Nattawut Saikua, secretary-general of the now-dormant United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), called for a renewed campaign to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on social media Thursday.
“I would like to announce the movement to evict General Prayut Chan-ocha from the prime minister position from now on,” Nattawut Saikua wrote on his personal social media page along with a video of his latest political speech.
“Everyone please uses #ไล่ประยุทธ์ (Ousting Prayut) on every platform. We will fight together,” he added.
The post was on his personal page, and there was no indication of a connection with the UDD, the political arm of the Red Shirt movement whose protests gripped the country in 2009 and 2010. But he did call on the Red Shirt members to join him in the video.
The UDD has been largely inactive in recent years. A new opposition group, Thai Mai Thon, was formed by former Red-Shirts leader Jatuporn Prompan, with former leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee.
The new group has been calling for Prayut’s resignation since May. Nattawut has not joined.
Other Red Shirts leaders such as Tida Tawornseth, Weng Tojirakarn and Korkaew Pikulthong also have not joined Jatuporn’s new group, and have yet to state their political affiliation.
Nattawut was released from detention in December after he was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail for leading a group of Red Shirts to protest in the residence of the late Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda in 2007.
“Prayut’s leadership has failed politically, economically and socially,” Nattawut wrote.
“He never admits any failure and he throws everything onto the shoulders of the people,” he added.
“There are not enough vaccines, people are dying from Covid, businesses are ruined, his government has lost all credibility and if there is no change, things will be worse,” he added.
Calls to Nattawut went unanswered.
Sources within the UDD told Thai Enquirer that Nattawut’s statement was just a personal campaign and not the revival of the UUD or the Red Shirts movement.