Thida Thavornseth

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Thida Thavornseth ( Thai ธิดา ถาวร เศรษฐ , RTGS : Thida Thawonset, pronunciation: [ tʰídaː tʰǎːwɔːnsèːt ]; born January 25, 1944 in Surat Thani ) is a Thai microbiologist and political activist. She is a retired university lecturer. From 2010 to 2014 she was the chairperson of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), known colloquially as the "Red Shirts" movement.

life and career

Thida Thavornseth graduated from the Pharmaceutical Faculty of Chulalongkorn University . She later taught as a lecturer at Mahidol University . She is married to the doctor Weng Tojirakarn , who, like her, is politically active. Thida participated in the mass protests for democratization in October 1973 , which led to the overthrow of the military dictatorship, as well as in the protests of the student movement against the return of the dictators in October 1976, which triggered the massacre at Thammasat University and the return to military rule. Thida and Weng joined the banned Communist Party of Thailand and fled to the mountains, where they hid for the next six years. In May 1992, they took part in the protests against the Prime Minister appointed by the military junta, Suchinda Kraprayoon , which went down in history as the " Black May ".

Although she was previously a critic of the disempowered Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , she joined the UDD, a political mass movement Thaksin is close to. The UDD fights against the influence of the military and royalist circles since the military coup in 2006 , against injustice and for a fundamental change in the power structures in Thai society. After the violent unrest of the "red shirts" from March to May 2010 and the violent crackdown by the military in April and May as well as the imprisonment of the most important UDD leaders, including her husband, Thida became chairman of the United Front on December 1, 2010 Democracy Against Dictatorship appointed. Thida is seen as a moderate leader who fundamentally rejects violence as a means of political action. In March 2014, Jatuporn Prompan replaced her as chairman of the UDD. Unlike Thida, he is more of a hardliner within the organization.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Goodspeed: New tactics from the Thai Red Shirts , National Post, June 18, 2011 (in English)
  2. ↑ a b Rachel O'Brien: Reluctant retiree new leader of Thailand's Red Shirts , AFP, December 15, 2010 (in English)
  3. ↑ Jochen Buchsteiner: "Red Shirts" Want to Protest - Criticism of the Constitutional Court , Frankfurter Allgemeine, December 10, 2010
  4. ^ Government loosens reins in Bangkok , Wiener Zeitung, December 21, 2010
  5. ^ Nicola Glass: State of emergency lifted again , the daily newspaper, December 21, 2010
  6. ↑ a b c Anucha Charoenpo: It's a new era for diehard UDD supporters , Bangkok Post, December 2, 2010 (in English)
  7. ↑ Veera Prateepchaikul: Under Thida, will the UDD leopard change its spots? , Bangkok Post, December 6, 2010
  8. ↑ a b Ambika Ahuja and Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul: Thai activist leader wants "red shirts" revamp  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.trust.org   , Reuters, December 3, 2010 (in English)
  9. ↑ Rachel Harvey: Thailand looks ahead after turbulent year , BBC News, Jan. 4, 2011 (in English)
  10. ↑ Aekarach Sattaburuth: Red shirts welcome Jatuporn. Praise for new UDD head's fighting spirit. In: Bangkok Post , March 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Jatuporn as UDD chief may be hardline. In: The Nation , March 21, 2014.
Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.
personal data
SURNAME Thida Thavornseth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION thai microbiologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Surat Thani