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| Red Shirts (United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship) | |
|---|---|
| Name | United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship |
| Native name | ประชาชนจะไม่ทน |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Bangkok |
| Ideology | Populism; Royalism (contested) |
| Leaders | Jatuporn Prompan; Arisman Pongruangrong |
| Country | Thailand |
Red Shirts (United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship) are a political movement in Thailand formed after the 2006 Thai coup d'état to support ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and oppose the People's Alliance for Democracy and successive Thai government administrations. The movement has organized mass protests, engaged in electoral politics through allied parties such as the Thai Rak Thai successor Pheu Thai Party, and became a focal point in the 2010 Thai political protests and wider Thai political crisis.
The movement emerged in the aftermath of the 2006 Thai coup d'état that removed Thaksin Shinawatra and amid conflicts involving the People's Alliance for Democracy, Sondhi Limthongkul, and factions of the Royal Thai Army. Key organizers who formed the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship were aligned with rural supporters from Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, and Nakhon Ratchasima, and with trade unionists linked to the Labor Party and mass networks that had backed the 2001 Thai general election victory of Thai Rak Thai. Early mobilization drew on grievances following legal actions such as charges pursued by the National Anti-Corruption Commission and interventions by the Constitutional Tribunal of Thailand.
The group's stated goals emphasized restoring elected leadership associated with Thaksin Shinawatra and opposing policies perceived as influenced by the Judiciary of Thailand, the Election Commission of Thailand, and elements of the Thai military. Ideologically, activists referenced populist platforms similar to those of Pheu Thai Party, rural welfare programs like the 30-baht scheme, and critiques of elites linked to the People's Alliance for Democracy and media figures such as Sondhi Limthongkul. Observers debated whether the movement combined Thai nationalism with loyalty to Thaksin-era policies and resistance to interventions by institutions such as the Privy Council of Thailand.
Leadership figures included Jatuporn Prompan, Arisman Pongruangrong, and grassroots leaders from provinces including Ubon Ratchathani and Surin. The United Front worked with political allies in Pheu Thai Party and had connections with activists from groups associated with Red Shirt Network-style coordination, labor organizations, and provincial civic groups established after the 1997 Constitution of Thailand. Organizational structures combined centralized spokespeople, regional committees, and ad hoc coordinating centers during major mobilizations in Bangkok.
Major actions included large demonstrations at Ratchaprasong and occupations of Don Mueang International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport during periods of unrest, the most consequential being the 2009 and 2010 protests that culminated in confrontations with the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Police. The 2010 clashes involved sieges around Government House and the deployment of the Internal Security Operations Command and resulted in high-profile deaths that prompted international attention from entities such as the United Nations and responses from foreign ministries including those of the United States and United Kingdom.
State responses involved emergency decrees, prosecutions by military courts, asset seizures by the Assets Examination Committee, and cases in the Criminal Court of Thailand and Constitutional Court of Thailand. Leaders faced arrest warrants, exile, and convictions related to charges of insurrection, unlawful assembly, and vandalism; these legal battles intersected with decisions by the National Council for Peace and Order following the 2014 Thai coup d'état and with amnesty proposals debated in the Senate of Thailand and the House of Representatives (Thailand).
Support for the movement was strongest among rural voters in the Northeastern Thailand (Isan) provinces of Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Nakhon Ratchasima, urban labor sectors in Bangkok, and among smallholder farmers who benefited from Thaksin-era policies such as the one million baht village fund and rice pledging scheme. Opponents included urban middle-class activists aligned with the People's Alliance for Democracy, business elites in Bangkok's Siam Square corridor, and conservative institutions including parts of the Bureaucracy of Thailand and elements of the Monarchy of Thailand's advisory network.
The movement reshaped party alignments around Pheu Thai Party and influenced election outcomes in the 2011 Thai general election and subsequent contests, while prompting debates over constitutional reform such as the 2017 Constitution of Thailand. Its legacy includes the normalization of mass mobilization as a political tool alongside court adjudication and military intervention, affecting relationships among institutions like the Thai military, Judiciary of Thailand, and Election Commission of Thailand. The Red Shirts' mobilization also influenced regional political currents seen in responses by ASEAN members including Malaysia and Vietnam to domestic instability in Thailand.
Category:Political movements in Thailand Category:Politics of Thailand