“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.” – Karl Marx.
While not wishing to plug the Bangkok Post there is a VERY good piece in the newspaper today by the excellent Vornai Vanijaka about Thanthawut Aweewarodomkul a redshirt, who has just come of out a three year sentence for lèse majeste. Please have a read here.
In short, Thanthawut came out of jail disillusioned with the red shirt leaders, the Pheu Thai Party, lawyers, the rights of the poor, life in general and perhaps disillusioned about how he was treated by his fellow man. He is blunt and to the point and seems to be re-awakened.
I have been in Thailand over 20 years. I have seen a lot. When the popular red-shirt movement began in support of Thaksin Shinawatra, many people smelled a popular revolution. Could the poor really storm Thailand’s Bastille? What a romantic thought.
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| Your were either for him |
On the other side were the ‘Yellow Shirts’ backed of course by the army and the upper and middle classes, who seemed to support an established status quo that was never going to look after its needy.
Essentially there were two camps here – both led by the excessively rich.
“The guard would line us [lese majeste convicts] up, and slap our faces down the line. It was a humiliating experience.” Thanawut – Bangkok Post
To my dismay many of my younger journalist colleagues in Bangkok were also excited. Some were falling over themselves to live with the ‘revolutionaries’. A very well respected socialist academic seemed to be behind them – but I am guessing that that was more because change was needed and this was a wagon to hitch himself on.
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| Or against him |
“Imprisoned red shirt leaders all have “fan clubs”, whose members visit them often and shower them with gifts. Meanwhile the other 200 or 300 red shirt prisoners are neglected.” -Thanuwat, Bangkok Post
Never mind that any self respecting Marxist or Trotskyist would take one look at this revolution and it’s father figure and quickly come to the conclusion that the father figure would be the first for the salt mines once they had seized control.
“The last capitalist we hang shall be the one who sold us the rope.” ― Karl Marx
It never happened of course. The Red Shirts were bought out by a 30 baht health schemes, loans to farmers, and of course the current controversial rice deal and by a leader who spent a couple of weeks in Isaan being filmed living like the locals.
“Pheu Thai MPs came to visit us one time, all dressed up and behaving distinguished. “We were herded to welcome them. They came only one time in three years. They gave us 2,000 baht each. One meal each, one packet of amenities each…..done.” Thanuwat – Bangkok Post.
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| Briton Jeff Savage got up on the red-shirt podium |
As Thanthawut speaks he talks eerily in an ‘Animal Farm’ mode of Red leaders becoming arrogant and distant as they head for the political hustings with Pheu Thai.
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| But he had his yellow moments |
“…out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs, all walking on their hind legs…out came Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him.” – George Orwell, Animal Farm
The Red Shirts put in a government which, it is now claimed, has plundered the country more than any in recent memory.
And all governments seem to do it to a greater or lesser extent.
There is no evidence that the farmers’ lot has got significantly better at least not at the expense of the average Bangkokian who needs a lot more money to survive nowadays.
“It hurts when I see them [red shirt leaders] demanding ministerial positions. “It hurts when I see them happy with their children. Holding birthday parties. Having a good time. Receiving titles. Walking behind Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.” Thanuwat – Bangkok Post.
Does Thailand learn from its mistakes? There is little evidence it does. Meanwhile I wish Thanuwat success in his restored life and offer the following.
“Surround yourself with people who make you happy. People who make you laugh, who help you when you’re in need. People who genuinely care. They are the ones worth keeping in your life. Everyone else is just passing through.”
― Karl Marx
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I'm sorry but Voranai and, unfortunately, Andrew Drummond are writing complete unmitigated bollocks.
Who set up this Happy 64th Birthday to Thaksin Facebook page >>> https://www.facebook.com/thaksin64?
One Thanthawut Aweewarodomkul
Well if you are saying Voronai made up the quotes then that is something you should address to him. I think its accepted that he is a red shirt who does a lot of their web stuff.
Voranai changes his position frequently and has a record of "making stuff up" – his bogus report on the royalists attacking Red Shirts at the court last year being a classic example.
I understand Voranai is a darling of Bangkok expats – full of overwritten pretension and misdirection – but he has no real connection to the Red Shirts or any understanding of them. A UK analogy would be like a very posh journalist who barely leaves Kensington writing about the Clydeside dockers and that then being taken seriously by foreign journalists who themselves barely leave London.
As far as I'm aware most of the LM prisoners in and out of prison are Thaksin and UDD supporters, and have all taken money and support from PT etc and were happy to voluntarily (those released anyway) to attend Thaksin's birthday celebrations last week, including Tantawud.
To claim that is irrelevant in an article you re-post on your pages here seems a bit like saying that just because someone else said the moon is made of cheese you are free to post that without any fact-checking yourself.
I cannot edit incoming posts, only approve or delete. I have allowed this post because the poster wants to make a complaint. However I wish to disassociate myself from the allegations made from behind a pen name that Voronai 'makes things up' so should he request I delete that comment I will do so. Dudeist is taking much too seriously my parody of the red shirts. Its a little more difficult to take the mickey out of the yellow shirts because of the institution they cherish. While the red shirts may be more popular than the Tooting Popular Revolutionary Front I remain baffled as to why would they would elect a despot's hand glove to run a kleptocracy. I find Tantawud's comments very credible.