Majority believe protesters have backers: poll

Majority believe protesters have backers: poll

Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul leads a pro-democracy protest starting at Democracy Monument before the demonstrators march to Sanam Luang on Saturday. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
Student activist Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul leads a pro-democracy protest starting at Democracy Monument before the demonstrators march to Sanam Luang on Saturday. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

A majority of people believe the People's Group that has staged pro-democracy demonstrations is receiving backing from certain individuals, according to the result of a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.

The poll was conducted in telephone interviews on Feb 8-10 on 1,315 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country to compile their opinions on the protests staged by the People's Group, or the so-called "three-finger protesters".

A majority, 67.60%, of the respondents believed the protesters were led in the demonstrations by core members of the People's Group while 32.40% thought there were acting independently.

Asked whether the group was receiving backing from certain individuals behind the scenes, 65.25% said "yes" while 34.75% said "no". 

Concerning reports of an internal conflict in the People's Group, 41.22% believed the conflict was between individuals; 25.48% said it was a temporary misunderstanding within the group; 16.88% believed the conflict was real; and 6.42% thought it was only a deception.

The respondents were also asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements about the past activities and conduct of the People's Group, with the answers as follows:

- 20.23% viewed the group as fighting by democratic means while 6.54% said it was using non- democratic means to achieve victory;

- 16.20% thought the group had not heeded the laws while 2.51% said it had;

- 9.89% said it had infringed on the rights and human dignity of other people while 8.90% said it had paid due respect to other people on this issue;

- 9.13% said the group did not respect or accept opinions different from its own while 8.29% viewed it as open and tolerant; and

- 4.26% said the group had lied and distorted facts while 3.12% thought it adhered to facts and was reasonable.

Video: Protesters hurl paint, firecrackers at police

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