Thailand's Reds Return To Heartland In Disarray

[webfact]

Thailand's Reds return to heartland in disarray - Focus

by M. Jegathesan

CHIANG MAI (AFP) -- After a military offensive that crushed anti-government rallies in Bangkok, angry "Red Shirts" are returning to their northern heartland in disarray, with their leaders in custody or hiding.

Hundreds of Reds poured off trains in Thailand's second-largest city Chiang Mai to a hero's welcome after staging rolling demonstrations that paralysed parts of the capital and left 85 dead and 1,900 injured since March.

"I lived in Bangkok for two months. My heart still wants to carry on this fight. This pull back for me is just temporary," said Wirash, a 43-year-old musician.

The Red Shirt military strategist, a renegade general known as Seh Daeng, was shot in the head by a sniper days before an overwhelming offensive Wednesday that forced the movement's top leadership to surrender.

"The Red Shirt does not have leaders now. I do not know what to do. The police have caught our leaders," said Wirash, who gave only his first name. "For now I have no plans to go back to Bangkok."

Wirash echoed the fears of political analysts when he said he believed the shootings of his comrades in several clashes with security forces could "spark a civil war in Thailand."

"This crisis will not end now. The Red Shirt people may adopt other strategies but at the moment we do not have a leader or a plan. We do not have a direction," he said.

Thailand is deeply split between the Reds, mostly urban and rural poor who are demanding the ouster of a government they condemn as undemocratic, and rival pro-establishment "Yellow Shirts" who represent the nation's elites.

A night-time curfew is in place until Sunday in the capital as well as the Reds' heartland in the rural north and northeast, amid fears the trouble could spread. Four provincial halls have already been torched.

"They have gone home with that sense of resentment, that bitterness and it will not end there," said Pavin Chachavalpongpun from the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"So it will be no surprise if we hear of more violent riots across the country, especially the north and northeast, because these people do not have faith in the election process, so they turn to violent alternatives."

Pavin said that having large numbers of Reds, with no hope and nothing to lose, roaming around without a leadership was a major problem for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

"There's a loss of communication between Red Shirts and I think it's very dangerous for the government because they need to deal with the Red Shirts and they don't know where they are, or who they are receiving instructions from."

Chiang Mai is the home town of the Reds' hero, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup. His elected allies were ejected by a court ruling, and Abhisit was appointed in an army-backed parliamentary vote.

Thaksin is idolised by many Reds for his populist policies, including cheap healthcare and village funds. But Thailand's elites see him as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to the revered monarchy.

For now, the anti-government force in Chiang Mai seems impotent. Outside the train station, a lone Red on a motorcyclist and carrying a Red flag rode round and round in circles.

Another man yelled into his mobile phone, relating the events in Bangkok and cursing the military while a group of policemen stood next to him, smiling mildly.

"Here in Chiang Mai the locals want to fight back. But there is a lack of leadership and members here do not have much organisational skills," said Dej Khiaonarong, a Red Shirt sympathiser.

Many returning protesters went back to their villages and untended paddy fields, while others were trucked to a nearby Reds radio station, where supporters pressed them with packets of food and bottled drinks.

Nikhom, a local Red Shirt leader who welcomed the protesters at the radio station, said the curfew had temporary halted their plans to organise new gatherings.

"But people are very angry with Prime Minister Abhisit. For now Abhisit you win. But we are not giving up our struggle," he said.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-05-22

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[NanaFoods]

"So it will be no surprise if we hear of more violent riots across the country, especially the north and northeast, because these people do not have faith in the election process, so they turn to violent alternatives."

No "faith"?? How about just a little patience?? ....Elections are coming up soon.

Either these folks are khon jai ron, or they are really worried that they will have difficulty selling their votes next election.

Edited May 22, 2010 by ChefHeat

[givenall]

If any human, the key you have to be a human, sees what these terrorist have done in the area they stayed (Ratchaprasong) for weeks, will never give the hero welcome. They lived and destroyed everything they could like wild animals.

SHAME on you should not call yourself a Thai EVER

[misterjag]

"So it will be no surprise if we hear of more violent riots across the country, especially the north and northeast, because these people do not have faith in the election process, so they turn to violent alternatives."

No "faith"?? How about just a little patience?? ....Elections are coming up soon.

Either these folks are khon jai ron, or they are really worried that they will have difficulty selling their votes next election.

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

[Brian67]

I suppose this just confirms the obvious....It ain't over yet

[d0om4gloom]

New leaders will emerge to take the place of those arrested. Abhisit has a window in which to make real progress toward a true resolution of the social issues. If he fails, we will be right back where we started after the election regardless of who wins it. The question is whether Abhisit commands the power to make a real difference or is he just another slave to the elitist hidden commanders we all know are present in Thai politics.

Abhisit is clearly intelligent and understands the problem but whether he can resolve it remains to be seen

[d0om4gloom]

Mate,

You're leaving yourself open to a massive flaming there, the Yellows looked like boy scouts compared the the antics of the reds when they were forced to leave.

