On the same day that PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul was indicted for lèse majesté, the court postponed a case involving 85 yellow shirts who stormed the studios of state television channel NBT in August 2008.

A student in Had Yai received a surprise phone call from Abhisit Vejjajiva after he had sent an SMS to the PM condemning his road map proposal.  He claimed to have been told that Thaksin was paying coalition politicians 100 million baht per head to switch sides.  Abhisit admitted making the call, but denied that he had said this about Thaksin.

Unhappy with Aung San Su Kyi’s criticism of Thailand’s constitution and politics, PAD-affiliated senator Prasong Nurak has urged the government to track her financial records to find whether she has received money and from whom.

The New Politics Party has urged the government to declare Martial Law, arrest the leaders of the ‘terrorists and rebels’, and remove Deputy PM Suthep, the Defence Minister and the Army Chief from office.  There should be no elections until the terrorists are suppressed.  The terrorism in Bangkok is connected to international terrorism and Thaksin is connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Suriyasai said.

Anti-red-shirt groups, mostly affiliated with the PAD, have urged the government and military to suppress the protesters. 

Chulalongkorn Network in Honour of Morality-led Democracy has sent an e-mail urging people to join its rally at Chatuchak Park; any shirt colour will do, except red.  A group of NGOs has released a statement to oppose a House dissolution, and urge the government to solve their problems first.  Key persons of both groups have been active supporters of the PAD.    

New Politics Party Secretary-General and PAD spokesperson Suriyasai Katasila says the red shirts’ protests at Rajprasong cause damage to the economy and society, and cannot be compared with the PAD protests which were justified.  Calling on Abhisit to take legal action, he is concerned that Bangkokians will take things into their own hands. 

According to an ASTV-Manager report on 25 March, Rosana Tositrakul, a Bangkok Senator, said that despite their claims of non-violence, the red shirts’ practices have been threatening.  She branded the red shirts’ activities with her own term, ‘uncivil intimidation’ 

A group called the Network of Bangkok Community Citizens has come out claiming to speak for 1,800 communities in Bangkok to urge the red shirts not to violate the rights of Bangkokians.  Its spokesperson, however, has been exposed as a supporter of the People’s Alliance for Democracy protests in 2008 on behalf of the Isaan people.

Thailand is again in frenzy over coup rumors, perpetuated mostly by anti-government Red Shirts who need a reason to protest and by a media machine that needs a story. The top generals have denied that anything is amiss, words that mean little since they said the same thing before ousting former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006. 

Leaders of both the red- and yellow-shirt movements appear to have succumbed, in their self-absorbed way, to thinking of themselves as out-of-this-world characters - often to comic effect. Some time ago, the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy supremo Sondhi Limthongkul dressed all in white like some holy man, splashed his PAD followers with what appeared to be holy water, like that dispensed by Buddhist monks. That was at the height of the PAD's seizure of Government House.

(New York) - The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva largely failed to fulfill its pledges to make human rights a priority, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2010.

I do not agree at all with the human rights organizations which have listed the 10 steps forward and 10 steps back for 2009 and have raised the case of the Supreme Administrative Court’s temporary injunction against 65 projects at Map Ta Phut to first place in human rights progress.

German freelance photographer Nick Nostitz is no stranger to either the red-shirt or the yellow-shirt political rallies. In fact, he stands out as having the most detailed photographic records of Thai political turmoil over the past few years and his 160-page photo book "Red VS Yellow, Volume 1: Thailand's Crisis of Identity", published earlier this year by White Lotus, is testimony to that.

What is certain about the upcoming major political protest by the red-shirt Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) members is the political uncertainty it will engender. Their announced goal is to finally dislodge from power the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, which they deem as not legitimate, after their failed major attempt in April 2009. Asking top DAAD leaders about the likelihood of achieving their objective this time is not likely to gain accurate answers as whatever they say will be premeditated and calculated.

In a 30 Dec ASTV Manager report, Suriyasai Katasila, Secretary-General of the New Politics Party, said that 2010 would be a turning point for Thailand when Thaksin Shinawatra will collaborate with leftists to overthrow the current regime and establish a new one.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the stage at Sanam Luang with intense nationalism.  Fiery nationalist rhetoric was stressed and repeated, while decades-old nationalist anti-communist songs were played throughout. The ‘Hun Sen Model’ was the latest term introduced to characterize the Cambodian leader. A larger rally was called for 5 Dec.

About 500 yellow shirts read a statement, raised the Thai flag, and sang the national anthem at the Ancient City’s miniature Preah Vihear in Samut Prakarn.

On Aug 10, PAD co-leader Sondhi Limthongkul commented in an ASTV programme about his attempted assassination.  He said that Suthep Thaugsuban, Secretary-General of the Democrat Party and Deputy Prime Minister, should stop protecting the culprits.  He suspected that Suthep may be in the know as to who plotted the ambush.  Some said that Suthep had been aware of the plot, but did not speak out.

An artist who lost his right hand during the clash between the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and police on Oct 7 last year has learnt to draw with his left hand.  He was granted an audience with HM the Queen to offer portraits of her, which Her Majesty praised as ‘very good’.