The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) will hold two big rallies on 23-24 Nov in opposition to anti-government protestors, the movement’s core leader announced on Monday.
Pol Lt Col Sa-Ngiam Samranrat, head advisor to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister and a core leader of the red shirt movement, said the rallies would be held in Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan provinces, which abut Bangkok.
The UDD leader insisted the red shirts will not gather in Bangkok, especially near Government House and the Parliament where the Pitak Siam movement plans to hold anti government demonstrations on Nov 24 and possibly Nov 25.
Pol Lt Col Sa-Ngiam said the Pitak Siam group’s plan to hold a rally in front of Government House is a ploy to lure the red shirts into a confrontation, which could ultimately lead to a military coup.
“It’s what they want and we are not falling for that,” he said.
“The red shirts will not move the rallies to Bangkok at any cost, even if they block the entrance to Government House and the Parliament and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra cannot do her work,” the red shirt leader said.
Another UDD core leader, Suporn Attawong, known as "Rambo", said the movement is ready to gather 200,000 of its supporters in Bangkok to protect the government, if needed.
Mr Suporn, also deputy secretary general to the PM’s Office, said former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had sens his “blessings” to the red shirts to help protect the government during his latest phone-in address to pro-government supporters.
“History has taught us to be cautious, we are ready to protect the democratically elected government,” he said.
He insisted that the red shirts will contain their demonstrations to Bangkok’s adjacent provinces during the 23 -24 Nov rally.
“But if the government needs us, we can gather our supporters across the country within 24 hours,” he said. “With the blow of a whistle we can call upon 200,000 red shirt supporters in Bangkok within two hours.”
“The red shirts have no army and no weapons, we are just normal citizens who want to protect the government,” he said.