A red-shirt group has threatened to retaliate against the Constitutional Court if it rules against caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the Thawil transfer case.
PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban wais eldery supporters as one asks him to sign the cover photo of a magazine. Mr Suthep was marching with anti-government demonstrators from their main rally site at Lumpini Park to Silom and Charoenkrung roads. Thanarak Khoonton
Democracy Protection Volunteers Group (DPVG) leader Suporn Atthawong yesterday insisted the transfer of National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensriin 2011 was based on his suitability for the role, and said Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva had made a similar transfer when he was in power.
If the court rules against Ms Yingluck over the transfer of Mr Thawil, the DPVG will call a meeting with its leading members across the country to work out retaliatory measures, Mr Suporn warned.
The ruling threatens to strip Ms Yingluck of her powers as premier.
Mr Suporn said the impeachment of Ms Yingluck would be tantamount to an independent public agency robbing the country of democracy.
The red-shirt leader, who also goes by the name "Rambo Isaan", was speaking during a meeting with members of the DPVG at Chalermphrakiart Stadium in Nakhon Ratchasima province yesterday.
More than 15,000 DPVG members took part in a two-day training session at the stadium.
Mr Suporn said democracy had been destroyed in each of Thailand's 18 coups.
He said all DPVG members were trained to be "superguards" to resist all types of dictatorship and protect red-shirt supporters who fought for democracy.
The guards would act as backup for the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), he said.
He insisted this DPVG was not a separatist group.
All DPVG guards underwent training in martial arts but were unarmed, he said.
He vowed to bring his supporters to fight against what he claimed were dictatorial powers that wanted to topple the elected government.
The DPVG was running under a different operational strategy from the UDD, he said.
The group had both open and secret plans and its guards were "ready to sacrifice themselves" to protect democracy, Mr Suporn said.
He also claimed his group was different from the anti-government People's Democracy Reform Committee (PDRC) as it carried no weapons.
The PDRC guards were armed, as news reports had repeatedly shown.
Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrators, led by PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, yesterday marched eight kilometres from their main rally site at Lumpini Park to Silom and Charoenkrung roads to urge more people to join the protest group's movement to topple the caretaker government.
Mr Suthep said the march aimed to mobilise more people to join the PDRC campaign to expel the government.
He expressed no concerns about the UDD's plan to hold a mass rally one day before the Constitutional Court gives its ruling on the Thawil transfer case. The ruling is expected before the months' end.