Red-Shirt Group Seeks Foreign Support

[webfact]

Red-shirt Group Seeks Foreign Support

BANGKOK: -- The red-shirt group is set to launch a campaign seeking international support on its push for House dissolution through diplomats and foreign corespondents in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, key red-shirt leaders deny a third round of peace talks with the government.

Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan insisted his group will not engage in further negotiations with the prime minister as the two previous rounds of talks show that both sides have different stances.

He jokingly said that he will also refuse to talk with the government tomorrow because it falls on April 1, which is April Fool's Day.

Jatuporn said the negotiation can restart once the government changes its suggested time frame for House dissolution. He went on to say that the red-shirt movement will try in every way to accomplish its goal before the Songkran holidays.

However, if they do not succeed by that time, protesters are prepared to prolong the rally.

The red-shirt leaders also dismissed rumors that his group will end its rally on April 6, which is Chakri Day, when the Royal Family's dynasty is celebrated. Jatuporn said the rumor aims to discredit his movement.

He also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

Another red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn cited his camp will use every means to stage political confrontations with the government.

He said he will send letters to foreign ambassadors in Bangkok to inform their governments of the Thai public's overall approval of a House disbandment and seek their support.

He also has plans to hold a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to raise their awareness on the campaign of the red-shirt people.

The atmosphere at the red-shirt rally site today was rather inactive with not many protesters joining the activities. Meanwhile, temporary toilets have been constructed to service red-shirt protesters.

-- Tan Network 2010-03-31

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[anotherpeter]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

EDIT:

Meanwhile, temporary toilets have been constructed to service red-shirt protesters.

They've been there 2 & 1/2 weeks, and they don't have toilets????

Edited March 31, 2010 by anotherpeter

[MaiChai]

Do they think foreign governments are stupid enough to support Taksin? Do they not know what diplomacy is about?

[Wolfie]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

[tharae]

There'll be plenty of support abroad. Think Iran, Syria, the odd south american country, etc. Their all very influential in the world stage.

[frodo]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

Sedition is coming to mind.

[WAERTH]

Montenegro will throw in their support for sure

[Thai at Heart]

Montenegro will throw in their support for sure

And you wouldn't want to mess with them.

[bulmercke]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

I think some clarification is required here. Not the mainstream Red Shirt protest movement but shadowy extremist groups on the margins.

[bulmercke]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

Sedition is coming to mind.

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

[webfact]

Media wars – How to fail at international media relations the UDD way

In the techno-savvy 21st century where the latest breaking news is just a 140-character tweet away and where even radio has been relegated to a back-row seat, it’s now more important than ever for corporations, organizations and lobby groups to tightly control and monitor their media relations.

For the past 18-days the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), aka the “red-shirts”, have been holding a mass rally on Phan Fa Bridge in central Bangkok in its latest – possibly a do or die – attempt to force Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the Thai parliament and call fresh elections.

While maintaining good relations with the vernacular media is a necessity that goes without saying, good relations with the international media is (should) have been almost as important.

After all, while foreign powers have their embassies and their intelligence staff to feed news back along official channels, Thais living abroad, tourists planning their holidays, academics, and those with an interest in either Southeast Asia studies or international democracy movements, all prefer to gain their information from more than just one source.

For all these very reasons, maintaining at least cordial media relations, even with media who do not agree or support the red-shirts protest, was a vital role that in the case of the UDD, was relegated to someone without the necessary skills, vision or technological knowledge to perform the task.

For the vernacular media the working conditions couldn’t have been more draconian if someone had deliberately planned them that way, with what became the local media staging area originally pencilled in as being for the international media too.

Crammed hip and shoulder on plastic garden chairs against a series of fold-up tables with a hastily rigged tarpaulin providing the only relief from the scorching 40C (104F) heat and just three meters (about 10ft) from a bank of industrial size diesel powered (non-silenced) generators, the Thai media gallantly put in their eight hours before heading home for a well deserved head massage and paracetamol cocktail.

story continues: photojourn.wordpress.com

-- 2010-03-31

[scorecard]

Do they think foreign governments are stupid enough to support Taksin? Do they not know what diplomacy is about?

None, zero, not even considered for a fleeting moment!

[lannarebirth]

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

Sedition is coming to mind.

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

The thing about sedition is, you'd better be dam_n certain you're gonna win. I'm not sure someone paying day clappers to show up for a parade should have that kind of certitude.

Edited March 31, 2010 by lannarebirth

[Wolfie]

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

Sure sounds like it... You dont happen to be a Red Shirt Spin Doctor do you?

[bulmercke]

There'll be plenty of support abroad. Think Iran, Syria, the odd south american country, etc. Their all very influential in the world stage.

Three more foreign states have just added their support. Naratiwat, Pattani and Yala.

Ouch!

[Chaimai]

Foreign support is already flowing in - from Dubai, or is it Russia, or Cambodia or, Montenegro ?

[bulmercke]

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

Sure sounds like it... You dont happen to be a Red Shirt Spin Doctor do you?

Up the Reds!

[bulmercke]

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

Sedition is coming to mind.