You are right that the yellows started with mob rule, but the reds have now shown that they are simply thugs and that they couldn't give a sh1t about their own country. They should never be allowed to run anything, yet alone a country.

These people are not Thai, they are simply scum.

Tom.

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

[Sisaketmike]

I suppose this just confirms the obvious....It ain't over yet

"The Red Shirt does not have leaders now. I do not know what to do. The police have caught our leaders," said Wirash, who gave only his first name. "For now I have no plans to go back to Bangkok."

Better stay at home and tell everybody what you did.

[zorro1]

If any human, the key you have to be a human, sees what these terrorist have done in the area they stayed (Ratchaprasong) for weeks, will never give the hero welcome. They lived and destroyed everything they could like wild animals.

SHAME on you should not call yourself a Thai EVER

I agree. There will be no regrouping unless they do it on someones buffalo farm. I doubt they will be allowed "peaceful"protests ever again

[PhilHarries]

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

Attitudes like that are precisely why society as a whole is broken. These days you are either with us or against us, the issue is either black or white (yellow-red, blue-green, whatever you like), there is no attempt at reconcilliation, no attempt to meet on the middle ground, no tolerance.

It even manifests itself here on TV where members state their case in definite terms and accept no dissent nor alternative opinions.

Life is (or has become) a battlefield.

[Sisaketmike]

New leaders will emerge to take the place of those arrested. Abhisit has a window in which to make real progress toward a true resolution of the social issues. If he fails, we will be right back where we started after the election regardless of who wins it. The question is whether Abhisit commands the power to make a real difference or is he just another slave to the elitist hidden commanders we all know are present in Thai politics.

Abhisit is clearly intelligent and understands the problem but whether he can resolve it remains to be seen

You should consider that there's more violence, for example in the south. Guess most people know that the highest c. o. p. in B. is very red.

[Artisi]

[uote]The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Get a life.

[wlcart]

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Just curious if you are saying that makes burning down a city the right thing to do. Can you even admit at all that what they did was wrong?

[jayjay0]

New leaders will emerge to take the place of those arrested. Abhisit has a window in which to make real progress toward a true resolution of the social issues. If he fails, we will be right back where we started after the election regardless of who wins it. The question is whether Abhisit commands the power to make a real difference or is he just another slave to the elitist hidden commanders we all know are present in Thai politics.

Abhisit is clearly intelligent and understands the problem but whether he can resolve it remains to be seen

yes new leaders will come on the scene. When dealing with scum there is never a shortage of people who wish to lead so they can skim the cream.

only this time they will not be paid by Thaksin and so resort to even more violence as a cover up for there looting.

I agree with the principals that they spouted originally. I have nothing but contempt for the red shirts. To condone there actions is defiantly not the actions of a Thai. They should all go to Burma where there actions are not that unusual. Problem being they would join the government so that they could operate under the rule of law. And that is what it is in Burma

Abhist should remember when trying to solve the problems that many of the problems are because of the rule of law he so vehemently proposes to act under.

[jackdawson]

northern heartland

dear writer of this article,

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

[edwardandtubs]

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Just curious if you are saying that makes burning down a city the right thing to do. Can you even admit at all that what they did was wrong?

I think he's probably saying that what the reds did was wrong, but they were simply following the lead of the yellows. The yellows brought the mob onto the street and got exactly what they wanted, so the reds thought they could do the same. "They Sow the Wind, and Reap the Whirlwind."

[difos57]

I suppose this just confirms the obvious....It ain't over yet

It's over. The more the reds burn, the deeper they sink themselves. No one has to discredit them. They are doing a good job themselves.

They should leave Thailand in peace.

[Thailand]

The red shirts will find new leaders, maybe even one of the more moderate currently in custody will come to the fore. It would not surprise me to see at least one of them will be in a government/opposition position in the not too distant future.

Hopefully those new leaders will learn from the mistakes of the past and go on to form a genuine peaceful opposition to the current government. The reds have proven they HAD ground swell support prior to the recent dreadful events in Bangkok incited by those red leaders with a different agenda.

Whatever happens I sincerely hope our beloved Thailand can return to it's past glories in peace and prosperity. In the meantime there is a huge amount of bad faith on all sides that needs to be reconciled and strong leadership will be required from all factions.

Good luck Thailand

[jackr]

These people are not Thai, they are simply scum.

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

I think you'll find Thai society is in a bad way because of systemic greed and corruption, from both Thaksin and the established rich who hate him so much, as opposed to my comments.

I was simply stating facts. The reds that have just pointlessly burned and trashed large parts of central Bangkok are scum and should not be allowed to call them themselves Thai people.

Do you disagree with this?

I do.

I say cut off Isaan at the head and let em have their own state, while at the same time lop off the bottom three provinces... the latter could become part of Malaysia if they like. These people would then, of course, require a passport and visa to visit Muang Thai.

