Recent Political Events in Thailand. Thailand's Prime Ministers from Thaksin Shinawatra (2001-2006) up to Yingluck Shinawatra (2011). Political Unrest.

Below is a summary of political events since the ousting by military coup of Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006. Updated 25 October 2011.
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011

19 September : the Thaksin Shinawatra government is ousted from power by a (bloodless) military coup, led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin. At the time of the coup, Thaksin was outside the country. The coup was preceded by a long period of crisis involving the Thaksin Shinawatra government and its opponents. With the military coup, The Council of National Security took command.
During a television broadcast, soon after the coup, Sonthi Boonyaratglin made the following (translated) statement :
"We have seized power. The constitution, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Cabinet and the Constitutional Court have all been dissolved. We agreed that the caretaker prime minister (Thaksin Shinawatra, ed.) has caused an unprecedented rift in society, widespread corruption, nepotism, and interfered in independent agencies, crippling them so they cannot function. If the caretaker government (of Thaksin Shinawatra, ed.) is allowed to govern it will hurt the country......Thus the Council needed to seize power to control the situation, to restore normalcy and to create unity as soon as possible."

[In the months prior to the coup, the Shinawatra family sold their stake in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings . The Shinawatra and Damapong families netted about 73 billion baht (about US$1.88 billion) tax-free from the sale, using a regulation that made individuals who sell shares on the stock exchange exempt from capital gains tax. The deal made Thaksin the target of accusations of corruption and selling an asset of national importance to a foreign entity. Practically speaking, this turned an important part of public opinion against Thaksin Shinawatra, ed.]

1 October : General Surayud Chulanont becomes prime minister. Surayud Chulanont was a former Army Commander and Supreme Commander (not at the time of the military coup). General Surayud resigns his position as a member of the Privy Council (personal advisers to His Majesty the King).

Surayud Chulanont

30 May : The Constitution Tribunal disbands the Thai Rak Thai party of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra for violating election laws. 111 executives of the party loose their voting rights and the right to hold a political office for 5 years.
Members of Thai Rak Thai later establish a new party, called People Power Party.

22 July : Members of the "Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship", while protesting close to his residence, demand the resignation of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, claiming he masterminded the 2006 military coup.
Prem Tinsulanonda was prime minister of Thailand between 1980 and 1988.

23 December : General election. The People Power Party (supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra) win the most seats and forms a coalition government with various smaller parties. The Democrat Party forms the opposition to the subsequent goverment, with a total of 165 parliamentary seats.

29 January : Samak Sundaravej becomes Prime Minister in the new government (Thailand 25th).

25 May : The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stages street rallies. They intend a prolonged protest at Government House.
[This movement is better known as the 'Yellow Shirts']

11 August : Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman arrive in London. They failed to report to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. Warrants were issued for their arrest.

9 September : The Constitution Court rules against then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. The reason : Samak had been paid for being a host on a TV cooking show, which was considered a conflict of interest by the Court.

18 September : Somchai Wongsawat becomes Prime Minister. Somchai Wongsawat is also a member of the People Power Party, and a brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra.

7 October : The PAD blocks the entry to Parliament House, preventing Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from declaring the government's policy. A police crackdown on the protesters leaves many wounded and 2 people dead.

21 October : The Criminal Division for Political Office Holders of the Supreme Court finds Thaksin Shinawatra (not present) guilty, and sentences him to two years in prison. According to the Court, there was abuse of power in a land purchase by his then wife Pojaman, with the then Prime Minister Shinawatra instrumental in the purchase (at a price below the market).
[conflict of interest is a difficult concept for many Thai politicians]

1 November : The so-called Red Shirts (supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra) hold a major gathering at the National Stadium, with Thaksin making the first of many phone-in addresses to his supporters.

24 November : The Yellow Shirts (PAD) protesters occupy Don Muang Airport. Don Muang is the former international airport of Bangkok.

25 November : The Yellow Shirts occupy Bangkok's International Airport (Suvarnabhumi Airport), closing it for more than a week, and creating a major international event, with many tourists stranded at the airport, and coverage by major international news broadcasters like BBC and CNN.

2 December : Three parties (People Power party, Chart Thai and Matchima Thipataya) are disbanded by the Constitution Court. for involvement by executives in election fraud. All executives of the parties are deprived for election rights for 5 years. Somchai Wongsawat has to step down as Prime Minister.

17 December : No new elections are held. However, new coalitions are formed with the Democrat Party as the leading party. In the mean time, 'remnants' of the former Thai Rak Thai party (and People's Power party) regroup again and form the Puea Thai Party (For Thailand Party).
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes the new Prime Minister.

26 March : Red Shirts start protesting against the new Prime Minister.
11 April : Red Shirts storm the venue of the Asean Summit, and the meeting has to be cancelled, again causing a major widely reported international event. A state of emergency is declared in Pattaya by the government.

12 April-13 April : Major violent riots occur in Bangkok,with many major road blocked and occupied in Bangkok. A state of emergency is declared, and soldiers are used to restore law and order in the capital. On 14 April the Red Shirt leaders call an end to protests.

17 April : There is an assassination attempt on Sonthi Limthongkul, a leader of the Yellow Shirts movement.

17 Augustus : The Red Shirts collect signatures, and petition His Majesty the King for a royal pardon of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

19 September : The Red Shirts gather to demonstrate, on the third anniversary of the 2006 military coup, that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra from power.

