Three red groups compete for allegiance from villages

Ratchaprasong, however, is symbolic at best. Their real homes are upcountry, and they are taking on a political significance of their own.
“Red-shirt villages” in the North and Northeast now number in the thousands, and their leaders are focused on expanding to the South. This proud show of grass-roots solidarity and political ideology concerns the group’s political rivals, and the military. The reds’ foray into the Democrat stronghold has met with opposition from locals. Last Monday, a small pavilion set up for the opening of a new red-shirt village in Songkhla’s Chana district was burnt down; the Democrats denied any involvement.
The thousands of red-shirt villages were conferred by three groups – the Thai Federation of Red Shirt Villages for Democracy, the Democratic Front of Red Shirt Villages, and National United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), which is closely linked to the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
The federation has even clashed with groups of reds when they got involved with local politics. In Udon Thani, a conflict developed between the federation and a red-shirt group called the Society of Udon Lovers, led by Kwanchai Praipana. After Kwanchai’s arrest following the unrest two years ago, Anon Saennan, a journalist who once worked for Kwanchai, came up with the idea of setting up “red-shirt villages” to unite red shirts in rural areas against political changes imposed from Bangkok.
Anon defected from Kwanchai’s Society of Udon Lovers and with his followers set up the first “red-shirt village for democracy” in Nong Hoo Ling village of Udon’s Muang district. Pheu Thai MPs from Udon and some of the 111 former executives of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party were among the early supporters.
Anon’s group set up many red-shirt villages in Udon. Since his release from detention, Kwanchai has voiced opposition to the idea of setting up red-shirt villages.
In October 2011, the Thai Federation of Red Shirt Villages for Democracy was officially set up by Anon and other leaders of red-shirt villages at the urging of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. It now has about 1,000 villages under its influence, with more than 400 of them in Udon and Khon Kaen.Another group, the Democratic Front of Red Shirt Villages, is led by Phetsak Kittidussadeekul, a prominent red-shirt in Udon Thani. The group controls about 200 villages in Udon and Roi Et.
Initially, UDD chairwoman Thida Thawornseth said the group had no policy of setting up red-shirt villages, but as it became clear the village movement was challenging UDD control over the red shirts, Thida got involved. Last November, she presided over the opening of the first UDD red-shirt village in Si Sa Ket’s Phu Sing district.
But the UDD still has fewer than 50 such villages, far behind the two other groups.
Red-shirt villages under the three groups carry signs with messages like “Red-shirt villages for democracy” or “red-shirt villages love democracy”. But the key difference between them is that villages set up by Anon’s and Phetsak’s groups also have Thaksin’s picture beside the village sign, while UDD villages carry signs that say “Red-shirt villages love democracy”, with the UDD logo and Thida’s signature – not Thaksin’s picture.