MARTYN AIM

THAILAND: RED BANGKOK

THE UNITED FRONT FOR DEMOCRACY AGAINST DICTATORSHIP (UDD) ARE NOW KNOWN TO THE WORLD AS THE REDSHIRTS. THE PRESENT THAI GOVERNMENT TOOK POWER IN 2008 WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS. THE UDD CALL THIS A DICTATORSHIP. ITS MAJORITY MEMBERS ARE THE RURAL POOR OF NORTHERN THAILAND, MAINLY FARMERS WHO FEEL NEGLECTED BY THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT AND BANGKOK’S EDUCATED URBAN ELITE.

IN 2010 OVER 100, 000 REDSHIRTS ENTERED BANGKOK TO RALLY – CALLING FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE GOVERNMENT. MONTHS OF PROTEST FINALLY ENDED IN A BRUTAL ARMY CRACKDOWN, WHICH CLAIMED MANY LIVES. WHILE THE UDD DID NOT ACHIEVE THEIR OBJECTIVES, THEY HAVE REMINDED THEIR FELLOW THAI’S THAT THEY REMAIN A POWERFUL POLITICAL FORCE.

UDD leader towers above the crowd on a video screen at Democracy Monument in Bangkok, the UDD base for the early weeks of the protest. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Young "Redshirt" members of the UDD Party gather on the streets of Bangkok. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Thai Army soldiers in the shadows in Bangkok's Patpong red-light district after mysterious grenade attacks killed 1 pro-government protestor and injured 75. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
     
  
UDD Redshirt guards prepare for clashes with Bangkok Police. The Thai government declared a State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding districts. This later became nation-wide. Media networks not already controlled by the government were shut-down and propaganda screened around the clock. The UDD "declared war" and vowed not to leave the city. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Police gather as pro-government "Yellowshirts" - the People's Alliance For Democracy (PAD) - rally against the UDD "Redshirts" in Silom, Bangkok's financial district. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Clashes between Thai Army and UDD Redshirts near Democracy monument left 24 dead. The UDD called on the King to intervene. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
     
  
A shrine to a dead comrade is quickly placed after 5 grenades were launched in the Silom area killing 1 and injuring 75. The government officially declared they were fired from behind the UDD "Redshirt" blockade. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
UDD protesters behind barricades at their camp in Silom, the downtown business district of Bangkok. The young men work to fortify barricades against an imminent Thai Army crackdown. Tires, blocks of concrete, and sharpened sticks would do little to stop the tanks and snipers when they finally came. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Young UDD Redshirt stands stunned after clashes between Thai Army troops and UDD protestors. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
     
  
Coffin of dead Redshirt protestor at Democracy Monument, now a shrine to their fallen comrades, after bloody clashes between Thai Army and UDD protesters left a reported 20 dead and 800 injured. The UDD claimed the rest of the bodies of 20 dead protesters were held at Army Headquarters making independent autopsies impossible. These claims were later proven correct. Despite media footage showing troops firing on protestors and journalists the government claim ed no live rounds were fired during clashes. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Coffin of dead UDD Redshirt protestor at Democracy Monument, Bangkok. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
   
Photographs of UDD protestors killed byThai Army troops are displayed on a wall in a Bangkok street. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)
     
  
Rose placed in a pool of blood at the site of deadly clashes between Thai Army troops and UDD protestors. (Credit Image: © Martyn Aim)