26 February : Thailand's Supreme Court rules that more than 46 billion baht (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollar) be seized from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's frozen assets. It rules that assets were gained through conflict of interest. Thaksin is allowed to retain more than 30 billion baht, because the court judget the money was made before he became prime minister.

The Red Shirts, after a prolonged break from street action, start widespread demonstations again in Bangkok, starting on 12 March 2010. They demand the resignation of prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who they claim was not directly elected (but has a parliamentary majority) and new parliamentary elections. From abroad, the Red Shirts are encouraged by former Thaksin Shinawatra, via phone-ins.

As part of their protests, the Red Shirts poor their own blood at various locations around the city (Government House, Army Barracks where the prime minister resides, and the prime minister's home). This kind of 'black magic' reveals the importance of superstition in Thailand, and also in Thai politics. As of 21 March, the demonstrations (with up to 100,000 participants) are mostly peaceful.

On 7 April the Thai Government declares a State of Emergency, after the Red Shirts protesters illegally entered the Thai Parliament grounds. Protests at this time have been going on for about a month, with the Red Shirts occupying Ratchaprasong Intersection at Bangkok's main shopping district.

On 10 April the army tries to vacate Red Shirts' areas along Ratchadamnoen Road. During the evening hours 21 demonstrators and soldiers are killed (more succumb to wounds in subsequent days), mostly by gun shots, and many hundreds wounded. The government and government-controlled media blame third-party infiltrators among the Red Shirts' ranks. The army is not capable (or willing) to subdue the demonstrators and retreats. Lots of the soldiers are not really armed, and from television images it appears soldiers are rather stunned and not up to the task among the carnage. While retreating, the army leaves some of its weapons and transport vehicles behind (???). Images show unidentified persons among the Red Shirts firing heavy weaponry.

On 14 April, in a rather baffling move, the Red Shirts' leaders abandon their strongholds along Ratchadamnoen Road (after they fought till death for them), and direct their 'troops' to their other main base at Ratchaprasong Intersection.

Red Shirts erected various barriers preventing entry to the area they occupy in Central Bangkok. They threatened to move to Silom Road, so the army started manning that area on 19 April. Various citizens' group are mobilizing against the Red Shirts. There is the 'Multicolored' Shirts movement. Silom residents also seemed to get organized in opposing the Red Shirts.
On 22 April a major accident occurred when grenates were launched (from the Red Shirts' site, according to police reports) along Silom Road, exploding around or on the skytrain station platforms, and close to the entrance of Dusit Thani Hotel. At least one person was killed and many wounded.

Eventually, from around 14 May the government decided to encircle the area occupied by the Red Shirts. Lots of armed skirmishes ensued, outside the perimeters of the encircled area. On 19 May troops moved into Lumphini Park, a major outpost of the Red Shirts, and proceeded to occupy the main shopping center district, where the Red Shirts had their main 'camp'. Leaders of the protesters surrendered of fled. At the same time or soon thereafter many buildings were set on fire, including the largest shopping mall in the country, CentralWorld. A curfew was imposed the same day, and the city seems earily calm, with hardly any traffic in the evening hours.

A total of 92 people were killed, including 20 civilians and five soldiers killed in an earlier crackdown attempt on April 10.

This is a quote from the BBC News website dd. 19 May 2011 (anniversary of the crackdown) :

"After negotiations between government figures and some protest leaders failed, the soldiers used live rounds and armoured vehicles to break up the demonstrations on 19 May.

They were accused of using excessive force. As they moved in, they came under fire from armed men fighting on the side of the protesters.

Several soldiers were killed and many more civilians, including demonstrators, journalists and medics also lost their lives. "
Note : the BBC can not be accused of impartiality.

What happened in May 2010, set the tone for the remainder of that year and the first half of 2011. The Abhisit government remained in power, and eventually new elections were held in July 2011.

The political scene was characterized by recriminations back and forth. The Red Shirts maintain that excessive force was used to break up the protests and clear Bangkok's shopping district. The government on the other hand, maintains that they had to uphold the rule of law, and were entitled to use force to do so.

Who eventually won this battle of words is clear by observing the fact that some of the Red Shirts' leaders were able to participate as candidates in the general elections, and that these general elections were won by the Pheu Thai party, which supported the Red Shirts' protests and has some of their leaders amongst its members.

In the meantime, what has happened to the Yellow Shirts?
During 2010 and 2011, the Yellow Shirts (or what was left of the movement), took a harsh stand on the Thai-Cambodian border issue, relating to the Phra Viharn (also known 'Preah Vihear' when transliterated from the Cambodian language). The area around Preah Vihear temple is disputed territory, and international legal rulings regarding border demarcation are confusing, making different interpretations between Thailand and Cambodia inevitable. More than 10 soldiers were killed in exchanges between Thai and Cambodian troops in the Phra Viharn area.

In doing so, the Yellow Shirts movement, became at odds with the Abhisit government, though previously they appeared 'allies' to the casual observer. After the elections in July 2011, it seems like Thailand and Cambodia want to cool things down, and look for a diplomatic solution.

Politically, the most significant event were the July elections, where the Pheu Thai party (supporting deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and having Red Shirt leaders among its parliamentary representatives), won the majority of the seats. The party formed a coalition government with various smaller political parties.

Yingluck Shinawatra, a sister of deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became the first female prime minister of Thailand, on 5 August 2011.

Recent Political History of Thailand - After Thaksin Shinawatra