Red shirts to rally at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium

[webfact]

Red shirts to rally at Rajamangala Sunday
The Nation

Red-shirt supporters will rally at Rajamangala National Stadium on Sunday at 6pm.

BANGKOK: -- Red-shirt leader Thida Thavornseth said during a press conference on Saturday that the reds rally is aimed at protecting the Pheu Thai-led government and the Parliament.

She vowed her rally will be peaceful and the red-shirt demonstrators will not confront with the anti-Thaksin regime protesters.

Jatuporn Promphan, a red-shirt leader, said the red-shirt people would stay overnight at the stadium.

The red-shirt move was seen as a counter move against the planned protest by the Democrat Party.

Former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban has called on one million people to join his rally at the Democracy Monument Sunday, which he called the "battle day".

Suthep also planned to read the demonstrators to march on 12 Bangkok roads on Monday to call on public and government officials to join the protest. He would ask demonstrators to stay overnight at the rally site Sunday.


-- The Nation 2013-11-23

[greg71]

Last week they couldnt pull in 5000 protestors .Clutching at straws i say .

[bigbamboo]

Last week they couldnt pull in 5000 protestors .Clutching at straws i say .

These aren't protesters........ they're protectors.

Whatever that means.

[mca]

I think any decent Thai GPS system should have " Protesting Rally Avoidance" as one of it's touch screen options

[SABloke]

I thought they called off their rallies? Wasn't Gerry1011 ranting about how proud he was of them for being civil and packing up their things like responsible people and not extending the rally for no reason.

NB: Might've been another Gerry - don't shoot me if I got the numbers wrong.

Edited November 23, 2013 by SABloke

[Thainy Tim]

I thought they called off their rallies? Wasn't Gerry1011 ranting about how proud he was of them for being civil and packing up their things like responsible people and not extending the rally for no reason.

NB: Might've been another Gerry - don't shoot me if I got the numbers wrong.

Nope... you got the right gerry1011

Anyway, how do they intent to protect the government without any confrontation?

Sounds to me like a totally ill conceived reason to try to put a protest together.

I heard the actual figure was 1,500 last week and on day two, a couple of hundred. Think this is going to be David V Goliath. Only this time, David won't be the smart one.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Thainy Tim

[Moruya]

This could prove to be the end of the road for the red shirts if it turns into another tiny picnic

In my humble opinion, the red shirts will get more support if they stand alone rather than with this bunch of scoundrels

[monkeyy]

I wonder who is paying the stadium bills/rental.... again!

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

[waza]

Thida must have found some money down the back of the couch to fund this spontaneous protest.

[Mosha]

"Red-shirt supporters will rally at Rajamangala National Stadium on Sunday at 6pm."

All 200 of them? They'd be better off on a basket ball court, at least it will look full.

[siampolee]

Viewing Asia Update it does seem as if the Red Shirt protest is somewhat thinly spread at this moment in time.

They don't seem to be getting many exhortations from the square faced controller to ''roll up roll up for the protest of the century'' do they ? Wonder if sponsorship money is in short supply?

Perhaps the truth has struck home at last and the Red Shirts have come to realise just what pawns they were, and still are, and always will be in Thaksins game.

They( the Red Shirts) have touched the golden statue of Thaksin and the gilt has peeled of onto their fingers, now they can now see the worth of their idol Thaksin.

[Emptyset]

I thought they called off their rallies? Wasn't Gerry1011 ranting about how proud he was of them for being civil and packing up their things like responsible people and not extending the rally for no reason.

NB: Might've been another Gerry - don't shoot me if I got the numbers wrong.

Nope... you got the right gerry1011

Anyway, how do they intent to protect the government without any confrontation?

Sounds to me like a totally ill conceived reason to try to put a protest together.

I heard the actual figure was 1,500 last week and on day two, a couple of hundred. Think this is going to be David V Goliath. Only this time, David won't be the smart one.

They'd 'protect' the government without confrontation if they brought huge numbers to the stadium, if you agree with the reasoning that huge numbers will make opponents think twice. Anyway, it says in another piece that a red shirt leader announced on FB that red shirts aren't going to rally depsite media reports, so it seems it's all very much up in the air atm.

Also, I think the 'actual figure' being 1,500 is a definite underestimate. Looked like it could be about 5-10k at its peak to me, but very difficult to tell. The stadium capacity is 65k and when they were seated as opposed to standing on the pitch, it looked like about a third of the seats were filled. Either way, doesn't really matter, point is, it's far cry from 2008 when the same stadium was packed to the rafters. The take home point is reds ability to mobilize supporters seems to have dropped significantly. Whether they'll come back to the fold once the anger is died down or whether it's a permanent break is another question.

I was talking to Thai studies academic Patrick Jory about this. His theory was that the amenesty push was the most stupid move Thaksin has ever made and that the majority of reds wouldn't think of fighting for him again after that. I said that I couldn't see them giving up on something that they've invested so much in so quickly. That emotional investment, not to mention the time/effort/money that's gone into the movement over the last few years. It surely won't be a decision they'll take lightly... on the other hand, maybe many of them take the movement and its ideals more seriously than Thaksin and most of the leaders do, and hence, that's why for them it might've been the straw that broke the camels back. We'll see.

