POLITICS

Red leader takes dig at 'egotistic' Thaksin

Attapoom Ongkulna,

Panya Thiewsangwan

The Nation

Sombat ( c )

Sombat tells comrades ex-PM is just a 'station on way towards democracy'

BANGKOK: -- Red-shirt leader Sombat Boonngam-anong, one of those strongly critical of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's shifting stances, yesterday said Thaksin's remark that the red shirts had rowed the boat to send him to the other side of the river reflected the ex-premier's "egotistic attitude".

Sombat, considered one of the progressives among the red shirts, likened Thaksin to "just a station on the way towards democracy", and that Thaksin was not the destination.

"I want to tell my fellow red shirts loudly that we have to continue with our journey. The Dubai tycoon has left us and we have to live with it," he said, referring to Thaksin.

Meanwhile, the defence minister said yesterday that Thaksin was not cosying up to the elite as had been alleged by some disappointed red-shirt figures.

ACM Sukampol Suwannathat said he had never heard that Thaksin had reached any deal with the elite. He said "positive or friendly gestures" did not mean that the Thaksin camp had made a deal with the elite.

His remarks came after disappointment among independent red-shirt leaders, who are not connected to the ruling Pheu Thai Party, following Thaksin's video-link address to the red shirts' gathering last Saturday.

On the second anniversary of the unrest and riots in 2010, Thaksin asked his red-shirt supporters to back the government's reconciliation efforts and remain patient with the slow justice process regarding the deaths of their family members who were among 91 people killed during over two months of political turmoil. He also urged the red shirts to respect the monarchy.

Sukampol yesterday said it was normal for Thaksin's remarks to draw both support and criticism. "We have the same goal although we take different paths," he said. "You can't force people to do anything you like. You have to let them do their job so that our common goal will be achieved."

He said the country needed to achieve reconciliation to ensure its survival. "The main goal for this government is a stable country," he said.

The defence minister said he believed Thaksin wanted to return to the country, adding that he did not think the ex-leader would be of any threat to anyone.

In 2008, Thaksin was sentenced in-absentia to two years in jail by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for abuse of power. He did not appeal the verdict, saying that it was politically motivated.

-- The Nation 2012-05-25

"No bullshitting she had norks this big...."

Please let this one stand mods! I promise it's the last. That's too good a joke to waste.

"not cosying up to the elite" ? He is part of that elite <deleted>.

seem the red shirt leaders are slipt down the line, those that were paid millions and those that weren't

Either this guy is totally full of s**t or he's deluded and clueless.

Sombat, considered one of the progressives among the red shirts

which is why he is so marginalized within the Red Shirts and why his "faction" never gathers more than a few dozen at independently held rallies. A real misnomer to refer to him as a "Red Leader"...

He's been trying out this "reformist Red Shirt" schtick for quite some time without success:

2010-11-19

Red shirt reformer seeks to empower grass roots

another reason his "group" hasn't gotten any traction:

The Sombat faction will hold a public event on December 5 in defiance of the King's birthday.

Thaksin will always be like a cloud, or even a tornado over the party, no matter what party work for him. As long as he is in the picture, the attention will be diverted from running the government to what, or when or how, etc. Thaksin this and that.

No matter what Thaksin says, he ego gets in the way

Thaksin is an Egotist And he's just worked that out. As bugs would say "What a maroon!"

I bet his friends call him Phar Lap, and not because he's hung like a horse.

Either this guy is totally full of s**t or he's deluded and clueless.

Sombat is merely reflecting the new views of many red shirts. They are finally seeing Thaksin has been using them all along. We know this time would eventually come. Congrats to Thailand!!

Finally some red shirts see the oblivious to anyone else. Congratulations for opening an eye after so many years.

But still, "Taksin a station toward democracy"?

Time to open the second eye.

"not cosying up to the elite" ? He is part of that elite <deleted>.

Go and buy Thailand Tatler to work out who the "real" elite are of this country. Thaksin is a nouveau riche upstart in most of the real "elite" eyes.

Hilarious how all these former Useful Idiots of Thaksin's are now shocked, SHOCKED, that they have become Useless Idiots now that Thaksin is done with them.

Hilarious how all these former Useful Idiots of Thaksin's are now shocked, SHOCKED, that they have become Useless Idiots now that Thaksin is done with them.

