Final Report

International Global Governance
(Theory and Practice)

People’s opinion on Thai’s political problem

Dr. Chen,Chia-Sheng

By

Nut Thaveerungroj

Student ID: 01926116

Introduction
The purpose of this study was to show how Thai people and foreign people thinking about situation between Red’s shirt and Yellow’s shirt in Thailand. It was an experimental research study that looked at situation about Red’s shirt and Yellow’s shirt. The independent variable was three different thinking; Red side, Yellow side and foreign side. The dependent variable of the study was the difference between Red’s shirt and Yellow’s shirt. The mediator variable was the personal thinking.
They divide themselves into Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts and trade insults and occasional blows as well as disrupting the usual peaceful harmony of Thailand. They just want to get along peacefully with their work. The 'Yellow Shirts' are the People's Alliance for Democracy. They are fiercely Royalist and against the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra and his allies. The choice of Yellow is to show their allegiance to the King of Thailand. Yellow is the King's color. The 'Red Shirts' are made up of two supposedly smaller political groups, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship or UDD and Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship or DAAD. The 'Red Shirts' strongest support comes from the North of Thailand from where the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra originates. They would like to see him return to politics in Thailand. Thaksin Shinawatra manipulates the Red Shirts from outside Thailand. He is unable to return to the country through fear of arrest.
However in this study there were uses the way of thinking in 3sides, The questions will relate to the thing that Red’s shirt, Yellow’s shirt and Foreign thinking about the situation were happen in Thailand.

Literature Review
With the situation that happens, it is hardly surprising that the relationship between personal thinking have more effect to the country. The studies have focused on anything from different thinking on Red sides, Yellow sides and Foreign Sides. While some research has focused on which side wrong or correct, Peter Dickinson (July 18, 2011) suggests that “They divide themselves into Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts.”
Mahmood Hasan ( May 4, 2010) former Ambassador and Secretary, is Policy Advisor, Center for Foreign Affairs Studies suggest that Yellow Shirts is a loose group of royalists, media moguls, the urban middle class and a former army general, who has close ties with the king's senior advisers. However, have taken a different approach by looking not so much at active of Red side, BBC news (13 July 2012) divided lists of Red side and Yellow side. They argued that The focus of many red-shirts' campaigning zeal is former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They began as supporters of Mr. Thaksin, the prime minister ousted by the military in a September 2006 coup.
Philip J Cunningham (July 1, 2012) yellow and red movements originate in the mists of a feud and a friendship gone bad, the extraordinary battle of wills has broken open a Pandora’s box of potent ideas—ranging from good to bad, benevolent to malevolent—while engendering a concomitant sense of empowerment among ordinary citizens who have been encouraged to act out their dreams and desires, taking to the streets and voting with their bodies.

