'Red shirts' could rally to back beleaguered Thai PM

The red-shirted supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Wednesday they could take to the streets to protect the government from protesters who have forced her to call a snap election.

The warning by the "red shirts" highlights the risks ahead as anti-government protesters continue pushing to eradicate the political influence of Yingluck's brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin is a hero in the rural north and northeast who was toppled by the military in 2006 and now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail for abuse of power charges that he says were politically motivated.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister in the previous government that Yingluck's ruling party beat by a landslide in 2011, has ignored her call for a snap election to be held on Feb 2.

He wants Thailand to be governed by an unelected "people's council" comprising appointed "good people". Such an unprecedented move alone would potentially spark conflict with Yingluck's red-shirted supporters in the country of 66 million.

Bangkok has been shaken by more than a month of mass opposition demonstrations aimed at ousting Yingluck and ridding the kingdom of Thaksin's influence.

The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, as the "red shirts" are known, could rally to protect the government, said Jatuporn Promphan, one of its leaders.

"It is the UDD's job to bring together en masse the red shirts and those who love democracy and don't agree with Suthep's methods. There will be many more people than Suthep managed to gather," he said.

Suthep, who a few weeks ago resigned the parliamentary seat he had held for 34 years, derives support from a small but powerful minority - the royalist elite in Bangkok and the opposition Democrats, the country's oldest party, who have failed to win an election since 1992.

In 2010, he authorized a crackdown by security forces that left downtown Bangkok burning and killed scores of "red shirts", who say they remain supportive of Yingluck and her billionaire brother Thaksin.

Thaksin is widely seen as the power behind Yingluck's government, sometimes holding meetings with the cabinet by webcam. They have huge support in the countryside because of pro-poor policies, and any party associated with Thaksin stands a good chance of winning the election.

Thida Thawornseth, the top UDD leader, said: "When Suthep speaks, he should bear in mind that there are millions of Thais who love Thaksin and love the Shinawatra family.

"Suthep has said Yingluck cannot go anywhere in Thailand without being insulted. What about him? He is the one who should be worried."

The comments from the "red shirts" suggest the protests could lead to a wider conflict if Yingluck's elected government is forcibly removed.

After courts brought down two Thaksin-allied governments in 2008 and the Democrats came to power through a parliamentary vote believed to be orchestrated by the military, the "red shirts" built up a street movement that paralyzed Bangkok in April and May 2010 and ended with the bloody military crackdown.

Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 12/12/2013 page11)