he was ordained a Buddhist monk at Wat Tha Sai in Surat Thani. He took the religious name Prapakaro and settled in the Suan Mokkh meditation center in Chaiya district (Surat Thani province). After about a year he returned to the lay state in 2015.

ACT party

Contrary to his promise to finally withdraw from politics, he worked in May 2018 to found the party "Union for the Thai Nation" (English Action Coalition for Thailand , ACT). However, he only acts as an "advisor" to the party, while it is officially led by his lawyer Taweesak Na Takuathung and his younger brother Thani Thaugsuban. The party supports General Prayut Chan-o-cha's military junta . In the parliamentary elections in March 2019 , she received 5 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives, with Suthep himself not running.

Web links

Commons : Suthep Thaugsuban  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From village headman to deputy PM to protest leader. Suthep Thaugsuban. ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.themalaysianinsider.com archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Malaysian Insider , November 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Till Fähnders: The protest leader in the black shirt. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine , December 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ How Austrians experience Thailand's crisis. ( Memento of May 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Kurier , May 23, 2010 (version of May 23, 2010).
  4. ↑ The end of the protests is not in sight . ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Der Farang , May 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / farang-magazin.com
  5. ^ End of the opposition protests in sight. In: Der Standard , May 10, 2010.
  6. ↑ Former head of government charged with murder. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. December 13, 2012, accessed December 14, 2012 .
  7. ^ DSI chief defends murder charge. Bangkok Post, December 13, 2012, accessed December 14, 2012 .
  8. ^ Arrest warrant for the leader of the protests in Thailand. In: Der Standard , November 26, 2013.
  9. ↑ Suthep declares 'people's revolt'.In: Bangkok Post , November 30, 2013.
  10. ^ Suthep released but faces insurrection charge , Thai PBS, May 26, 2014.
  11. ^ Suthep becomes a monk. In: The Nation (Online), July 16, 2014.
  12. ↑ Suthep enters monkhood quietly . Thai PBS, July 16, 2014.
  13. ↑ Teeranai Charuvastra: Suthep Aides Register Party, Deny It's For Him. In: Khao Sod English , May 25, 2018.
  14. ↑ Patpon Sabpaitoon, Aekarach Sattaburuth: Suthep breaks promise to exit politics. In: Bangkok Post (online), June 4, 2018.
Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.
personal data
SURNAME Suthep Thaugsuban
ALTERNATIVE NAMES สุ เทพ เทือก สุบรรณ (th)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION thai politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 7, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Phunphin Amphoe , Surat Thani Province , Thailand