COMMENTARY
UDD may find passion for protest waning
- Published: 29/12/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
It is obvious that the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) will not give the Democrat-led government a moment's peace, let alone a five-day long holiday to celebrate the New Year that the government granted as a gift to the working people.
The red shirt supporters of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - many of them bused to Bangkok from the North and Northeast courtesy of the rally organisers - descended on Sanam Luang yesterday where they began a marathon protest against the government until there is a general election. The pretext for the protest is that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has no legitimacy to lead the administration because he dodged mandatory military conscription two decades ago. (The army earlier explained that Mr Abhisit, although he was not drafted as he was overseas studying, served as a teacher in the military academy.) It was also alleged that his cabinet could not be trusted as several of them are under-qualified while others have tainted records.
Well, the red shirt leaders can dream up whatever allegations they like to justify their protest. But the bottom line is quite obvious, that is they want a fresh election so the Puea Thai party will have a chance to stage a comeback and thus pave the way for the triumphant return home of their dear big boss, Thaksin, who will be whitewashed of all the pending charges against him and granted amnesty for his conviction.
The UDD core leaders have assured their supporters will not storm the parliament in the same way the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy seized Government House when Mr Abhisit delivers his policy statement today.
But given the recent attack with stones on the cars of some Democrat MPs outside the parliament by some red shirt thugs to vent their fury against the Friends of Newin's "betrayal" of their boss, the assurance cannot be completely trusted, although the prime minister himself does not appear worried. Police have been told to exercise extreme restraint and to avoid using force against the protesters to avoid a repeat of the blunder by the previous Somchai administration when police resorted to excessive force to break up the PAD protesters outside the parliament in October.
According to the UDD's plans, Thaksin was invited to join the rally by phoning in from his undisclosed hideaway, perhaps in Hong Kong, to give his faithful supporters a rousing morale booster with his usual boring self-pitying and finger-pointing rhetoric.
Sadly though, the phone-in session which is always touted as the highlight of UDD rallies seems to have lost the magic touch. The last phone-in session which took place in Khon Kaen was not even mentioned in any mainstream newspaper.
There is an old Thai saying which goes: "Three days away, a girl changes heart."
But for a fugitive like Thaksin who has been away from home and his supporters for months and not knowing whether or when he will ever set foot on his native soil again, the likelihood is that his influence is waning and that their adulation of him may gradually fade away.
His influence has already taken a beating as witnessed in the mass defection of the Friends of Newin faction to the embrace of the Democrats. This would have been totally impossible had Thaksin still been at home and wielding his iron-grip control of his party.
The rebels and their de facto leader, Newin Chidchob, would not have the guts to turn their back on the ex-premier without facing adverse consequences.
Not only that, cracks have emerged in the Puea Thai party and the UDD has experienced its first rift.
Kwanchai Praipana, core leader of the Khon Rak Udon group which is affiliated with the UDD and a DJ of a community radio network in Udon Thani, has publicly announced that he will not join the Sanam Luang rally, claiming he will be too busy celebrating the New Year. Such a poor excuse for not joining the crucial rally is totally uncharacteristic of a red shirt fireband like Mr Kwanchai, well-known for his fierce opposition to the yellow shirts.
The UDD core leaders claim their rally will attract as many as up to 100,000 protesters. That might be a deliberate exaggeration to boost their claim to a fatter cheque from the boss for spectacular services rendered. But the bad news is that the boss is not as immensely rich as he was before. His latest unfrozen assets were said to be down to some US$500 million (17 billion baht) from a peak of $5 billion.
Veera Prateepchaikul is Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Post Publishing Co Ltd.
About the author
- Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul
