(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Bangkok and seven surrounding provinces of the Thai capital see with disdain the popular rallies organized by the so-called red shirts, according to a poll by Suan Dusit University. 57.1 per cent of respondents say the rallies are not a democratic expression but a political game to topple the government.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Bangkok and seven surrounding provinces of the Thai capital see with disdain the popular rallies organized by the so-called red shirts, according to a poll by Suan Dusit University. 57.1 per cent of respondents say the rallies are not a democratic expression but a political game to topple the government.
Conversely, 23.8 per cent of respondents say the red-shirts rallies are a true democratic expression and that the group has a constitutional right to hold public gatherings.
Thailand has experienced more than three years of political instability, including the dissolution of the lower house, a cancelled national election, a military coup and the enactment of a new constitution. In December 2007, Thailand held a legislative ballot. Final results gave the People’s Power Party (PPP) 232 of the 480 seats, followed by the Democratic Party (PP) with 165 mandates. In January 2008, PPP leader Samak Sundaravej became prime minister.
Samak’s government faced fierce opposition and major street protests led by the civic organization People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The group accused Samak of being a puppet of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup.
In August 2008, the PAD occupied the Government House in Bangkok, demanding Samak’s resignation. Samak stepped down in September after the national Constitutional Court found that he violated conflict of interest laws when he received payments for hosting two television cooking shows. Somchai Wongsawat—who had been serving as deputy prime minister—took over as acting head of government.
In late November, PAD activists took over Bangkok’s international airport—where the government had been working from after its offices were invaded in August—demanding Somchai’s resignation. The airport was forced to shut down entirely, stranding thousands of tourists.
In December, the Constitutional Court ordered the PPP and its two coalition partners, the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party, to disband after it found them guilty of voter fraud in the 2007 ballot. The court also banned Somchai and executives from the three parties from participating in politics for five years. Somchai accepted the verdict and stepped down. Protesters at the airport ended the siege. PP leader Abhisit Vejjajiva became prime minister, with the support of 235 lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
In March 2009, Thaksin accused Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda of masterminding the 2006 military coup, and openly called for a "people’s revolution" to topple the Abhisit government. In April, the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD)—whose followers wear red shirts at rallies—organized protests in Bangkok and Chonburi, ultimately forcing the cancellation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. After Abhisit implemented a state of emergency, Thai soldiers fired live rounds into the air and used tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters.
In June, the so-called yellow shirts activists from the PAD formally created a political party, the New Politics Party, and chose labour activist Somsak Kosaisuk as its leader.
Earlier this month, thousands of protesters with the red shirts movement poured bagfuls of human blood—their own—around the prime minister’s home, his office, and the PAD’s headquarters. According to the protesters, the pouring of blood is meant to symbolize a "sacrifice for democracy." Others have explained that throwing blood on something amounts to cursing it.
On Mar. 17, Thai education minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat, a PAD executive, referred to the situation, declaring, "It’s bad omen. I can’t believe any democratic movement would resort to this sort of distasteful black magic."
Polling Data
What do you think about the red-shirts rally?
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It is a true democratic expression and the red shirts have a constitutional right to hold rallies
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23.8%
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It is not a true democratic expression and a political game to topple the government
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57.1%
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Not sure
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19.1%
|
Source: Suan Dusit University
Methodology: Interviews with 1,090 adults in Bangkok and seven nearby provinces, conducted in March 2010. No margin of error was provided.
