Thai Court Approves Arrest Warrant Against Thaksin On Terrorism Charge

[Samuian]

"Both of you are whistling into a wind. The crackdown has done wonders, and it will do wonders for national reconciliation. It revealed the red movement for what it was, a mob of heavily armed thugs hiding behind the skirts of "peaceful protesters" duped into believing their democratic rights had been stolen.

My g/f WAS an ardent red supporter. She refused to discuss why, at least with me, and I got the usual "farang don't understand." Yesterday she watched the proceedings with a look on her face like she had just been fed a sh-it sandwich. Absolutely disgusted. Do you think she is the only thai voter that feels like that?

Then the reds had the smart idea to take the fight to the sticks. Their local supporters got to see their true colours. Do you think burning a fire engine is going to gain support in Chiang Mai? Do you think burning the local govt offices is going to be appreciated by the hundreds of people who have business there every day?

When a valid case is laid out linking thaksin's money to the rabble rousers, his name will stink. I'm not sure which of the red leaders was found to have deposited B100,000,000 baht recently, and I hope they all turn out to have similar amounts, because their poor supporters will realise that they been sold down the river for 30 pieces of silver."

Your G/F sounds like a reasonable person and is using her brain - that's good news and I hope more of the UDD supporters will follow suit. Some of the ardent Reds in my neighbourhood were overheard yesterday something to the effect of "good, let it all burn". A shocking viewpoint, but safe to say some of the hardcores won't change their minds no matter what.

Not all the people can be counted on to think or behave in a rational manner. Always remember that 50% of the people have below average intelligence.

Agreed, there is some very sad part to the whole story,

the sad part that feelings and with it hopes have been roused and sold very cheaply,

no in the end just dumped....

The whole event ells a story, a story of a mans character an how he, his words can be trusted!

He himself, his subordinates have heavily contributed to their undoing exceptionally themselves with a lot of valor and effort!

Edited May 20, 2010 by Samuian

[NanaFoods]

I guess I just usually take the minority view. Maybe I oppose the common fallacies. Anyway here is my take:

Most of the rural poor in Thailand identify with the red shirts.

I didn't read past the part highlighted in blue, as that is such a false statement, no point going on.

Try putting on a red shirt and going down south.

[animatic]

"Both of you are whistling into a wind. The crackdown has done wonders, and it will do wonders for national reconciliation. It revealed the red movement for what it was, a mob of heavily armed thugs hiding behind the skirts of "peaceful protesters" duped into believing their democratic rights had been stolen.

My g/f WAS an ardent red supporter. She refused to discuss why, at least with me, and I got the usual "farang don't understand." Yesterday she watched the proceedings with a look on her face like she had just been fed a sh-it sandwich. Absolutely disgusted. Do you think she is the only thai voter that feels like that?

Then the reds had the smart idea to take the fight to the sticks. Their local supporters got to see their true colours. Do you think burning a fire engine is going to gain support in Chiang Mai? Do you think burning the local govt offices is going to be appreciated by the hundreds of people who have business there every day?

When a valid case is laid out linking thaksin's money to the rabble rousers, his name will stink. I'm not sure which of the red leaders was found to have deposited B100,000,000 baht recently, and I hope they all turn out to have similar amounts, because their poor supporters will realise that they been sold down the river for 30 pieces of silver."

Your G/F sounds like a reasonable person and is using her brain - that's good news and I hope more of the UDD supporters will follow suit. Some of the ardent Reds in my neighbourhood were overheard yesterday something to the effect of "good, let it all burn". A shocking viewpoint, but safe to say some of the hardcores won't change their minds no matter what.

Not all the people can be counted on to think or behave in a rational manner. Always remember that 50% of the people have below average intelligence.

Agreed, there is some very sad part to the whole story,

the sad part that feelings and with it hopes have been roused and sold very cheaply,

no in the end just dumped....

The whole event ells a story, a story of a mans character an how he, his words can be trusted!

He himself, his subordinates have heavily contributed to their undoing exceptionally themselves with a lot of valor and effort!

