Reds Ready To Rumble In Thailand

[churchill]

UDON THANI and BANGKOK - Thailand's United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) red-shirted protest movement is poised to launch a renewed campaign to topple Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's wobbly coalition government. The protests promise new rounds of instability after a period of relative political calm and threaten to derail the country's still tentative economic recovery.

The new push will commence on Monday with a planned rally of 10,000 protesters around a royal privy councilor's allegedly ill-gotten land in a provincial forest reserve and eventuate in what UDD leaders contend will be a "decisive" mass rally in Bangkok later in the month. The UDD's symbolic leader, exiled former

premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wrote in a Twitter message to his supporters on Friday that soothsayers he had consulted foresaw violence on the horizon in 2010.

Since last April, when the UDD stormed and disrupted an Asian summit meeting with global leaders in attendance in Pattaya and later fought running street battles with Thai security forces in the capital, Bangkok, the movement has undergone what its proponents claim has been a major transformation. The overhaul aims to establish a better-organized and more unified movement, in part to avoid freelancers acting independently, as UDD leaders claim occurred during April's mayhem in Bangkok, and also to bolster its support from the general population after losing popularity in the wake of that meltdown.

The changes have entailed a more organized leadership structure, a formalized membership system, a fundraising program, weekend training sessions in the provinces on democratic participation and a growing media network that includes 30 community radio stations, 10 newspapers, numerous websites and a television station that boasts 10 million regular viewers.

According to the UDD's international spokesman, Sean Boonpracong, the new leadership and organizational structure have been designed as a "big tent" in which regional red-shirted associate groups and others sympathetic to the movement's call for social justice are all accommodated under one unified UDD banner. While various groups' ideologies and strategies may differ, they are now purportedly united in a common struggle to topple the Democrat Party-led coalition, which many of them point out was not directly elected by the people.

continued .. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LA09Ae01.html

[Jingthing]

The UDD's symbolic leader, exiled former

premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wrote in a Twitter message to his supporters on Friday that soothsayers he had consulted foresaw violence on the horizon in 2010.

Isn't that convenient? Considering all he has to do is give the order and he proves the "soothsayers" predictions true. Hey, that's cheating.

[givenall]

I wish the court would make the final ruling and hopefully take Mr. T money away and stop this nonsense. It is very interesting that Mr. T announcement come right after the new that the tourist are coming back. I am not sure what the people think anymore, because all these nonsense hurt the common people more than Mr. T.

But all we need is to have the security forces in place and that will stop these people from showing up

[NADTATIDA1]

I wish the court would make the final ruling and hopefully take Mr. T money away and stop this nonsense. It is very interesting that Mr. T announcement come right after the new that the tourist are coming back. I am not sure what the people think anymore, because all these nonsense hurt the common people more than Mr. T.

But all we need is to have the security forces in place and that will stop these people from showing up

Having the security in place will not stop people from their right to democratic protests.....it will get worse as the year unfolds!

[Rinrada]

Great for the tourists...Yeah

[Meridian007]

Not surprising. They can't have too many reports of a recovering economy, civil projects advancing, and people settling down to just live their lives. It makes the government look too good, so they have to ramp up the chaos to put some fear back into the masses. Takki's attempts at self-fulfilling prophesies have been falling short, here's hoping this is another. I think people are finally realizing that he is only an instrument of fear and uncertainty, rather than change.

[TheJoker12]

i hope its entertaining. has been boring lately.

[Ricardo]

I wish the court would make the final ruling and hopefully take Mr. T money away and stop this nonsense. It is very interesting that Mr. T announcement come right after the new that the tourist are coming back. I am not sure what the people think anymore, because all these nonsense hurt the common people more than Mr. T.

But all we need is to have the security forces in place and that will stop these people from showing up

Having the security in place will not stop people from their right to democratic protests.....it will get worse as the year unfolds!

And indeed PM-Abhisit & his government appear keen to defend their right to peaceful democratic protest, it's a return to Red-Songkran which they wish to avoid, of course the peace-loving true-democrats have no intention of rioting or burning buses or petrol-bombing Army-HQ again, do they ?

[cdnmatt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RBeoPauVb0

Oh, and what happened to the red-shirt protest last month, where they constantly claimed 2,000,000 people would attend?

Edited January 9, 2010 by cdnmatt

[Tenchu]

I hope they manage to do something about the government now; I hate their propaganda and oppression, deaf leadership.

Though it's going to be hard, with the yellow T-shirt mafia owning most of the big media, there's nothing but lies on Thai TV. Having them control the police force and army, also, makes it harder. Even if they did oust the current government against all the police and odds, what are the chances they can stay in power with no police force to protect them like last time? The police will just let these criminals do whatever they want so long as the corruption is swinging in their favor.

[Beardog]

Looks like it is time to bring back the infamous Hand-grenade Ballet general!

[NADTATIDA1]

I wish the court would make the final ruling and hopefully take Mr. T money away and stop this nonsense. It is very interesting that Mr. T announcement come right after the new that the tourist are coming back. I am not sure what the people think anymore, because all these nonsense hurt the common people more than Mr. T.

[/size]

But all we need is to have the security forces in place and that will stop these people from showing up

Having the security in place will not stop people from their right to democratic protests.....it will get worse as the year unfolds!

And indeed PM-Abhisit & his government appear keen to defend their right to peaceful democratic protest, it's a return to Red-Songkran which they wish to avoid, of course the peace-loving true-democrats have no intention of rioting or burning buses or petrol-bombing Army-HQ again, do they ?

Of course they wish to avoid it!..they are in power.

All though closing airports for weeks by the "peace loving true democrats" was far more damaging to thailand me thinks!!

The red shirts would never do that would they? or will they?

[Samuian]

The UDD's symbolic leader, exiled former

premier Thaksin Shinawatra, wrote in a Twitter message to his supporters on Friday that soothsayers he had consulted foresaw violence on the horizon in 2010.

Isn't that convenient? Considering all he has to do is give the order and he proves the "soothsayers" predictions true. Hey, that's cheating.

the whole movement, the story is a cheat, for a cheat - what else?

[Moonrakers]

***Yawn***

[steve81]

Funny to read the article and the Reds' attempt to distance themselves from Thaksin or the violence they've instigated and attempt to move into mainstream politicking. Then, they follow that up later in the article with quotes from the likes of the Udon Thani madman who led the disgusting armed assault by the Reds there:

"We fight through peaceful means," explained pro-UDD radio broadcaster Kwanchai