As I joked to a friend the other day that if the government is on the racks, 'Somchai and his wife in rural Issan will say to one another: 'shall we put on our red shirts again, for one last time, dear?' and then they'll look for their red shirts and remember they'd already burned them after hearing that the government was determined to push through the amnesty.

[ginjag]

Have a football referee constantly blow a whistle from the center spot.

[ratcatcher]

Have a football referee constantly blow a whistle from the center spot.

What's that story about raving a red card in front of a bull?

[Skywalker69]

I find it strange that Marxist-Leninist followers Tida and Weng say they defends democracy.

[ginjag]

Have a football referee constantly blow a whistle from the center spot.

What's that story about raving a red card in front of a bull?

No CHARGE for my post, Pic-a door you want to escape out of, if you find this a load of BULL-RING me

[slapout]

It appears that the potential work force/protest canidates in a lot of rural Thailand are demanding above min. wage pay from the local s, (400 baht/day + perks) thus I suspect the protest recruiters may be facing the same situation.

A free bus ride is not a adventure again, they want cash up front (rice sales result in post dated payment), food provided as well as a little liquid courage.The days of ringing the dinner bell to collect a crowd may be waning.

Both sides of the various political issues may want to watch their methods and backsides as the smell of blood could set loose a group which cannot be controlled, like we have seen recently.

[DGIE]

Thainy Tim said:

I heard the actual figure was 1,500 last week and on day two, a couple of hundred. Think this is going to be David V Goliath. Only this time, David won't be the smart one.

So who is David of them, the red shirts or the anti-government?

[DGIE]

Those protesters disturb the flow of traffic.

Last Friday, we are forced to go home earlier than the supposed time of dismissal in order to catch a ride going home.

At past 3pm, there were very few buses running

[thaidel48]

The reason they cant get the numbers is cause its harvest season.. not that many of the people doing it are getting the minimum daily wage of 300 Baht.

[belg]

500 baht per person

that is the motivation

[fab4]

I find it strange that Marxist-Leninist followers Tida and Weng say they defends democracy.

I don't suppose you even know of the context that they became "Marxist -Leninist" followers but even if you did you'd find that they had shed that political line of thinking many years ago. Or are you of the once a commy, always a commy brigade? By the way it's Thida.

[Siripon]

The red shirts don't understand that a democracy has checks and balances, they just don't get it.

[Skywalker69]

I find it strange that Marxist-Leninist followers Tida and Weng say they defends democracy.

 

I don't suppose you even know of the context that they became "Marxist -Leninist" followers but even if you did you'd find that they had shed that political line of thinking many years ago. Or are you of the once a commy, always a commy brigade? By the way it's Thida.

So you never spelled something wrong? Are you that perfect?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Local Drunk]

I find it strange that Marxist-Leninist followers Tida and Weng say they defends democracy.

I don't suppose you even know of the context that they became "Marxist -Leninist" followers but even if you did you'd find that they had shed that political line of thinking many years ago. Or are you of the once a commy, always a commy brigade? By the way it's Thida.

So you never spelled something wrong? Are you that perfect?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Sorry Fabby but he wrote it in English, and I'd say he spelled it correctly. English spelling isn't phonetic. There are two "th" sounds in English... one is voiced as in That, and one is unvoiced as in Think. The "th" sound has absolutely no bearing on the way her name is pronounced in Thai.

So tell me, why do you think there is an "h" following the "t" in her name? Think about that.

Would't Tee duh have worked?

Edited November 24, 2013 by Local Drunk

[Mentors]

im watching Asia Update Channel at the moment, the large Stadium is more than full with Red Shirts coming from far. Not same as the yellow stoneage lovers from just around the corner in Bangkok...

Edited November 24, 2013 by Mentors

[tominbkk]

im watching Asia Update Channel at the moment, the large Stadium is more than full with Red Shirts coming from far. Not same as the yellow stoneage lovers from just around the corner in Bangkok...

Could somebody translate this to English for me?

[Mentors]

no

[Sunderland]

im watching Asia Update Channel at the moment, the large Stadium is more than full with Red Shirts coming from far. Not same as the yellow stoneage lovers from just around the corner in Bangkok...

I'm watching Asia Update and Blue Sky. There are a large number of red shirts, and more arriving at Rajamangala, and yet definitely not enough to fill all the seats if they moved everyone to the seats. Can still grow, but no more than 30,000 maximum at the moment. Camera angles from the front make it look more impressive than the real scale of the crowd. Could reach 100,000 tomorrow though.

[ratcatcher]

im watching Asia Update Channel at the moment, the large Stadium is more than full with Red Shirts coming from far. Not same as the yellow stoneage lovers from just around the corner in Bangkok...

Could somebody translate this to English for me?

tom, consider the source. Looks like the Reds will have to rent another stadium if they expect to exceed the numbers at Sanam Luang and Ratchadamnoen area rallies.

Nothing stoneage about the gatherings above.