The sea change to disgust for the moderate red supporters up country,

will now be reinforced by their neighbor reds torching their own towns.

The moderates may publicly say,for safety around reds, reds ok;

for the moment....

But privately and at the voting booth, no doubt disgust will be registered.

They were sold a party-line linked to a cult. That cult has done a 'Koresh' implosion

and shown they are truly nutters with no feeling for anything but THEIR Waco style ideas.

Their ideas are so left of sane, most folks can now tell between the talk and actions.

Bangkok is burning from their actions, and no amount of SPIN, will put THAT genie back in it's bottle.

[animatic]

I guess I just usually take the minority view. Maybe I oppose the common fallacies. Anyway here is my take:

Most of the rural poor in Thailand identify with the red shirts.

I didn't read past the part highlighted in blue, as that is such a false statement, no point going on.

Try putting on a red shirt and going down south.

Actually there is much tolerance down south. North of Songkla of course.

They think most reds are sadly misguided or just plain stupid,

but the also just ignore them. Many Issan people change their red tune

after some time here and find free access to information and public freedom of thought.

And then note it's hard to go home and explain this; the brain washing is hard to override...

PTP got to run in Surat Thani elections

with no harrassment, a stark contrast to anyone other than PTP

campaigning in their northern areas.

[slapout]

Agree with Milo and Animatic.

The both of them could probably put together a coalition of members together which would put those of the past 10 years to shame

[NanaFoods]

I guess I just usually take the minority view. Maybe I oppose the common fallacies. Anyway here is my take:

Most of the rural poor in Thailand identify with the red shirts.

I didn't read past the part highlighted in blue, as that is such a false statement, no point going on.

Try putting on a red shirt and going down south.

Actually there is much tolerance down south. North of Songkla of course.

They think most reds are sadly misguided or just plain stupid,

but the also just ignore them. Many Issan people change their red tune

after some time here and find free access to information and public freedom of thought.

And then note it's hard to go home and explain this; the brain washing is hard to override...

PTP got to run in Surat Thani elections

with no harrassment, a stark contrast to anyone other than PTP

campaigning in their northern areas.

Not quite "ignore", from my experience... and I was in Chumphon, significantly north of Songkhla.

My wife was getting the dirty looks, because our son was dressed in a red outfit.

They eased up when I walked up... a farang husband/father; not likely from the Red camp.

"Tolerant"? More accurately, they tolerate.

But my point being, and you seem to confirm, they don't "identify with them" as bertus claimed.

[rogera]

These are pictures of black shirt clothing found in the Pratunam Temple after the army had cleared it out.

[rogera]

These are pictures of black shirt clothing found in the Pratunam Temple after the army had cleared it out.

Sorry, file did not upload.

Please see it here:

http://twitpic.com/1pb5g8

[thaiedward]

start taking the properties as well, give them nowhere to stay, get em back here and make sure the world sees them for what they really are.

Knowing the Thai system, they will get bail and disappear like always, this time no bail, start getting confirmation beyond reasonable doubt that they were the ring leaders and associates, use those in custody and interrogate them till they spill the

beans, these <deleted> have ruined everything for the people they wanted to help, namely the poor and the farmers up North, whose products will not be required in Bangkok at shopping malls, cause they will be being rebuilt.

BINGO, big babe.

I'm bent to help everyone I possibly can...just the way I am...yet, some times are more difficult than others.

How is it that our red-shirted-brethren can overlook the excesses promoted by a wealthy criminal and consider it to be progress for their cause? Please help me to understand.

It would seem that there are indeed issues to be dealt-with...including economic inequalities.

But this Thaksin guy, buying a completely frivolous 'Vuitton'? purse in Paris while his hirelings inflict serious damage in the country he raped is something beyond my limited abilities to comprehend.

All responses will be duly appreciated.

Thanks for your post, beano.

