Thailand – Who’s who among the reds

Who’s who among the reds
By Thanong Khanthong
The Nation
Published on May 28, 2010

Thailand has faced urban rebellion by the militant faction of the reds to strengthen the bargaining power of the overall red movement, which seeks to regain power through a short cut.
The present crisis is not about the red poor versus the rich Bangkok elite, as red sympathisers would have it. Rather, it is about greed and a power struggle to topple the Abhisit government and create an interim government. The red movement consists of various factions, each with its own agenda:

1. The Shinawatra clan. The Thai court has approved an arrest warrant for the fugitive former premier Thaksin on terrorism charges in connection with the recent deadly street protests.

2. The military faction loyal to Thaksin. The fighting between the anonymous “black army” and government troops shows that the Thai military is divided. The military is fighting among itself for power. Maj-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, alias Seh Daeng, who was killed by a sniper, was the face of the armed rebels. But there are several generals operating behind the scenes.

3. The police. They turned a blind eye while the reds accumulated weapons, brought in tyres for burning, set up illegal rallies and rioted before burning central Bangkok. The police are part of this act of high treason. The last time the police were this powerful was when General Pao Sriyanonda was at the helm during the 1950s. Pao’s motto: “There’s nothing in this land that the Thai police can’t do.” Later, Pao was ousted by General Sarit Thanarat, who ruled with an iron fist between 1958 and 1963. The police national headquarters is just across from CentralWorld, where intelligence reports indicated the reds had been keeping weapons and ammunition. It was also common knowledge among the reds that in the event of the crackdown, they would burn down CentralWorld as the first target before setting fire to other symbolic buildings. But the police stood by idly doing nothing when the torching took place. More than 200 reds took part in the arson without facing any deterrence or arrest by the police.

4. The Pheu Thai Party. Many of its members went on stage at the rally sites to attack Abhisit and call for a House dissolution. They turned to street demonstrations to attack the government rather than the parliamentary channel. The party had a chance to launch a censure motion against Abhisit during the rallies but withdrew that measure to focus on the street demonstrations to beef up the reds. Only yesterday did the party change its mind by submitting a censure motion in Parliament against the PM and other Cabinet members.

5. The business elite of Bangkok. The National Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation has produced a list of almost 200 companies and individuals who allegedly might be involved in providing financial and logistic support to the reds. (Read my previous blogs for the list). Their bank accounts, assets and financial transactions have been frozen. They have been required to appear before the crisis management body to answer to their possible involvement in assisting the reds. If they satisfy the interrogators, their assets will be released. Going through the long list of these companies and individuals, we can see at once that they are mostly business elites who hardly represent the interests of the Isaan poor at all.

6. The hardcore reds and the guards of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship. Many of the core red-shirt leaders such as Veera Musigapong, Jatuporn Promphan, Natthawut Saikua, Dr weng Tojirakarn and others, will face terrorism charges after the deaths of soldiers and civilians, as well as the arson incidents.

7. “Dovish” academics disguised as peace mediators. The role of Gothom Arya was most prominent during the red rallies. In intervals, he showed up frequently on TV to act as a mediator for a peaceful resolution (see my previous blog). But he actually represented the moderate wing of the reds. Many Thammasat University academics are also part of this wing, calling for a peaceful resolution to give the reds more time to drag out the rallies and further hurt the prime minister. The reds will never go for a peaceful resolution or a House dissolution, as they aim for an interim government through abrupt or shocking political change.

8. The brotherhood of the October 6, 1976 tragedy. Dr weng Tojirakarn is the face of the leftist, or Marxist, faction of the reds, the old comrades who want to change the Thai regime. This organisation is huge.

9. Urban red thugs. They represent the urban poor from Klong Toei, Bon Kai, Din Daeng and Don Muang, who are readily recruited by the reds. They burnt the tyres and threw petrol bombs at the military.

10. Upcountry reds. Except for the radical ones, most of these people have a legitimate claim that past governments have ignored their plight. All of us are to blame for taking advantage of them and failing to provide them with good education. They joined the red movement in the hope of winning a better life. But many ended up in a nightmare when the burning and killing took place. Reds in Udon Thani and Khon Kaen are the most radical, to the point of trying to form an independent state. But they represent only the minority. From my point of view, there are at least these ten key players. I do not include in the overall movement the Bangkok reds, the media reds, the local community reds, the opportunist reds, foreign supporters of the reds led by Jeff Savage and Conor David Purcell. This is a complex political and social phenomenon. But the international media, knowingly or unknowingly, has narrowly identified the Isaan and rural reds as forming the majority of this movement when they serve only as a decoy for the other key players.

Since the reds, many of you might want to ask, consist of different segments of Thai society, with different motivations and agendas, how can they work together? The answer is that they come together for their own narrow interests through social networking, community networks, and monetary incentives. And many will become dispensable as the elite of the red movement advances to its goal. This is a false claim of the poor versus the elite.