Issue and Opponent: Thailand’s government has historically operated in an unstable manner with 17 different constitutions since 1932, and its leadership constantly switches between democracy and dictatorship. Prime Ministers are rarely able to serve the full length of their term before being ousted. The most recent occurrence of a Prime Minister forcefully removed from power transpired in 2006 when a military coup led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) ousted Thaksin Shinawatra. PAD is one of two sociopolitical groups in Thailand. UDD is the other, standing for the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship. UDD is also known as the Red Shirts, and they were the group backing the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. The Yellow Shirts, PAD, were responsible for organizing a coup so PAD candidate, Abhisit Vejjajiva, could seize power. PAD also worked to ban the UDD party and exile Thaksin. Exiled, former Prime Minister Thaksin called for his supporters in Thailand to rally in his defense after Abhisit seized roughly 50 billion bahts worth of Thaksin’s assets in February 2010.
Dilemma Action: The UDD immediately gathered in Bangkok to protest nonviolently. The government swiftly imposed the Internal Security Act, which enforced curfews and limited the movement of the people, being monitored by the military. However, by March 12, over 50,000 Red Shirt protesters had gathered in Bangkok with red clothes, flags, and banners. The protesters were demanding parliament be dissolved and new elections to be held immediately. They played music, danced and chanted in the streets, and played the voice recordings of prominent leaders. After roughly a week of protesting, the total count had amounted to 150,000 individuals gathered in the streets, shutting down traffic and, eventually, the financial district of the city. The Red Shirts collected blood from the protesters and promised to toss the blood on the government building if the demands were not met. On March 16, they tossed approximately 300 liters of blood on the main government building, which was the lawn of PM Abhisit’s house. While this did not provoke the government to take action, it was symbolic, as it garnered international media attention. On March 21, the protesters continued their demonstrations by gathering pictures, poems, and other artistic works they displayed on a large canvas alongside the blood of the protesters. Outcomes: Abhisit claimed he would agree to meet with some protest leaders, but the UDD knew neither side was willing to negotiate. After another two weeks of protests, the military attempted to take back control of the streets with force. They were unsuccessful, and the Red Shirts only pushed back harder by building bunkers in the streets. At this point, the Yellow Shirts began their protests against the government for not having stopped the Red Shirts. On May 3, Abhisit attempted to offer concessions by agreeing to hold an election on November 14. This was first accepted, then rejected, by the Red Shirt leaders, as they wanted the government officials involved in protesters’ deaths to be reelected as well. Abhisit took military action on May 14. Over 40 protesters died during this time. The camps were broken up and most of the red shirts surrendered or fled. Activities officially ended on May 20. While the Red Shirts did not achieve their goal of having Abhisit dissolve parliament and hold reelections, they did gain a substantial amount of international media attention which gained a lot of foreign support and sympathy for their struggle. They planned to continue working later that year in October 2010. Larger Campaign: This protest was part of a larger campaign to dissolve the parliament in Thailand, hold reelections, and bring back the UDD as a constitutional party.