[rogera]

There is an article in one of today's Thai newspapers that states that the news journalists were targeted by the black shirts under orders from Thaksin in order to force the UN to intervene. It is also reported in the same newspaper that some of the black shirts were imported from a neighbouring country by a senior Thai Rak Thai former minister with the help of a retired senior army officer. This would tie in with the comments by someone on this forum who said that his GF had told him that she heard some of them speak Cambodian rather than Thai. Makes you wonder how far these people will go to satisfy the demands of a meglomaniac.

There is another article in the Asia Times Online at

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LE13Ae01.html

which spells out the strategy used by the red shirts to overthrow the government. Since these comments come from a former Thai Rak Thai minister, there must be a high degree of truth in these allegations and adds credibility to the charge that Thaksin is a terrorist.

These are just some of the allegations:

1. Ordering the shooting of red shirts in Ratchaprasong compound to increase the body count and blame the army.

2. Ordering the murder of foreign journalists to force the intervention of the UN. This was reported on Twitter yesterday by many people telling the journos to take off their green armbands.

3. Ordering the importation of foreign thugs to help in the fight against the army. The guns found at the temple in Pratunam included shotguns, .22 rifles, 38 mm pistols, AK47's, all except for

the latter, not Thai army issue.

4. Organising, financing and inciting the overthrow of the government.

I am sure that there will be more coming out in the next few days. Let's hope so, together with absolute proof, so that he can be denied sanctuary in any country and brought back to Thailand to be tried and jailed in a maximum security prison for life.

[SomTumTiger]

There is an article in one of today's Thai newspapers that states that the news journalists were targeted by the black shirts under orders from Thaksin in order to force the UN to intervene. It is also reported in the same newspaper that some of the black shirts were imported from a neighbouring country by a senior Thai Rak Thai former minister with the help of a retired senior army officer. This would tie in with the comments by someone on this forum who said that his GF had told him that she heard some of them speak Cambodian rather than Thai. Makes you wonder how far these people will go to satisfy the demands of a meglomaniac.

There is another article in the Asia Times Online at

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LE13Ae01.html

which spells out the strategy used by the red shirts to overthrow the government. Since these comments come from a former Thai Rak Thai minister, there must be a high degree of truth in these allegations and adds credibility to the charge that Thaksin is a terrorist.

These are just some of the allegations:

1. Ordering the shooting of red shirts in Ratchaprasong compound to increase the body count and blame the army.

2. Ordering the murder of foreign journalists to force the intervention of the UN. This was reported on Twitter yesterday by many people telling the journos to take off their green armbands.

3. Ordering the importation of foreign thugs to help in the fight against the army. The guns found at the temple in Pratunam included shotguns, .22 rifles, 38 mm pistols, AK47's, all except for

the latter, not Thai army issue.

4. Organising, financing and inciting the overthrow of the government.

I am sure that there will be more coming out in the next few days. Let's hope so, together with absolute proof, so that he can be denied sanctuary in any country and brought back to Thailand to be tried and jailed in a maximum security prison for life.

Nothing surprising here, just heartbreaking.

[ding]

Sad-

A very nice Thai man I know sympathizes with the Reds and he CHEERED at the video of Central World burning.

Unbelievable, I'm shocked. I thought this riot would open his eyes.

[LaoPo]

Those figures might be the same or even worse in India, Brazil, Russia and all other developping countries. That's not nice but somehow a fact.

But Thaksin made it to a Thai problem and use it for his personal revenge and benefit. That's the crime.

The point was the discussion about farmers and, so called by the first poster in this post, "They haven't any idea of the human resource requirements of the modern (post Industrial Revolution) economy".

ALL pre- and post Thaksin governments, including his government didn't do anything to properly educate the farmers, the poor.

If they would have been educated, this situation would never have happened...enough money, no protests, good education...no protests.

Giving the poor access to proper education and good agricultural education would have prevented this horrible mess.

Thaksin would never have had the possibility to mobilize those people.

Not educating the poor is the crime, created by all previous governments.

Hopefully Abhisit realizes this and will do something about it. Maybe he learned something from his European education.

LaoPo

[scorecard]

Sad-

A very nice Thai man I know sympathizes with the Reds and he CHEERED at the video of Central World burning.

