NARATHIWATFourteen villages in Cho Airong district have been declared ''red shirt zones'' with residents aiming to use political backing to solve land problems.
Tida Tawornseth, chairwoman of the red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship presided over a ceremony to declare the 14 villages red shirt zones yesterday.
The villages _ all located in tambon Bukit _ have a combined population of about 14,000 people.
Mrs Tida, who was accompanied by her husband and Pheu Thai list MP Weng Tojirakarn, gave a red shirt village symbol _ a placard with the Pheu Thai Party's logo _ to representatives from each village. The idea of establishing red shirt villages is to strengthen the hand of local people, giving them a voice in the formation of government policy, one village leader said.
The leader, who declined to be named, said the majority of villagers supported the move as they believe it would help to make their voices heard when they pressure state agencies to solve their problems.
Land is the major problem for the residents of the 14 villages, he said.
Many villagers are being accused of encroaching on protected forest areas on Budo Mountain even though they have farmed it for a long time.
''As the red shirt movement is active in the political arena, we believe joining the UDD will help us push our agenda,'' the village leader said said.
About 1,000 villagers, including Muslim religious leaders, wearing red outfits and red hijabs attended yesterday's ceremony.
Narathiwat is the fourth southern province where red shirt villages have been established. The first was set up in Songkhla's Chana district in October last year, followed by others in Satun and Nakhon Si Thammarat.