Red Shirts - Donors unhappy about money not reaching victims
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RED MONEY
Donors unhappy about money not reaching victims
By The Nation
Published on September 30, 2010
The red-shirt leaders are back in the spotlight after donors have stepped up to ask why their contributions have failed to reach victims of the April and May crackdown and their surviving relatives.
About 10 of the donors had asked reporters at the Pheu Thai Party exhibition to voice the complaints on their behalf.
Even though a large number of visitors at the exhibition were red shirts, there were also leaflets attacking Pheu Thai candidate Worawut Wichaidit for the Surat Thani by-election and many people told reporters about the financing of the red-shirt movement.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a woman from Chiang Rai said she and her fellow red-shirt supporters had donated about Bt2 million during the red-shirt rally in Bangkok, which began on March 12.
"Later, I discovered that the funds never reached the survivors of those killed in the crackdown as pledged by the rally organisers," she said, adding she kept making contributions because of her devotion to the movement before eventually losing trust in the red-shirt leaders.
As evidence to back up her story, she showed bank records of her contributions.
The funds were transferred to two individuals - a woman known as Maem, who claimed to be the sister-in-law of red-shirt leader Veera Musigapong, and a man called Tum who acted as an aide to Maem.
The Chiang Rai woman said she was informed by Deputy House Speaker Apiwan Wiriyachai that he had heard about a scam luring red-shirt supporters into making financial contributions, adding that the main opposition party and the red-shirt movement had paid Bt100,000 to cover funeral costs for each victim.
Apiwan said he had received a number of complaints related to donations made to the red-shirt movement, but denied that Veera's sister-in-law was involved in any way. He said none of the complainants had mentioned the involvement of Veera or his relatives in the scam.
Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said in a telephone conversation, he had asked Veera to provide financial records on compensation and relief payments in order to clear up any lingering doubts about the movement's funds.
Jatuporn also admitted that he knew Maem, though they had lost touch after the crackdown.
Maem, he said, was responsible for cooking meals during the rally, adding that she was also in charge of those injured in the April 10 bloodshed.
He said that though donations had been solicited, he and the other rally organisers were not in charge of keeping records. He also claimed that the movement did not have a lot of money, which is why the main opposition party had to step in and assist victims and their relatives in the face of the crackdown.
He urged donors to identify themselves and provide records of their contributions so doubts about how their money was spent could be dispelled.
