Red Shirts Test Thai Limits
JAMES HOOKWAY
Wilawan Watcharasakwet in Pattaya contributed to this article.
SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

PATTAYA, Thailand—Four months after their marathon Bangkok street protests ended in a bloody crackdown, Thailand's antigovernment Red Shirt protesters are testing the limits of what political and military leaders will allow, with a large fund-raising concert in this bawdy seaside resort and another rally planned for Bangkok.

The movement's leaders have set themselves a specific goal—the release of opposition activists arrested in the aftermath of May's demonstrations. In their Bangkok rally, set for Sept. 17, they plan to lay red roses outside the prison where several Red Shirt leaders are being held on terrorism charges. They're also encouraging supporters to stage other events to commemorate the 91 people killed during clashes between protesters and government security forces.


The Red Shirts rally in Pattaya this past weekend.
Wilawan Watcharasakwet/The Wall Street Journal

By returning to Bangkok, where a state of emergency prohibiting political demonstrations is still in effect, the Red Shirts risk another confrontation with Thailand's powerful army. But key Red Shirt leader and opposition lawmaker Jatuporn Phrompan said in an interview during the Pattaya concert that the crackdown had left the movement uncowed—and that while the Red Shirts might lack strong leadership at the moment, adherents learned from that experience and can now put together their own smaller-scale protests.

Their renewed ambitions suggest government efforts to bridge societal fissures are progressing slowly, if at all, political analysts say. While Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrat Party-led coalition has won local elections in Bangkok, in poorer rural provinces many Red Shirt supporters remain angry over the stifling of a protest movement that they see as their best chance for catching up economically with their compatriots, and over the deaths that resulted.

One problem for Mr. Abhisit is that he's offering no quick fixes for Thailand's economic imbalances, but instead proposals meant to work in the long term, such as a new property tax on wealthy Thais who leave large areas of land undeveloped and a program to enable tens of millions of Thais to set up investment funds for retirement, with matching grants from the government.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, Mr. Abhisit acknowledged it would take time to win over enough voters to ward off a populist challenge and secure a Democrat victory in a national election, which by law must be held by the end of next year.

As the Red Shirts try to regroup and rebuild their logistics networks, they face challenges within. Over the past few months, a number of competing factions have emerged from the old organization, known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship. Red Siam, a militant wing with borderline republican tendencies is stepping up its presence at Red Shirt rallies, while a a new generation of moderate leaders such as social worker Sombat Boonngamanong tries to put a friendlier face on the movement.

Saturday's concert had much of the flair that drew tens of thousands of people to the earlier Bangkok protests. Cabaret dancers in black, thigh-high boots and feather boas performed on a large stage while speakers railed against the Thai army and Bangkok-based bureaucrats they say manipulate the system to keep themselves in power. Farther back from the stage, vendors sold sausages on sticks alongside DVDs and graphic photographs of some of the people killed during May's Bangkok clashes. Entrance to the concert was set at 100 baht or approximately $3 a head.

The driving force behind many of the rallies, fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, also broke months of silence, phoning in to the concert from overseas to urge on the 4,000 or so protesters police say attended the event. With characteristic flourish, he promised "to make all Thais rich" if his supporters regain the political power they lost when Thailand's army generals ousted him in a military coup four years ago. Forced to stay out of the country to avoid imprisonment on a corruption conviction—he divides his time between Dubai and Montenegro—the 61-year-old former telecommunications magnate said his main ambition was to return home.

On Sunday, moderate Red Shirt leader Mr. Sombat organized a series of games and stunts on Pattaya's main beach that drew around 300 people dressed wearing T-shirts with slogans such as "I Am Red."

"I'm trying to send a message to the government that the Red Shirts will survive," says Mr. Sombat. At the stroke of 3 p.m., dozens of Red Shirts ran fully clothed into the sea and began a clean-up operation, picking bits of plastic bags and other debris from the water.

"This kind of thing makes us more approachable," says Kaen Orakul, a 59-year-old street vendor who traveled the 240 kilometers to Pattaya from her home in Bangkok with two friends. "It's open to all, not just Red Shirts. Anybody can join to understand us better."

Security analysts say the Red Shirts are trying to operate at several levels: through the main opposition Puea Thai Party; through popular gatherings like the ones in Pattaya; and also through the movement's underground wing. Government security forces blame this underground for instigating much of the violence that tarnished the Bangkok protests—and for grenade attacks in Bangkok over the past few weeks that have killed one person and injured several more.

Mr. Thaksin's backing for Mr. Jatuporn's rallies, though, suggests the Red Shirts are now refocusing on taking back some of the public space they lost in the collapse of May's demonstrations in Bangkok. "We want to show we still exist, and that we can't be scared away," Mr. Jatuporn says.

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