Unbelievable, I'm shocked. I thought this riot would open his eyes.

Agree, interesting reaction.

Here's another twist - the red shirts say they want democracy at the same quality seen and practiced in the worlds most developed countries (these are not my words, they are the specific words of the red leaders about six months ago), so that also means they want capitalism, but now we see they are trying to punish capitalists.

Reminds me of another of their (numerous and undefined) war-cries of 'no double standards'.

I agree with ex PM Anand P., the current government need to now urgently introduce real policies, infrastructure, actions etc., which seriously reduces the income gap and also shares the wealth, but it must be by overridng policy, not by handouts.

[scorecard]

Those figures might be the same or even worse in India, Brazil, Russia and all other developping countries. That's not nice but somehow a fact.

But Thaksin made it to a Thai problem and use it for his personal revenge and benefit. That's the crime.

The point was the discussion about farmers and, so called by the first poster in this post, "They haven't any idea of the human resource requirements of the modern (post Industrial Revolution) economy".

ALL pre- and post Thaksin governments, including his government didn't do anything to properly educate the farmers, the poor.

If they would have been educated, this situation would never have happened...enough money, no protests, good education...no protests.

Giving the poor access to proper education and good agricultural education would have prevented this horrible mess.

Thaksin would never have had the possibility to mobilize those people.

Not educating the poor is the crime, created by all previous governments.

Hopefully Abhisit realizes this and will do something about it. Maybe he learned something from his European education.

LaoPo

Agree with your points, and in fact PM Abhisit has already taken action regarding education:

- Totally free education until the end of high school.

- Actions in process to build much better school infrastructure, especially in the upcountry areas.

- Appointed a new education 'commission' made up of highly capable / highly practical people with an objective of quickly transforming many aspects odf the education process, methodology, etc etc/. and the committee has wide and broad powers to go ahed and implement. And to PM Abhisit's credit he was brave enough to do all of this outside of the education minstry. Why? Because he knew that telling the ministry to make these changes would achieve nothing more than build brick walls of opposition to change.

I wonder what the next ministry will be? Maybe the police? I'm sure Abhisit is very pissed off with the police for their deliberate failed atempt to arrest the red shirt leads from their hotel a few weeks ago.

Brave and out of the box actions regarding education and the police will ensure a lot of votes.

- To

[scorecard]

"Both of you are whistling into a wind. The crackdown has done wonders, and it will do wonders for national reconciliation. It revealed the red movement for what it was, a mob of heavily armed thugs hiding behind the skirts of "peaceful protesters" duped into believing their democratic rights had been stolen.

My g/f WAS an ardent red supporter. She refused to discuss why, at least with me, and I got the usual "farang don't understand." Yesterday she watched the proceedings with a look on her face like she had just been fed a sh-it sandwich. Absolutely disgusted. Do you think she is the only thai voter that feels like that?

Then the reds had the smart idea to take the fight to the sticks. Their local supporters got to see their true colours. Do you think burning a fire engine is going to gain support in Chiang Mai? Do you think burning the local govt offices is going to be appreciated by the hundreds of people who have business there every day?

When a valid case is laid out linking thaksin's money to the rabble rousers, his name will stink. I'm not sure which of the red leaders was found to have deposited B100,000,000 baht recently, and I hope they all turn out to have similar amounts, because their poor supporters will realise that they been sold down the river for 30 pieces of silver."

Your G/F sounds like a reasonable person and is using her brain - that's good news and I hope more of the UDD supporters will follow suit. Some of the ardent Reds in my neighbourhood were overheard yesterday something to the effect of "good, let it all burn". A shocking viewpoint, but safe to say some of the hardcores won't change their minds no matter what.

Not all the people can be counted on to think or behave in a rational manner. Always remember that 50% of the people have below average intelligence.

Agreed, there is some very sad part to the whole story,

the sad part that feelings and with it hopes have been roused and sold very cheaply,

no in the end just dumped....

The whole event ells a story, a story of a mans character an how he, his words can be trusted!