History
Thailand has been going through political turmoil since the military coup in September 2006. The bloodless coup ousted policeman-turned-business tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was in New York to attend a UN Summit when the General Sonthi Boonyaratglin seized power. Thaksin (b 1949), said to be one of the richest men in Thailand, founded the populist Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. He became prime minister in 2001 after a landslide victory. He introduced popular rural poverty reduction policies and healthcare for the poor, and succeeded in his campaign against suppression of drugs. He steered away from the army, the traditional power brokers of Thai politics. His growing popularity was reflected in his re-election in 2005, with the highest voter turnout in Thai history. As is the case in most developing democracies, Thaksin's government soon came under allegations of corruption, conflict of interest, muzzling of the press, tax evasion and, above all, "Lese Majeste" (insulting the monarch).But it was the allegations of corruption that led the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to conspire and oust Thaksin. PAD followers usually dress in yellow -- and are called Yellow Shirts -- the royal colour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Yellow Shirts is a loose group of royalists, media moguls, the urban middle class and a former army general, who has close ties with the king's senior advisers. PAD felt threatened that Thaksin's populist policies and style of leadership may challenge the king's influence. After dismissing Thaksin, the generals banned the TRT, drafted a new constitution with stringent anti-corruption laws, and held fresh elections in December 2007. Thaksin's party again won the elections under the People's Power Party (PPP), the reincarnated TRT. But this time Samak Sundaravej became the prime minister in February 2008. He lost his job eight months later, when the constitutional court declared that being prime minister he could not host cookery programs on TV channels against payments. Somchai Wongsawat, who succeeded Sundaravej, was also sent off quickly by the constitutional court on grounds of electoral fraud and PPP was disbanded in December 2008. Incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, of the Democrat Party, was the opposition leader in parliament. Abhisit, a loyal monarchist, secured a coalition in the parliament in December 2008 and become the third prime minister in three months. As the Democrat Party is affiliated with PAD, Yellow Shirts openly assisted Abhisit's ride to power. It was at that time that the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) followers of Thaksin -- widely called Red Shirts -- emerged from the remnants of PPP and TRT. Street protests were mounted and, in April 2009, to the embarrassment of Abhisit, Red Shirts succeeded in annulling the Asean Summit in Pattaya. It is alleged that exiled Thaksin has been pouring funds to Red Shirts to continue with the protests.The lines of division between the two opposing trends in Thai politics emerged clearly. The Red Shirts declaring that it wanted unfettered democracy, while the Yellow Shirts wants preservation of the status quo under the military, albeit the monarchy. The stage was thus set in Bangkok for a long drawn political tug-of-war. Ever since thousands of unarmed Red Shirts descended onto the streets of Bangkok on 12 March 2010, tension has been growing. The Red Shirts is demanding that the parliament be dissolved and fresh elections held. Abhisit has so far refused to give into the demands of the Red Shirts.Abhisit, who lacks experience and authority, also speaks of a political solution -- but has no definite plan to tackle the crisis. He has but one option -- to bow down to the demands of the protesters. But his fear is that a fresh election will bring back a government loyal to Thaksin, which Yellow Shirts will oppose.
Red side:The red-shirts are formally known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).Members are mainly rural workers from outside Bangkok. They began as supporters of Mr.Thaksin, the prime minister ousted by the military in a September 2006 coup. By then Mr.Thaksin – a telecommunications magnate - had governed Thailand for five years. He was very popular among the rural farmers and urban working class because he initiated policies that benefited them, such as funding for health-care and education. When elections were held 18 months after the military coup, this rural support had not changed, even though Mr.Thaksin was in overseas exile. Voters from Thailand's north and north-east returned his allies to power, only to see the government fall after a series of opposition protests and court rulings. So the red-shirts began protesting. The red-shirts are now allies of the ruling Pheu Thai Party. Yingluck Shinawatra, Mr Thaksin's sister, led the party to a landslide victory in July 2011 and became Thailand's first woman prime minister.
Yellow side:Like the reds, it was Thaksin Shinawatra that initially united the yellow-shirt camp. A loose grouping of royalists, ultra-nationalists and the urban middle class also known as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the yellow-shirts utterly opposed Mr Thaksin. They were behind the huge street protests that led up to the military coup of September 2006 and the ones two years later which led to Mr.Thaksin's allies being forced from power. Led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, who is a former general with close ties to the king's most senior adviser, the yellow-shirts accused Mr.Shinawatra of corruption and abuse of power. They also accused him of inadequate loyalty to the monarchy - and wear yellow because it is the king's colour.

