‘Popcorn’ is the buzzword of the day

‘Popcorn’ is the buzzword of the day

Popcorn has certainly become hard to swallow for Chalerm Yubamrung — and Yingluck Shinawatra and her elder brother Thaksin. They probably hate it and will never again think of buying it when they go to the cinema.

Welcome to the mysterious world of “popcorn”. Who are these people dubbed the “popcorn shooters”? Where do they come from?

“Unlike the men in black who were with the red shirts, I do not know them. They are not with us,” protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said when addressing the anti-government protesters on Friday night.

“They are helping us. They help us as we are fighting Yingluck with only our bare hands,” he added.

The crowd cheered and applauded; the whistles roared. The mystery continues.

It’s hard to believe that Mr Suthep has no idea who they are. The only protest leader to have come close to them so far is Somkiat Pongpaibul, the rally leader who was rescued by them from the hands of the police at Phan Fah Bridge last Tuesday in what was an embarrassment for police and the Centre for Maintaining for Peace and Order.

Nobody will come out to claim responsibility for being behind the “unknown armed men” anyway. Mr Somkiat gave the public only sketchy information and left people with more questions than answers. One thing for sure is they are not aliens.

The “popcorn factor” has already become a subplot in the long-running political upheaval and probably looks much more interesting than the main plot. It does not dictate the main plot but it is limiting options for the CMPO and the caretaker government to use against the People’s Democratic Reform Committee.

The “popcorn shooters” protected the protesters from the red shirts during a clash at Lak Si intersection a day before the Feb 2 election. The subplot began from there. And they reminded the government camp of just how deadly they are last week.

The protesters were outnumbered by police that day, when officers were ordered to break up the rally at Jor Por Ror intersection. But the “popcorn shooters” outwitted the police and their tactics also outsmarted Mr Chalerm. Even the police officers on the ground at the time admitted that those “unknown forces” were in better positions and correctly predicted all police moves. They gave the police only one choice: to retreat and give up their plan or suffer more casualties.

When the caretaker government decided to resist the PDRC, it obviously could not take the “popcorn factor” into consideration while mapping out plans to corner the demonstrators. With the emergence of the “popcorn warriors”, attempts by the CMPO to use force to break up the protests became difficult to achieve.

The PDRC, of course, has no worries about this anymore after the Civil Court’s ruling on Wednesday, which says the emergency decree is okay but dispersal of the demonstrators is not. The court’s order virtually makes the CMPO a lame duck and all Mr Chalerm can do, as one reporter joked last week, is to go to the centre to sip a cup of coffee or two while watching rallies continue.

The ruling did not end the mission of the “popcorn shooters”, however. What happened at Ratchaprasong on Friday night showed that threats to the protesters are not over and can be directed at the PDRC’s major camps in inner Bangkok and other places, such as Trat on Saturday night. Mr Suthep has warned everyone to stay vigilant as more attacks could come. Those “popcorn” men are unlikely to sit idly when more underhand tactics happen.

The “popcorn factor” forces the caretaker government to fight the PDRC on the political racecourse instead of using batons, rubber bullets, tear gas cannisters and live ammunition.

But as Mr Suthep declares time and again that the rallies are non-violent, should he also condemn the violence used by the “popcorn” men, too? Using force on either side should be unacceptable.

Unlike Mr Chalerm, Ms Yingluck and Thaksin, Mr Suthep is now finding popcorn sweet and delicious smelling.


Saritdet Marukatat is digital media news editor, Bangkok Post.

Saritdet Marukatat

Bangkok Post columnist and former Digital Media News Editor

Saritdet Marukatat is a Bangkok Post columnist and former Digital Media News Editor at the paper. Contact Saritdet at saritdet@yahoo.com

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