He himself, his subordinates have heavily contributed to their undoing exceptionally themselves with a lot of valor and effort!

Quote from above: "duped into believing their democratic rights had been stolen.' I agree totally with this comment.

In fact one of the lecturers at my university has been serious documenting the whole event. She says that interviews / discussions with some of the red shirt rank and file reveals that they have been promised (if they stay until the end) : land titles, pick up trucks, cash and more. All lies. But what else can you expect from their ultimate leader?

Edited May 20, 2010 by scorecard

[Socialcapitalist]

A big guess why they have removed the order to catch Thaksin? Maybe there is more behind it then we will be informed about it? The rumours coming out and information I receive looks like that the Red Leaders are singing and that the song is the most dirty ever sung by any human. It gets clearer and clearer that the black guys where not from Thailand but from a neighbor one with a terrible red history as we all know, and having used the same tactic refined used during the riot in Bangkok and the other parts of the country.

The big Friend of Terrorist Thaksin from Cambodia now that will shake South East Asia deeply and Siam will come out of it as the big winner. It should not be named any longer Thailand for that what the Former Prime Minister has done to the Country, to call it then any longer Thailand would be a disgrace to every Native living within its Borders.

When even only half of it proofs to be true, then we all can thank you to Mr. Abhisit which has with its cool manner the sought chaos avoided, it becomes more and more clear that even their own strategist was shoot by the man in black which should be called mercenaries with experience in tortur, killing and destruction.

Terrorist Thaksin are the master and payment processor behind it.

Now let see what the next few days will bring, I am confident about it that it will be incredible news. Which will keep the color red in political terms forever in connection with evil and despair.

[MaxLee]

Arrest warrant against Thaksin??? So what??? So did they get him yet??? No???

He's having a great life as a world vagabound... What's the problem in cancelling all his visa's, governments of the world???

Edited May 20, 2010 by MaxLee

[lilkitty]

- Totally free education until the end of high school.

Not worth a lot considering high school in Thailand equals to Kindergarten in the West.

[Foggy Bottom]

Updated: Ji Ungpakorn on anger

The Anger of the People is Justified

Giles Ji Ungpakorn

The anger of the ordinary people has finally erupted into violence with numerous buildings being set of fire in Bangkok and the provinces. People are also trying to use any means to fight the army. There are reports that Government buildings, banks, the stock-exchange, luxury shopping malls and pro-military media are all being set on fire.

All this is totally justified.. why?

Because:

1. The Government and the army have repeatedly used armed soldiers, assassination squads, snipers and tanks to kill unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators since April. The death toll will easily reach 80 with thousands injured.

2. This state-sponsored violence against civilians was carried out in order that Abhisit’s military-backed Government could stay in power and avoid elections for as long as possible. It was never elected in the first place. The Government is a product of military and judicial coups since 2006.

3. The Red Shirts have repeatedly offered talks and compromises, yet the Government has answered with bullets.

4. In a Democracy, the people should be the ultimate decision-makers, not the military, the elites and the Palace. Any demand for democratic elections is totally justified, even if it disrupts shopping centres and luxury hotels.

5. Mealy-mouthed so called non-violent groups could never bring themselves to put the blame entirely on the shoulders of the Government, the military and Royalist elites, despite the fact that the violence was from the army. They never put their weight behind the huge struggle of the UDD leadership to try to maintain a peaceful and disciplined protest. This is because these organisations supported the coup in 2006 in the first place. They allowed the Government to claim that there would be no peace until the protests stopped.

Yet now that the official protest has been drowned in blood and stopped, there will not be peace because there is no justice.

If that is an accurate quote, then I see opportunities there for many of the recently popular charges to be brought against Khun Ji, including Lese Majeste.

It looks like some reporters have forgotten that the media is supposed to report in an unbiased and neutral manner.

[yoshiwara]

- Totally free education until the end of high school.

Not worth a lot considering high school in Thailand equals to Kindergarten in the West.

One wonders how far you got.

