“…purely about the fight for democracy and justice”

Thaksin has not made a video appearance on the red stage for a few days, a fact that has again stirred up rumours and speculations about his health.  On his twitter page he has given an interesting reason/excuse for his mysterious disappearance. (Click on the image for a full-size version.)

My translation: “I apologise for the recent lack of phone-ins. I haven’t been ill or anything. I’m in good health, but I just wanted [the protest] to be purely about the fight for democracy and justice.”

It is probably a waste of time to read too much into a single tweet, but is Thaksin implying that the reds’ claim to fight for democracy and justice sounds more credible without his presence? Is he admitting that fighting for him does not equal fighting for democracy? Has he somehow realised that he has been a liability for the genuine progressives among the reds?

Of course, all this is just wishful thinking on my part. Nevertheless, there are certainly some in the reds who believe that fighting for a popularly elected Prime Minister who was deposed by a military coup, really is a fight for democracy. Just forget for a moment that Thaksin is that PM, and the idea of fighting for him becomes instantly more palatable.

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