The Red Shirts () are a political movement in
Thailand, formed following the
2006 coup d'état which deposed then-Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra. Originally synonymous with the
(UDD), a group formed to protest the coup and resulting military government, the movement subsequently expanded to include various groups with diverse political priorities. Its members range from left-wing and/or liberal activists and academics to the large number of Thaksin's rural and working-class supporters. The movement emerged as the result of socioeconomic changes in
Northeast Thailand
Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...
in the 1990s and 2000s, including a growing middle class, rising aspirations, and an increasing awareness of the extreme inequality and of the fundamentally weak democracy in Thailand, typified by Thailand's
primate city problem. Red Shirts
group dynamics center on frustrated economic and political aspirations to improve democracy and overcome inequality, which contributed to the
2009 Thai political unrest
A series of political demonstrations and following unrest occurred in Thailand from 26 March to 14 April 2009 in Bangkok and Pattaya against the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and the military crackdown that followed. Up to 100,000 people demo ...
and the
2010 Thai political protests, as well as shared suffering at the hand of the ruling class hegemony. As with other minorities, the Red Shirts have been
dehumanized
Dehumanization is the denial of full humanness in others and the cruelty and suffering that accompanies it. A practical definition refers to it as the viewing and treatment of other persons as though they lack the mental capacities that are c ...
and
demonized
Demonization or demonisation is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally by the monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of individ ...
, with insults such as "Red Buffalo" (; ''khwai'', 'buffalo', is a common insult in Thai meaning a stupid person), since reclaimed by some of its targets. Their claims for
transitional justice following the
2010 Thai military crackdown have been subverted by the Thai state.
See also
*
People's Alliance for Democracy
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD; th, พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย, Phanthamit Prachachon Pheu Prachathipatai; commonly known as "Yellow Shirts") is a Thai reactionary, m ...
, or "yellow shirts", an opposing protest group
References
Political history of Thailand
Thai democracy movements
2006 establishments in Thailand
2006 in Thailand
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