Red Shirts: All About Money and Thaksin?

(Photo credit: wikipedia)

At least that is what the government seems to think. In fact, it is fair to say that many anti-Thaksin people share this assumption that the reds are nothing but mindless, greed-driven mercenaries who are in it only for the ex-PM’s money. The best way to suppress the reds, according to this theory, is simply to cut off the money supply from him. Bangkok Pundit wrote the other day:

Like the yellows before them, the red shirts have created a movement which is not going away soon. There seems to be this view, as articulated by Korn of the Democrats, is that the red shirts are like a house of cards and that if you take away Thaksin’s money it will all fall down. This would have been a fair assessment to make back in 2007, but BP has heard and seen more than ample evidence that the red shirts have created a movement which is self-funding for many events (this is not to say that Thaksin and others do not fund some activities such as trips to Dubai etc).

It appears that Korn’s view is also shared by government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn, whose latest attack on the reds predictably centres on the issue of money. Bangkok Post reports:

Acting government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said on Tuesday that money had been transferred from overseas into the bank accounts of key members of the red-shirt people group over the past two and three months. An old soldier had also carried money into the country via Suvarnabhumi airport, he claimed.

Panithan and Co. could not have been more mistaken, as Thitinan Pongsudhirak argues in the Bangkok Post:

The pro-Abhisit coalition has been effective at dissembling and marginalising opposing views. The PAD, in particular, are expert assassins of character, cowing and intimidating those who want to activate and broaden the middle ground for a way forward, into silence. If they cannot see the reds beyond Thaksin and his assets, Thailand will see much more pain and grief in store. What the government spokesman should be telling his bosses and backers is not how to suppress the reds in a three-pronged strategy from local authorities to the draconian Internal Security Act and military-run Emergency Decree, but how to listen to these reds and wean them off Thaksin.

My suggestion: perhaps the government should consider replacing Panithan with Thitinan to boost its own chance of survival.

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. Somsak Jeamteerasakul on Red Shirts and Thaksin
2. Giles: What Have the Red Shirts Achieved?
3. Dr Prawes: Five Types of Red Shirts
4. “When Abhisit Looks in the Mirror, He Will See Thaksin.”
5. Japan Times on the Red Shirts