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

The thing about sedition is, you'd better be dam_n certain you're gonna win. I'm not sure someone paying day clappers to show up for a parade should have that kind of certitude.

There is an element of a thousand or so 'Red-Shirts' that is - I'm sure - prone to violence. The red-Shirt hard core.

[animatic]

Dial up the Hun Sen Hotline!

Always willing to stick a dipsomaniac snout in the Thai political waters.

Edited March 31, 2010 by animatic

[rixalex]

I think some clarification is required here. Not the mainstream Red Shirt protest movement but shadowy extremist groups on the margins.

Whenever things get out of hand with the reds it's always the same old excuses - "extremist elements", "a third hand" or "yellows dressed as reds". Nobody outside the movement buys it.

During the televised talks Jatuporn accused Abhisit of not being in the car that he was believed to be in and which was attacked by the reds over Songkran last year. Abhisit denied the accusation and said he was in the car, but added that whether he was or whether he wasn't, wasn't really the point. The point was the reds who attacked the car believed he was in the car when they attacked it. And not once - before, during or after - did any of the red leaders get on the stage and condemn those actions or try to stop them.

[anotherpeter]

Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on.

It's looking more and more like a political certainty if the Red Shirt movement doesn't change its tact any time soon.

(Incidentally - I'm not an advocate of any form of violence - political or other - if anyone happened to wonder.)

"Sedition is the incitement of public disorder and rebellion against the government.

If this is what is required to bring about real economic - social - and political change in Thailand then bring it on."

"I'm not an advocate of any form of violence"

Those statements don't really go together.

[jdinasia]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

Hard to read it any other way than approval. It isn't a stretch to say that it is an admission of sorts but he stopped short of claiming absolutely to be the source.

[jdinasia]

He [Jatuporn] also warned if the military presence remains in Bangkok, more violence will break out and the capital will end up in the same way as the insurgency-ridden southern provinces.

So all the bombs that go off after the weekend can be blamed on Jatuporn.

Its a fairly solid assumption and also an indication that the Reds have been responsible for the other attacks...

I think some clarification is required here. Not the mainstream Red Shirt protest movement but shadowy extremist groups on the margins.

You mean in the shadows like Sae Daeng and Arisman? Both have been prominent in the red movement! Pretty mainstream since they have both been on red shirt stages and both photographed with Thaksin fairly recently!

[ballpoint]

They've been there 2 & 1/2 weeks, and they don't have toilets????

They haven't needed them. They've been handing out a bunch of sh*t to the media every day, and Thaksin's been taking the piss every night.

[Sunderland]

If everyone with a Liverpool or Manchester United shirt joins the protest this weekend, there will be close to 50 million protesters on the streets ... why didn't they think of that?

Just announce "Free party and 200 baht shopping voucher in downtown Bangkok for anyone who wears a Liverpool/Manchester United shirt this Saturday lunch-time. Meet at Siam Square at midday." Huge numbers will turn up and at the last moment throw a few grenades around, create a bit of chaos and Bob's your uncle ... anarchy on the streets.

[slapout]

Watching, reading about, and listening to the so called red shirt speakers/leaders I have been reminded of some of the more infamous evangelists and other radicals around the world. With some of the commentary in the past 4 to 5 days they have made "Our Gang", and "Three Stooges" look like rocket scientists. At times this whole exercise (Bangkok protest) would be comical with these so called representatives if their public presentation was not so pathetic.

[stingray]

Do they think foreign governments are stupid enough to support Taksin? Do they not know what diplomacy is about?

None, zero, not even considered for a fleeting moment!

I think cambo will support it. Hun Sen hopes to get his piece of cake.

[LuckyLew]

Yup ... they are going to get support from who?

Ahmedinejad?

Hu Jintau?

Chavez?

Jim Jong Il?

Tan Shwe?

Not sure these are the people you want on your side when

protesting against the Government?

Pretty anti government protestors in these countries get

silenced pretty quick

Have not heard one other leader in the world (other than Combodian)

to even comment on the current situation. Reds seem to not realize that

civilized politicians on other countries do not care much

[krakatoa]

Every day is "April Fools Day in Thailand" so why should that influence talking on 01 April.

Not wanting to break any more TV rules "I will say no more"

[krakatoa]

Yup ... they are going to get support from who?

Ahmedinejad?

Hu Jintau?

Chavez?

Jim Jong Il?

Tan Shwe?

Not sure these are the people you want on your side when

protesting against the Government?

Pretty anti government protestors in these countries get

silenced pretty quick

Have not heard one other leader in the world (other than Combodian)

to even comment on the current situation. Reds seem to not realize that

civilized politicians on other countries do not care much

Thailand is an "international joke" the entire world is laughing at the country. (can I say that without breaking any rules)

In 1956 the crackdown in Budapest was very bloody but in Warsaw, Poland, Lech Walesa achieved the same results with out the spilling of very much blood at all.

It can be done and I put my hand on my heart and say that Abhisit has done a commendable job of trying reconciliate the "masses" but he is on a loser to nothing. "no explanation to avoid another holiday"

No further comment due to the possibility of violating the "rules"