Hopefully This Wasn't Staged For Television: Thai Talk

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THAI TALK

Hopefully this wasn't staged for television

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

You might say it was just a TV talk show and you couldn't take it too seriously. But what Jatuporn Promphan and Suriyasai Takasila revealed about their personal ties was, well, quite revealing.

The handshakes between Jatuporn, the red-shirt leader, and Suriyasai, the yellow-shirt core coordinator, might have been forced by anchorman Woody for a sort of photo-op action shot. But if you listened closely, you might be have been able to reach some conclusions that no academic in-depth analysis could have offered you.

They were both smiling broadly throughout Woody's morning show on January 5 on Channel 9. They even exchanged nice, warm words with each other.

Jatuporn says he knows almost every core member of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) except its leader Sondhi Limthongkul. The reason is simple. When they were activists, they were working together as part of the student movement to oppose military dictatorship.

Jatuporn was at Ramkhamkaeng University. Suriyasai was attached to Kasetsart University. They belonged to the same group of student leaders in the heyday of young activism.

Suriyasai says one day at the height of the confrontation between the yellow and red shirts, he walked into a hotel coffeeshop and stumbled upon a group of red-shirt leaders enjoying a break. Veera Muksikapong was there. Jatuporn was also there.

"I greeted "elder brothers" Veera and Tu (Jatuporn's nickname) and we sat down for a friendly chat. I am sure that those who walked past us would have been very surprised at how we could sit down together," Suriyasai recalled on the show.

In other words, both former student activists and now political provocateurs par excellence were telling the rest of the country that they had shared the same ideology as young students and that they were in fact fighting for the same cause that, for lack of a more appropriate term, is called "democracy".

They both agreed that whatever their differences over political issues, they would avoid pitting, at all cost, their respective "mobs" against one another.

Why then did they part ways and become such arch-rivals?

Suriyasai said at one point that his message to the Yingluck government ("I hope Jatuporn will become a minister soon") was that if it continued to concentrate on helping Thaksin Shinawatra, then it wouldn't last. The premier would have to make sure that it fulfills its election promises."

Jatuporn responded by insisting that the government is devoted to living up to its election pledges by promoting democracy, creating equality and economic welfare. Then, he added: "As far as Thaksin is concerned, whatever the government does won't give him any treatment that isn't enjoyed by the rest of the country's 64 million Thais."

It suddenly dawned on me that the two former student activists who had once fought alongside each other were in agreement on every major issue of the day.

Thaksin was the only reason that put them in two different camps, which have ravaged the country's calm and peaceful political transition from military dictatorship to popular democracy.

Some yellow shirts reacted negatively to Surayasai for cosying up to Jatuporn, whom they consider their arch-enemy who cannot be forgiven.

Not surprisingly, some hardcore yellow shirts accused the former PAD coordinator of having "sold out". Jatuporn said some red-shirts had criticised him for shaking hands with Suriyasai as well, but "I got less of it than he," he said.

But logic and good sense, of course, should inform them that they owe it to the country to bury the hatchet by removing the source of the damaging conflict and renewing their youthful idealism and clear thinking to embark on a road together again to draw up a plan that will put the country back on a "normal" track again.

That is the least the former student activists, riding the crest of whipped-up public sentiments to shoot to national fame and attention, can do to return to their original purpose of activism of the student days: let no self-interest and political patronage cloud your determination to fight for democracy.

Hopefully, it's still not too late.

-- The Nation 2012-01-12

[Reasonableman]

Now i'm confused. In which country has rabid hate-mongering and divisism fostered a representative democracy?

[theblether]

Now i'm confused. In which country has rabid hate-mongering and divisism fostered a representative democracy?

Have a look at the current state of American politics for your answer.

[SomTumTiger]

Thaksin - the great divider. Pitting Thai against Thai. For his own profit. Such a humanitarian.

[Gweiloman]

Thaksin - the great divider. Pitting Thai against Thai. For his own profit. Such a humanitarian.

Actually, I think it's more TV members

[Rathai]

"They were both smiling broadly throughout Woody's morning show on January 5 on Channel 9. They even exchanged nice, warm words with each other."

And come election year theyll be back at each others throats.

[FarangKyAy]

I thing this piece of news is quite reducing, PAD and UDD stances' differences can't be summarised to their struggle/support with Thaksin.

I can think of some "minor" points such as people representativity: UDD wants to come back to the one man one vote system, whereas PAD promotes either "more selected people to manage the country", of course honest and well-intentionned (this is sometimes called "democraty thai style" or a system that links voting rights to the level of tax paid (and so income)...

[bendejo]

"They were both smiling broadly throughout Woody's morning show on January 5 on Channel 9. They even exchanged nice, warm words with each other."

And come election year theyll be back at each others throats.

In a place where people smile all the time, a smile means nothing.

I learned that while living in California.