[wlcart]

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Just curious if you are saying that makes burning down a city the right thing to do. Can you even admit at all that what they did was wrong?

I think he's probably saying that what the reds did was wrong, but they were simply following the lead of the yellows. The yellows brought the mob onto the street and got exactly what they wanted, so the reds thought they could do the same. "They Sow the Wind, and Reap the Whirlwind."

Hard for me to believe that he, and i am sorry to say even you, are not trying to justify these unjustifiable actions. People break the law everyday does not mean now the rest of us have an excuse to the same.

What the yellow's did was wrong, stupid, arrogant, and damaging. But the reds surpassed them infinite times over.

The reds certainly HAD some valid complaints in my view, but until they face up to what they did, I cannot see how they can expect sympathy. Everyone always has an excuse of the whirlwind, but we have to break that vicious cycle.

I hope the only chance the red cause has to survive is if they first admit and condemn their tragic mistakes, but I am not at all holding my breath and I fear they may actually continue more terrorism. So far they have not shown any reason why people should not fear this.

Edited May 22, 2010 by wlcart

[chainarong]

"So it will be no surprise if we hear of more violent riots across the country, especially the north and northeast, because these people do not have faith in the election process, so they turn to violent alternatives."

No "faith"?? How about just a little patience?? ....Elections are coming up soon.

Either these folks are khon jai ron, or they are really worried that they will have difficulty selling their votes next election.

Who in their right mind would vote for red shirt trash is beyond me

[CHdiver]

It`s not likely that Thaksin will return to Thailand. However as he is now a Citizen of Montenegro, he may be soon PM there. Then he could get all his Red followers to join him there. Don't know how good Rice is growing there, but the Climate is nice.

[Tokay]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

[agord]

"So it will be no surprise if we hear of more violent riots across the country, especially the north and northeast, because these people do not have faith in the election process, so they turn to violent alternatives."

No "faith"?? How about just a little patience?? ....Elections are coming up soon.

Either these folks are khon jai ron, or they are really worried that they will have difficulty selling their votes next election.

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Oh that makes it ok then. I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

[rubl]

The Red Shirts are copying the behavior of the Yellow Shirts. They introduced mob rule.

Just curious if you are saying that makes burning down a city the right thing to do. Can you even admit at all that what they did was wrong?

I think he's probably saying that what the reds did was wrong, but they were simply following the lead of the yellows. The yellows brought the mob onto the street and got exactly what they wanted, so the reds thought they could do the same. "They Sow the Wind, and Reap the Whirlwind."

Hard for me to believe that he, and i am sorry to say even you, are not trying to justify these unjustifiable actions. People break the law everyday does not mean now the rest of us have an excuse to the same.

What the yellow's did was wrong, stupid, arrogant, and damaging. But the reds surpassed them infinite times over.

The reds certainly HAD some valid complaints in my view, but until they face up to what they did, I cannot see how they can expect sympathy. Everyone always has an excuse of the whirlwind, but we have to break that vicious cycle.

I hope the only chance the red cause has to survive is if they first admit and condemn their tragic mistakes, but I am not at all holding my breath and I fear they may actually continue more terrorism. So far they have not shown any reason why people should not fear this.

If the yellows had been as violent as the reds, they would have torched the airport.

Now stop all this nonsense and start discussing how we can proceed, move to reconciliation, harmony, democracy.

[gardenubon]

I suppose this just confirms the obvious....It ain't over yet

It's over. The more the reds burn, the deeper they sink themselves. No one has to discredit them. They are doing a good job themselves.

They should leave Thailand in peace.

i wouldnt say its over, do you think all the reds who didnt burn,loot and commit other crimes are going to give up? and the paid scum, do you think no one has money left??? this wont just blow over as some think.

also id like to say to all the people on this forum who are crying out for red shirt blood should take a step back and think about it, lots of innocent reds aswell as a small minority of scum bags. so toi say all reds are scum or worse terrorists is a bit strong do you not think?

one more thing, how can thailand ever be a real democracy? when even at local levels the elections are full of bribes, like i stated the other day my wife got 500baht for voting in the local election for the village of about 250 people

[edwardandtubs]

I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

That's because the yellow shirts got exactly what they wanted. What would they have done if the army had moved in and shot dead dozens of yellow shirts? Conversely, if after a couple of weeks of protest the red shirts had got exactly what they wanted, there would have been no carnage and burning.

[gardenubon]

northern heartland

dear writer of this article,

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

it means the red shirts heartland...duh

[Xangsamhua]

The yellows were bumptious, but not violent. The reds were both. The government were neither. That is my view in simple terms, FWIW.

Now I'd like to stop the judging and support anyone who will apply Buddhist ethics towards reconciliation and renewal.

The old ways have brought us to this state. It's time now for Thai leaders at all levels and in all regions to consider the common good rather than just their own status and wealth. This will require some empowering of the people they lead.

[SomTumTiger]

Hey Reds, - you left all your crap here. Thank a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhDZ9-OHfC8