Red and Yellow (Comparison)

Tagged Under : pad, red, red-shirts, yellow

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By Chai-anant Samutwanich April 19, 2009

I gave an interview that Thailand had no way out. No political reform would help. A big problem is that habbits (cultures) and behaviors of some Thais would rather necessitate social reform, education, behavioral training and disciplines. This is the principal basis which would affect political behaviors.

During this Songkran festival, we have obviously seen behavioral training backgrounds. We saw the instigation by the core leaders who were: defectively brought up by broken families; suffered hardships; anti-social; anti-successful people; possess unsecured employment; without a good role model and unhappy.

All of those people came to gather for one man. The expression of hatred, violence, as seen when they surrounded and struck the Prime Minister’s car, beat up an officer and the PM’s secretariat, leads to only one conclusion that Thai society is very ill. We need to solve this problem before more violence takes place. Before we talk about political reform, we should talk about the reform of the way we bring up children. Though it will take a long time, we have to do it.

The instigation of rage so much that the “hunting” of the country leader was announced, is alarming for Thai society. Nearly all of the core leaders have deep psychological problems. The crazed mobs were made up of furious people. A lot were out of their minds because of being so drunk.

In comparison to the movements of PAD’s “Yellow-shirts”, a lot of difference can be listed as follows.

Yellow	Red
1. Definite political objectives [Defend the country, Religions, the Monarchy, Anti-corruption, True (New) Democracy]	1. No definite political objectives. [Just to serve Thaksins wish to amand the laws to white wash Thaksin and the cronies.]
2. Attacks politicians’ wrongdoing with tangible proofs and evidences [ex-PM Samak's accusations later proved illegal in the courts, ex-PM Somchai's indecency behaviors with girls, Thaksin's puppet People's Power party electoral frauds later proved guilty by ECC and Constitutional Court.]	2. No substantial evidence to attack PM Abhisit and his cabinet. Only unreasonable emotional and hatred arousal.
3. A lot of supporters	3. Fewer supporters
4. Wide variety of on-stage quality speakers [ eg. media, non-government organization runners, unionists, singers, stars, business people, doctors, ex-polices, politicians, lawyers, ex-expatriates from overseas, priests etc. All of the speakers or singers and their relatives (Sondhi's son, Maleerat's son) stood up live against all risks of assassination eg. M-79 nightly bombardments.]	4. Only a handful of the same group of stage speakers who lack of social acceptance. [ Mostly are Thaksin's puppet politicians, on-sale politicians. There was a VDO-link of the fugitive cowardly Thaksin's speeches. Family members of Thaksin rarely-if-ever showed up on-stage. Thaksin's son never showed up.]
5. Well-organized and well-behaved peaceful rallies including satellite rallies.	5. Violent satellite rallies to cause turmoils [ eg. Pattaya, Victory Monument, hijacking and setting fire to buses and LPG gas trucks, trespassing of city hall in rural provinces ]
6. PAD was subjected to violent dispersal by the government force, lethal and military weapons.	6. Use violent mobsters to attack government officers who fires only blank shots to scare and disperse the violent mobsters. There were waves of Red-shirts attacks and shots at innocent communities.
7. A lot of ralliers were killed or seriously injured.	7. No Red-shirt death has been accountable. [ Red used violent mobsters to attack PAD rallies (in 2008) as well as other innocent people (April 2009). A sporadic shooting by the Red caused two innocent deaths. ]
8. Rallied in front of the airport [ was followed by the Airport authority direct order to shut down the whole operation.]	8. Rallied at Victory Monument (and other road junctions), directly caused traffic shutdown in Bangkok and severe disruption of at least four major hospitals. Red trespassed and rampaged into the private hotel holding ASEAN summit meeting, resulted in a cancel of the meeting.
9. ASTV and ASTV Manager newspaper supported the rallies.	9. D-TV was a broadcast channel.
10. Defend the Monarchy, [ particularly with Yellow as the theme color.]	10. Thaksin and Red’s movement openly attacks Privy Councillors, the closest body to the Monarchy. [ Some members and supporters of the Red-shirts have been indicted with les Majesty eg. Giles Ungpakorn, Daranee Chanchoensilpakul (Da Torpedo). Red is the colour of Communists. ]
11. Rural provinces supporters are from town businesses.	11. Rural provinces supporters are local politicians under Thaksin. Some owns local radio stations.
12. Post rallies activities to reinforce political knowledes.	12. Post rallies activies are declared to be underground movements with violence threatening to force amnesty laws.
13. PAD Core leaders bravely stand proud against all kinds of charges, no matter civil, criminal or Thaksin’s accusation. No one takes refuge of any kind. Somkiat Pongpaibul, despite of legitimate immunity as an MP, denies such protection. They all request neither amendment of the laws nor amnesty acts to lift the charges.	13. Despite defyant declaration on-stage, by some Red-shirt core leaders, Jakrapop Penkae, on the last hours of Red-shirt rally, selfishly escaped from the rally site. Jatuporn Prompan also escaped to later turned out claiming an MP immunity against arrest warrants. All of immediate Thaksin relatives and his ex-wife had flown abroad on April 9, 2009, just two days before turmoils in Pattaya. Though Thaksin declared to fly in to lead the army of the Red-shirt if they were disperse, it turned out that he went shopping in Dubai with his family.]

There are questions over, whether or not, the red-shirts would give up. The midtown before-dawn assassination of Sondhi Limthongkul with military weapons indicates that, despite the red-shirt rally was over, Thai politics have not finished up yet. Abhisit administration is from coalition changing side, made possible with military connection. It is rather strange since Democrat has always been in power only when there is military assistance. This makes PM Abhisit unable to reshuffle the cabinet at will amidst the coalition parties and military who have their own interests to protect. Sondhi is likely to be in danger from people “in uniform” whose benefits may be in jeopardy from Sondhi’s outspoken comments since Sondhi have suggested replacing some important posts. The assassination is unlikely by the red-shirts because they could have done it during PAD’s rally in 2008 in which there were only attacks by plain weapons. (The uses of military weapons against PAD were more remote and furtive.) As of the April 17 incidence, the culprits must have a very high capabilities (and protection) as they outrageously did it with confidence.

Therefore, Thai society is facing two crises. One is social. Another is political which the military and the police stealthily conspires because they cannot stage an explicit coup. The surrounding and beating up of the Prime Minister’s car was not a coincidental, in stead, it was a plot to let the red-shirt do it.

With all my love and best wishes to PM Abhisit and the family, this kind of politics is not worth involving. If I were PM Abhisit, I would choose one out of these only two options, either purging the collaborators in-charge (around PM) or quit it altogether.

Translate by Ronald from www.antithaksin.com