Red Shirts Struggle Not About Poor Isaan Farmers ?

[midas]

I have watched a YouTube clip of a journalist and I have also read several comments over the past

2 days inferring that the power struggle between the Thai Govt and the Red Shirts isn’t even about

Thaksin or Abhisit and that the red shirts struggle does not in fact represent poor Isaan farmers ?

Several references have been made to some mysterious hidden backer or “ power “ and that even

Thaksin is only a front man for this ?

Can anyone else please enlighten me as to these other possible theories or permutations if they are more

knowledgeable more about these ? Is there anything to them in other words ?

The world is certainly more complex at all levels these days ………………..

[anothertorres]

sounds new world order-ish. probably Rumsfeld and Cheney at the helm, these were the guys that hijacked the US back in '01. anyway, in order for me to go on, i have to smoke something and put my hat on...

[Loz]

I've heard tell of promised riches. Many reds swarmed to get their name on the list of protestors and cries from the stage include: (paraphrasing)

All the injured will have their treatment paid for

All those on the list will recieve (anything from 100k to 1m Baht)

All those on the list will have their debts wiped clear

With retoric like this its easy to see how a mob could get fired up to rumble with "The Man".

Just what I heard mind you...

[iwad2010]

It's not the mystery people behind Thaksin! It's the exremely powerful people that toppled him; these are the people pulling the strings and shaping the future. Thaksin was a power hungry fool who just did not know when to stop. There are people who's toes you must not tread on. His global aquisitions were a step too far. Count back and you will see it all started to go wrong as soon as he tried to purchase Liverpool Football club. This would have elevated his profile in Thailand to unpresedented levels. The cudos was too much for some, and high level intervention was used to scupper the deal. From that point, he was doomed.

[iwad2010]

I've heard tell of promised riches. Many reds swarmed to get their name on the list of protestors and cries from the stage include: (paraphrasing)

All the injured will have their treatment paid for

All those on the list will recieve (anything from 100k to 1m Baht)

All those on the list will have their debts wiped clear

With retoric like this its easy to see how a mob could get fired up to rumble with "The Man".

Just what I heard mind you...

Can't believe someone would want to get shot for 100K.

I think the vast majority were protesting for a cause that they believed in.

Don't be decieved by the crude claims that it's a bunch of Issan farmers causing the trouble. The fact is that the academics are pro UDD.

However, many of the protesters are poor and have forgone the meager wages that they earn to demonstrate. If they are given a couple of hundred Bht to eat; I don't see this as some form of major coercion. Governments do this type of thing all the time; especially before elections (promising tax breaks, more money for pensioners etc etc etc). As this looks likethe lead up to an election.....

[Jingthing]

Governments pay thousands of protesters (many armed with lethal weapons) to hold a city and a nation hostage (and attack strategic spots) to push early elections by raw intimidation of a legally elected government all the time? On what planet is that? Planet Thaksin?

Edited April 14, 2010 by Jingthing

[Garry9999]

It's not the mystery people behind Thaksin! It's the exremely powerful people that toppled him; these are the people pulling the strings and shaping the future. Thaksin was a power hungry fool who just did not know when to stop. There are people who's toes you must not tread on. His global aquisitions were a step too far. Count back and you will see it all started to go wrong as soon as he tried to purchase Liverpool Football club. This would have elevated his profile in Thailand to unpresedented levels. The cudos was too much for some, and high level intervention was used to scupper the deal. From that point, he was doomed.

[Jingthing]

I understand the sympathy for the poor of Thailand quite well. I share that. I don't understand the sympathy for Thaksin and people falling for his portraying himself as some kind of Mother Theresa/victim. Look what he has done recently, starting at Black Songkran. There is nothing to admire about this man's character.

[TallForeigner]

You don't seem to know much about basic human psychology and mass manipulation.

If someone wants to move the masses he needs to come up with something simple and tangible - the best is if you can put a face to a concept. The masses need something like a scapegoat (positive and negative!) to crystallize their admiration, their hope and their anger. This is not only valid for the rural poor of Thailand - look at Bin Laden: to manipulate the masses all over the world people have been made to believe that he is the tangible person and face behind all the islamic terrorism and evil... and that's why he cannot be captured and killed.

The majority of the Thai rural poor do feel a strong frustration and many even anger about their situation deep in their hearts - the huge gap between their own poverty and the wealth of the ruling elite is what bothers them. Poverty, wealth gap and ruling elite are all concepts that are not tangible enough or too abstract to use as direct and only motivators to move the masses - they need faces behind these concepts. Thaksin is their symbol for a better life, for hope, for more money and Abhisit and Suthep are the faces that symbolize the hated ruling elite.

You don't get masses out onto the streets with abstract ideas - but once you put faces behind your ideas, scapegoats and real persons then the people can crystallize even their unconscious hopes and frustrations.

The leaders of the red movement are very well trained in mass manipulation and they use these mechanisms with perfection. Paying and promising money to the protesters just acts as an amplifier but it's not the decisive factor. If the red shirts would not have developed a deep frustration and anger about their situation since many years these manipulations and the payments would not work. It is clear that these manipulations don't work with everyone but they work well enough to get tens and hundred thousands of people into the streets of Bangkok. The demonstrators we see filling Ratchaprasong now are the representatives of a huge disenfranchised rural group - and I believe it might even be the majority of Thailands country folks.

[chadintheusa]

Rural Thais have legitimate issues and needs. However the red movement is exploiting these people for Thaksin's benefit. That's how he got elected in the first place, by offering small bribes to the poor for their votes. They don't realize that if Thaksin had paid his taxes and been working for them instead of himself they could have gotten much more. When all is said and done you will see that the rural Thais will be in the same position they were a month ago, and the red leaders will either get rich or go to prison.

[webfact]

Please read Thaivisa policy:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Temporary-Po...al-t355369.html

A topic on this subject runs in News clippings

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Country-s-Ru...-M-t354575.html

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