[yoshiwara]

MCOT: French authorities are seeking to prevent Thaksin from speaking out in Paris on political crisis in Thailand: newspaper Le Figaro

back to your box in Montenegro!

[MonsieurHulot]

MCOT: French authorities are seeking to prevent Thaksin from speaking out in Paris on political crisis in Thailand: newspaper Le Figaro

back to your box in Montenegro!

I've just read le Figaro. There's nothing about that. Not even in the breaking news.

[GarryP]

- Totally free education until the end of high school.

Not worth a lot considering high school in Thailand equals to Kindergarten in the West.

One wonders how far you got.

Pre-kindergarten year 1.

It is good what he has done, if true, and should be supported. While no one disputes that the current system stinks, it would appear that in addition to free access, he is looking to provide a better level of education. Good on him. Any improvement is welcomed.

Edited May 20, 2010 by GarryP

[jcbangkok]

IMO countries are going to have a serious problem if they don't honor the terrorist warrant for Thaksin.

Not honoring the warrant can certainly put a country in a bad position internationally unless the international community decides a lawful Thai Court has no credibility and I just don't see that happening.

Thailand has numerous partners around the globe including the US who depends on Thailand for a number of things but one is a simply being a very trusted country surrounded by communist countries.

So, I am pretty sure the international community will fall in line with the US on backing Thailand and putting any country that harbors this terrorist on the shat list.

Not sure what Thailand's next steps have to be in terms of getting this warrant legally recognized nationally but I hope it is a quick process.

[jcbangkok]

oooops, I spoke to soon and am not current on the news ...

Court delays decision on Thaksin's warrant

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews...520-217396.html

looks like we will have to wait until the 27th

[Rucharee]

There is an article in one of today's Thai newspapers that states that the news journalists were targeted by the black shirts under orders from Thaksin in order to force the UN to intervene. It is also reported in the same newspaper that some of the black shirts were imported from a neighbouring country by a senior Thai Rak Thai former minister with the help of a retired senior army officer. This would tie in with the comments by someone on this forum who said that his GF had told him that she heard some of them speak Cambodian rather than Thai. Makes you wonder how far these people will go to satisfy the demands of a meglomaniac.

There is another article in the Asia Times Online at

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LE13Ae01.html

which spells out the strategy used by the red shirts to overthrow the government. Since these comments come from a former Thai Rak Thai minister, there must be a high degree of truth in these allegations and adds credibility to the charge that Thaksin is a terrorist.

These are just some of the allegations:

1. Ordering the shooting of red shirts in Ratchaprasong compound to increase the body count and blame the army.

2. Ordering the murder of foreign journalists to force the intervention of the UN. This was reported on Twitter yesterday by many people telling the journos to take off their green armbands.

3. Ordering the importation of foreign thugs to help in the fight against the army. The guns found at the temple in Pratunam included shotguns, .22 rifles, 38 mm pistols, AK47's, all except for

the latter, not Thai army issue.

4. Organising, financing and inciting the overthrow of the government.

I am sure that there will be more coming out in the next few days. Let's hope so, together with absolute proof, so that he can be denied sanctuary in any country and brought back to Thailand to be tried and jailed in a maximum security prison for life.

Nothing surprising here, just heartbreaking.

I agree with you totally.

You did say allegations right?

[jcbangkok]

France trying to gag Thaksin

PARIS - FRENCH authorities are seeking to prevent former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra from speaking out in Paris on the political crisis in his homeland, the newspaper Le Figaro reported on Thursday.

For More See: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_529109.html

[Rucharee]

oooops, I spoke to soon and am not current on the news ...

Court delays decision on Thaksin's warrant

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews...520-217396.html

looks like we will have to wait until the 27th

The cheque finally cleared.

[jcbangkok]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LE13Ae01.html

Thai power grows from the barrel of a gun

By William Barnes

BANGKOK - The relative success of Thailand's red-garbed anti-government protest group in outmaneuvering the government and military owes much to Maoist revolutionary thought and guerilla tactics.