And let's hope the trend spreads...... as rapidly as possible please.

Thaksin is an Egotist And he's just worked that out. As bugs would say "What a maroon!"

I bet his friends call him Phar Lap, and not because he's hung like a horse.

Indeed, it seems it took a bit longer to grasp the nettle of obviousness.

"...just a 'station on way towards democracy'"

Except Thaksin has imagined he was the controlling and central force,

rather than see that they were using him much as he used them.

Yet, clearly many did indeed actually believe the cover story,

and decade long propaganda campaign.

But as this guy runs a minor faction and others are much farther left,

but would be using this faction, and Thaksin in similar sefl-serving ideological ways,

you have to wonder how 'out of Thaksin's control' this has already spun, and will spin.

And where is this headed now that the liege-lord has ceased to be the prime directive?

dangerous times in LOS - what next

Taksin seems to have shown his true colors and might just be about to find Dubai more homely

Can Yingluk survive or does she become excess baggage to the power mungers and certain deputies

The reds seem divided and in a confused state, they voted and nothing changed

This is a power struggle the poor vers the rich elite and it seems the latter are still running things

I can't help but feel something is about to burst and it won't be pretty

The diehard members of the Thaksin Fan Club won't change their spots. Those who can see the bigger picture will. But its the diehards that can cause the most trouble. Thaksin and the other leaders know that the kwais are easily manipulated and they still (and will continue to do so) form a considerable army that can cause mayhem when and where they like and then use Thaksin and his PR people (such as that disgusting Robert Amsterdam) to rewrite history. Even Thaksin is not sure where he himself stands. 'I'm out of politics', 'Thaksin thinks ......' etc etc etc. Shifting sands. If you look at his contradictory statements over the years you can see he is an idiot and people like Amsterdam recognise this and simply pump him for all he's worth as he's a good earner for these guys.

As for democracy, Thai's have no idea what this word, or concept, means. The fundamental basis of Democracy is the rule of law. Without the rule of law, or respect for the law, there can be no democracy. Burning Bangkok, looting shops, accusing the Abhisit government of things about which they were not responsible, constant lies and corruption - even smaller things like all the reds I saw here in Chiang Mai riding their motorcycles without helmets whilst on their way to some rally, proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the reds are as far away from understanding democracy as you could possibly be. And that's the way Thaksin wants it to be. If only they understood .........................

dangerous times in LOS - what next

Taksin seems to have shown his true colors and might just be about to find Dubai more homely

Can Yingluk survive or does she become excess baggage to the power mungers and certain deputies

The reds seem divided and in a confused state, they voted and nothing changed

This is a power struggle the poor vers the rich elite and it seems the latter are still running things

I can't help but feel something is about to burst and it won't be pretty

Yes the rich elite, in the form of Thaksin, are still running things.

The struggle continues comrades, and no I wouldn't want the reds to become some rabidly communist movement either, although it is obvious that many of their leaders are very left of centre.

I really wish them good luck, this country actually needs a group with some kind of principle, socially and economically, beyond getting pork for their locality and skimming 30% for themselves. Politics needs balance to move with the swings and situations present in a country at any time, and maybe the reds can develop to become the balance to the other parties over time.

It is good that over time Thaksin does become just a stepping stone in the history of the country.

Red leader! LOL. He has been a critic of TS for a long time.

Just an opportunist trying to jump on the bandwagon.

As the previous post shows, the more independent Red leaders will probably be expelled from the movement in the near future. Only the unquestioning loyalists are needed!

"not cosying up to the elite" ? He is part of that elite <deleted>.

Go and buy Thailand Tatler to work out who the "real" elite are of this country. Thaksin is a nouveau riche upstart in most of the real "elite" eyes.

Right on. He and his family are only the 19th richest in Thailand. Not many above them!

Red leader! LOL. He has been a critic of TS for a long time.

Just an opportunist trying to jump on the bandwagon.

Not always critical:

http://links.org.au/node/1928

Overseas there are still people saying that all the red shirts are just paid by deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra or manipulated by him to protect his wealth. How would you answer this?

Sombat: It’s not like that. The movement is made up of people with different intention. Some supported the ex-prime minister Thaksin, but not to protect his wealth. Such accusations from the opponent of the Red Shirts are just made to discredit our fight for democracy.