Preliminary evidence
Red Shirt opinion: There continues to be a concerted effort from the Thai government and its supporters to delegitimize the movement, paint them as "terrorists," or otherwise seek to deprive the Red Shirts of their legitimate grievances over repeated violations of their democratic rights and reversals of their votes. I can state unequivocally that this movement represents a schism within Thai society that has not been created or developed by any one individual, but represents a fundamental dispute over an exclusionary political system. The Red Shirts, otherwise known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, largely come from the north of the country. While many Red Shirts are impoverished citizens, there are also many lower middle-class migrants to Bangkok who retained their class identity and others of diverse backgrounds who have sympathized with their cause. The understandable anger felt by many Thai citizens after seeing their popular will suppressed was underscored by systemic double standards exercised by the country's judicial system. One constitutional court judge who banned Samak also regularly did paid appearances on radio and taught at a private university. When the pro-government elite movement, People's Alliance for Democracy, held disruptive rallies, invaded government buildings, and illegally occupied Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport in 2008, there was not one single arrest, trial or conviction. Instead, these same people are on television every day. In comparison, scores of Red Shirts have already been imprisoned, and those arrested in the most recent protests were processed and convicted in improbably swift trials. It was all the more impressive that tens of thousands of these activists volunteered to sleep outside at the rally site in obvious discomfort, while risking their lives before the coming violence to make their point. They came to Bangkok to remind the ruling elites and the world that they also have constitutional rights as Thai citizens that their votes should count too, no matter their level of wealth, class, and education. But the distractions from these basic facts are numerous. The ruling military elite argue that the killing of almost 70 civilians (only one confirmed death of a military officer) over the past month is justified because they are armed - although most often with slingshots, homemade fireworks and bamboo sticks. The unlawful deployment of force used by the Thai authorities against the protesters, their flip-flopping on the issues of elections and their unwillingness to meet the protesters' pleadings for negotiations to avoid violence speaks volumes about their legitimacy to govern.
Yellow’s shirt opinion: The yellow-shirt PAD appears to be stepping up its mission to “clean up Thai politics” as key leader Sondhi Limthongkul urged the New Politics Party (NPP), the movement’s electoral wing, to boycott the forthcoming general election. The PAD state they stand for honest politics, promoting justice and the rule of law, while fighting against corruption among politicians and civil servants. They also claim to be upholding the constitutional monarchy and oppose those they view as wanting to change the monarchy's status. Two days after the 2006 Thailand coup, the PAD voluntarily disbanded after announcing its goals had been accomplished."Representative democracy is not suitable for Thailand," commented Sondhi Limthongkul, claiming the electoral system has repeatedly elected corrupt, populist governments. To correct this, the PAD proposed what it called "New Politics" and on June 2, 2009 founded the New Politics Party. Although most of its leaders supported, and in some cases helped draft the post-coup 2007 Constitution, the PAD proposed constitutional amendments that would make 70% of MPs appointed, based on professional groups, with elections choosing only 30%. On 21 September, the PAD changed its formula to 100% elections, but with 50% of Parliament voted for by geographic area and the rest voted for by occupational representatives. The PAD has been described as "nationalist" and is strongly opposed to what it claims are infringements upon national sovereignty of Thailand. It opposed the Samak government's decision to support the Cambodian government's unilateral application for the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site, since land next to the temple is in still dispute. PAD charged the PPP-leading cabinet helping Thaksin Shinawatra making large profits with Cambodia by using this agreement as an exchange. It also called for Thai investors to withdraw from Cambodia, the closure of all 40 Thai-Cambodian border checkpoints, a ban on all flights from Thailand to Phnom Penh and Siam Reap, the construction of a naval base at Koh Kut near the border, and abolishing the committee which oversees demarcation of overlapping sea areas and a unilateral declaration of a Thai marine map. Amid rising political tensions, Thaksin dissolved Parliament on 24 February 2006, just one year after being re-elected. He called for new House elections on 2 April. In March, the PAD requested the King intervene and remove Thaksin from power. The PAD claimed that royal intervention was the only possible peaceful answer to the political crisis. The King rejected the idea in a speech on April 26, saying: "Asking for a Royally appointed prime minister is undemocratic. It is, pardon me, a mess. It is irrational.

Conclusion
I think on both two sides there have their own thinking, their own opinion. No one can tell which sides were right or wrong. Everyone was having own human rights to thinking and take an action with the protest. However, everyone must stop and thinking about which the other side thinking that we can together focus our energy on discussing about how to improve our political system. Instead of spending time quarrelling each other and arguing that “I am right/smart” and “you are wrong/stupid”, All of two sides need to spend time discussing about how to improve the working of the independent institutions, how to strengthen the judiciary’s check on the government without interfering too much on government’s work. They need to work together on our differences for the benefits of Thai society. The elites have been doing this for us for a long time, and they have not done it successfully. Constructive dialogue based on respect of each other’s differences and based on the good intention for this country. This is the necessary condition for Thai’s people to find the right conflict-solving mechanism to resolve the current crisis and achieve a long-term solution for a better political system that produces better governments. If Thai’s people do not soon change our attitude, the social division will only become deeper and deeper, and violent clashes between opposite ends could be more frequent and bloody.

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