Therdpoum Chaidee, a former communist and colleague of key protest leaders, says that the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship's (UDD) strategy has necessarily required violence, or at least the threat of violence, to divide and immobilize Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.

"The revolution walks on two legs. One political leg and one army leg. Violence is the essential ingredient in the mix. That is what we were taught," said Therdpoum.

The UDD has publicly portrayed itself as a non-violent, pro-democracy movement, a line many international media outlets have perpetuated. It has occupied a large swathe of Bangkok's luxury shopping and hotel district for more than six weeks, paralyzing the symbolic heart of the country's capitalist economy.

Abhisit's government has threatened but failed to remove the thousands of protesters, apparently over fears that the use of force would result in multiple deaths and possible international censure. UDD leaders have threatened "civil war" if security forces crack down on their supporters, known locally as the "red shirts".

The protest group has rallied around its symbolic hero and presumed patron, former populist prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The businessman-cum-politician was ousted in a 2006 military coup and later fled into exile to avoid a two-year jail sentence related to a corruption conviction. Thaksin has since cajoled UDD supporters to rise up and topple the government through various video-linked phone-in addresses.

UDD leaders have demanded the dissolution of parliament, currently controlled by a coalition of political parties and backed by the Bangkok establishment, and new elections that they anticipate would be won by the Thaksin-aligned opposition Puea Thai party. They have recently accepted in concept a compromise reconciliation roadmap presented by Abhisit, which calls for new elections to be held on November 14, but not yet abandoned their protest sites.

Tensions spiked violently on April 10, when a routine crowd clearance operation - of the sort successfully deployed by the army against a similar UDD protest in April 2009 - turned into a nightmare of bloodshed. Mysterious commandos, clad in black and circulating freely through the red shirt protesters, used M79 grenades to attack tactical army commanders, killing a highly respected colonel and maiming others.

In the mayhem that followed, 25 protesters and solders were killed and over 800 injured after an operation that started with soldiers wielding batons and ended in deadly firefights. Coincident with the UDD's protest has been a string of anonymous M79 grenade attacks, with over 50 incidents in Bangkok and at least 30 more across the country since mid-March.

On April 22, five grenades were fired into Bangkok's main business district directly opposite a UDD erected bamboo and car-tire street barricade. One person was killed and 90 others injured or maimed, including members of a small pro-government protest group that has expressed opposition to the UDD's protests.

Fog of war

The government has said it aims to separate ''terrorists'' from the ordinary protesters, while some red shirts have thanked the anonymous black-clad assailants for coming to their defense against state security forces. Therdpoum, a former member of parliament under Thaksin's original Thai Rak Thai party, says there has been obfuscation and propaganda on both sides of the conflict.

"The people who are the real planners, not the people up on stage making protest speeches, these people probably keep a very low profile, but they must calculate that aggression is vital," he said. "Aggression paralyzes and divides opponents. This is what we were taught, this is how a smaller force can defeat overwhelming power. The message was: divide and conquer."

Whether the UDD's shadowy armed wing consists of mafia thugs, unemployed irregulars or disaffected regular soldiers, they must be capable of ruthless and focused violence, he said.

Therdpoum, born in humble circumstances in northeastern Thailand, was a hotel union organizer who fled to the communist underground in 1975 to oppose a brutal right wing government. Many hundreds of the country's most energetic students and intellectuals did the same. Most, like Therdpoum, later renounced the ideology.

His five-year odyssey with the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) included a three-month period in Hanoi in the heady period following the unification of Vietnam under communist rule. There, Therdpoum and a handful of hand-picked Thai activists, like prominent student leader Seksan Prasertkun, as well as current UDD leaders Weng Tochirakan and Jaran Dittapichai, were drilled in Maoist revolutionary theory.

The five tactics they learned for unseating a government included: divide your enemies; form a united front; use provocative violence; secure the loyalty of people inside the ruling regime; and, finally, win over the army.

"That is what we have seen. The government people have been quarrelling about what to do. Some senior figures have a divided loyalty. The army and the police cannot move. Provocative violence has been very successful," said Therdpoum, referring to the UDD's campaign to topple Abhisit's government.