I think it's the hard core Thaksin supporters who are now trying to discredit him. He seems quite good. His main goal is democracy. Something Thaksin is definitely not supporting.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news.php?id=255405310024

As the previous post shows, the more independent Red leaders will probably be expelled from the movement in the near future. Only the unquestioning loyalists are needed!

Rather worrying precedents about people being expelled from socialist movements over the years I think.

Sukampol yesterday said it was normal for Thaksin's remarks to draw both support and criticism.

Yes, it's normal for Thaksin to be divisive. He is in no way someone who can unite a country.

"We have the same goal although we take different paths," he said. "You can't force people to do anything you like. You have to let them do their job so that our common goal will be achieved."

He said the country needed to achieve reconciliation to ensure its survival. "The main goal for this government is a stable country," he said.

So Sukampol thinks the common goal is just stability? How absolutely wrong he is. I guess words like "democracy" and "equality" are not part of his vocabulary, and Thaksin wouldn't want it to be.

"not cosying up to the elite" ? He is part of that elite <deleted>.

Actually, from what I gather, the elites hate his guts.. They don't consider him an "Elite", although he does consider himself one. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Finally some red shirts see the oblivious to anyone else. Congratulations for opening an eye after so many years.

But still, "Taksin a station toward democracy"?

Time to open the second eye.

Thaksin is more like a station in the wrong direction.

Either this guy is totally full of s**t or he's deluded and clueless.

Sombat is merely reflecting the new views of many red shirts. They are finally seeing Thaksin has been using them all along. We know this time would eventually come. Congrats to Thailand!!

Finally??

There are segments of the UDD that wanted to see Thaksin imprisoned, dead or banished.

I've been saying this since the start; The Redshirts were a coalition of divergent views that were able to unite when there was a common "enemy". Now that the military junta and its puppet government under Abhisit was removed at the polls, the various factions have lost their common purpose. Some TVFers would be surprised by the animosity that some Redshirts have for Thaksin. The only reason they would not support the Democrats is because they felt that the Democrats were part of the problem and oblivious to the needs of the poor. It is much easier to stereotype the redshirts as ignorant rural folk, but there are many educated honest members, a great many of whom are opposed to corruption.

Right on. He and his family are only the 19th richest in Thailand. Not many above them!

I think you don't understand how a "class" system works. One of the very reasons that Thaksin got himself into this position is that he wasn't an accepted part of the existing upper class elite in this country. You have to be granted entry, play by the rules, become part of the woodwork, appear to serve the country and work in the interests of the elite to be part of the upper class elite. It is a very cosy club, and money is not the only arbiter of entry.

If you don't, you find yourself, very quickly find yourself in Dubai. No amount of cash can buy instant acceptance at the top, not in Thailand, nor other parts of the world with similar systems. He is at best "Hi-so", not upper class.

dangerous times in LOS - what next

Taksin seems to have shown his true colors and might just be about to find Dubai more homely

Can Yingluk survive or does she become excess baggage to the power mungers and certain deputies

The reds seem divided and in a confused state, they voted and nothing changed

This is a power struggle the poor vers the rich elite and it seems the latter are still running things

I can't help but feel something is about to burst and it won't be pretty

Yes the rich elite, in the form of Thaksin, are still running things.

I wonder whether 'the unusually wealthy' might be more appropriate words, rather than 'rich elite'?

dangerous times in LOS - what next

Taksin seems to have shown his true colors and might just be about to find Dubai more homely

Can Yingluk survive or does she become excess baggage to the power mungers and certain deputies

The reds seem divided and in a confused state, they voted and nothing changed

This is a power struggle the poor vers the rich elite and it seems the latter are still running things

I can't help but feel something is about to burst and it won't be pretty

Thaksin had not just pulled the finger from the dike, but enlarged the hole.

It's likely a matter of time before the crash and social flood runs over all lives.

dangerous times in LOS - what next

Taksin seems to have shown his true colors and might just be about to find Dubai more homely

Can Yingluk survive or does she become excess baggage to the power mungers and certain deputies

The reds seem divided and in a confused state, they voted and nothing changed

This is a power struggle the poor vers the rich elite and it seems the latter are still running things

I can't help but feel something is about to burst and it won't be pretty

I went to a PTP local meeting 2 days ago in Surin,and the local faction are well aware of Thaksin.I was pleasantly surprised at at their understanding of everything going on.