In a sign that Thailand’s political temperature is rising again, former leaders of the rival red- and yellow-shirt movements have joined forces against a new common enemy – ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and political activist Jatuporn Prompan were spotted embracing on stage at Thammasat University’s auditorium last Sunday (May 25), in a scene no observer could have predicted two decades ago.
Back then, the two firebrands were sworn enemies on opposite sides of the colour-coded conflict sparked by Thaksin’s rise to power.
Sondhi led the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), while Jatuporn oversaw the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Their long-drawn street protests spawned violent confrontations, culminating in the September 2006 military coup, which ousted Thaksin’s government.
The UDD grew stronger under subsequent governments led by Thaksin’s proxies, collectively dubbed the “Thaksin regime”.
As PAD protesters sought to topple Thaksin-aligned governments, the UDD fought back to protect them against “unfair treatment”.
Both groups are now largely inactive, with new battle lines drawn in Thai politics.
Thaksin, who returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile, holds no official political position but remains patriarch of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, led by his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Many claim he also acts as the de-facto premier.
Burying the hatchet
Jatuporn appeared as special guest speaker at Sondhi’s “Kwam Jing Me Neung Diew” (“The Truth Is One and Only”) event at Thammasat, aimed at fans of Sondhi’s media. It marked the sixth roadshow Sondhi has held since the start of last year.
Sondhi, 77, welcomed the 60-year-old Jatuporn on stage by stating that he had changed and deserved to be given a chance to work for the country’s benefit.
Both announced that all Thais, regardless of their political allegiance, should unite to fight against corrupt and selfish politicians.
Once Thaksin’s loyal lieutenant, Jatuporn has become his biggest critic, complaining he feels betrayed after devoting years of his life to the former premier.
Jatuporn said he had battled through legal cases and years behind bars, all because he was a key red-shirt leader, yet had been labelled ungrateful by Thaksin’s supporters.
Jatuporn spent nearly three years in jail for protest-related cases.
The former red-shirt chief noted that Thaksin had even admitted to corruption, as recorded in the 2023 royal pardon that reduced his prison term from eight years to one.
“He confessed to corruption, which means [his convictions] were not persecution by coup-makers, as he claimed,” Jatuporn said.
Once on the same side
Back in 1992, Sondhi and Jatuporn were on the same side, fighting to oust then-PM General Suchinda Kraprayoon after the 1991 coup-maker broke his promise to shun national leadership.
Sondhi and his Manager Media Group openly criticised Suchinda, while Jatuporn joined street protests led by former Bangkok governor Chamlong Srimuang.
The movement culminated in the bloody “Black May” crackdown of 1992, when security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters killing at least 44.
However, Sondhi and Jatuporn found themselves on opposite sides a decade later, when Thaksin came to power.
Thaksin had briefly served as leader of Chamlong’s Palang Dharma Party, before leaving to set up the Thai Rak Thai Party, which swept to victory in 2001.
Thaksin’s first brush with controversy came shortly after he took office as PM, when he was accused of concealing assets.
However, the Constitutional Court cleared him after he claimed it was an “honest mistake”.
Colour-coded conflict
Sondhi and Thaksin were once on amicable terms when both operated mobile businesses, but their relationship soured after Sondhi began openly attacking the Thai Rak Thai government.
The media mogul later formed the PAD with political allies, launching protests that accused Thaksin of rampant corruption, power abuse, conflicts of interest, and disrespecting the monarchy.
The yellow-shirt protests intensified after Thai Rak Thai won by a huge majority on February 6, 2005, handing Thaksin a second term in office.
The rallies paralysed large areas of Bangkok, culminating in the 2006 military coup.
The yellow shirts returned to the streets after Thaksin’s proxy People Power Party were voted back into power in 2007, and were met with counter-protests by the UDD red shirts.
The height of the protests in 2008 saw yellow shirts seize Government House and Bangkok’s two airports.
Sondhi and other PAD leaders were slapped with criminal charges over the chaos, sparking a legal battle that lasted for years.
Sondhi ended up serving 13 months of his eight-year sentence and was released following a royal pardon in early 2019.
Reunion of old enemies
Sondhi and Jatuporn revived their friendship seven years ago when they ran into each other at the Corrections Department Hospital.
Both were serving time at different prisons but happened to be sent for treatment at the penitentiary hospital on the same day. Jatuporn said they agreed to “work together for the country” after their release.
Jatuporn announced on stage last Sunday that he was joining Sondhi’s Thailand Watch Foundation to work for national improvement.
He said he and Sondhi would focus on serving the public rather than ousting the Pheu Thai-led government.