"The tactic is to keep saying that you are a peace-loving people. The many factions folded into the united front [uDD] organization are not told what the real strategy is because they might not agree and they might not act their part convincingly," he added.

A generation ago, the eager young communists in Thailand's underground movement, many of whom now play major roles on Thailand's political stage, were told that propaganda should be blunt, simple and repeated incessantly to be effective. The UDD has similarly shunned hard policy debates in favor of simple credos of justice denied and the hypocrisy of elites.

"The red shirt people have been told over and over that greedy people in authority have denied them justice and their fair share. They have been pumped full of toy-town leftism and told to hate every institution that has held this country together. I worry that the bitterness and hatred produced by this propaganda now runs so deep it will cause tension and problems for a long time," Therdpoum said.

"Many of them are now absolutely convinced that Thaksin was the best leader in Thai history, that he was a kind and generous man who holds the solution to all their problems. They don't need a program - they just need a new Thai state with Thaksin in charge. It has become very emotional - as it was designed to be," he added.

Ignorance over knowledge

Other observers believe that the anti-Thaksin, yellow-garbed People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest group that occupied Government House for several weeks and closed down Bangkok's airports for 10 days in 2008 helped to show the UDD how effective determined and prolonged protests could be. To be sure, there were violent moments during the PAD's many protests, launched first to remove Thaksin and later his proxy governments, but not to the extent of the current shadowy campaign of bombings and shootings.

The red shirts consist of many passive supporters, many active ones and, now, a hand-picked core of "professional revolutionaries" chosen for their loyalty and street smarts, according to Therdpoum. Behind them are many "deep secrets and hidden messages" that are revealed to only a privileged few in the movement, while an even smaller number know the entire strategy, he claimed.

"Old communists know that when it comes to revolution, ignorance is much more powerful than knowledge," Therdpoum said.

It is thus ironic that more former communists are currently on side with the royalist PAD than the supposedly pro-poor UDD, which is simultaneously striving to restore the billionaire Thaksin's wealth and power. So, too, is the fact that while the UDD has called with revolutionary zeal for a new political order, the Thaksin-aligned Puea Thai party that will contest the next elections is packed with old-style and corruption-tainted patronage politicians.

Therdpoum believes that the UDD's sincere left-wing members are using Thaksin and anticipate the opportunity to eventually dump his personal agenda in favor of the establishment of a more socialist society. Some of the former communists who took up arms and fled into the jungle in the 1970s and 1980s and were once in Thaksin's inner circle include Prommin Lertsuridej, Phumtham Wechayachai, Sutham Saengprathum, Phinit Jarusombat, Adisorn Piangket and Kriangkamon Laohapairot.

Its unclear how many of those former communists are now active from behind-the-scenes in the UDD's planning and strategy. Some media have recently published photographs of the UDD's three main stage leaders, Veera Musigapong, Natthawut Saikua and Jatuporn Prompan, with the exiled Thaksin in what appear to be planning sessions leading up to the current protests. It is debatable, however, how much real power they wield over broad strategy and tactics; Therdpoum, for one, discounts them as "showmen".

UDD organizer Jaran Dittapichai told this correspondent that the protest group had adopted "Mao Zedong's method of thinking" and some of his techniques, including the establishment of a united front. "I was a communist and several leaders were former communists ... but the red shirt people don't like communism or socialism. We use his principles to build up our front and to work with people who are not red shirts, but who are fighting for democracy like us."

He, like other UDD leaders, has consistently denied that the group is behind the mysterious bombing campaign that has coincided with its protest activities. "There is no third hand. There is only the first hand and the second hand ... the government side and our people," Jaran said.

"Before we started we discussed the [potential] problem of the third hand and who they might be. We were worried that someone might throw a bomb at us or shoot at us. We still have good luck - no one comes to throw a bomb [at us]."

William Barnes is a Bangkok-based journalist.

Edited May 20, 2010 by jcbangkok