The red-shirts' dilemma: to wear or not to wear

While some red-shirt leaders in the North have called on Yingluck supporters of wear red, others cautioned against it for fear the military government will use the campaign as a reason to stay in power longer and postpone the general election.
Not to be outdone, Yingluck’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra posted his photo on his Instagram wall yesterday wearing a red shirt.
On his @thaksinlive wall, the fugitive former prime minister said he wore the red shirt to show moral support for those who love democracy and seek justice.
“But my red shirt has the colour yellow at the heart because I would like to see reconciliation in the country that I love and care for,” Thaksin posted.
“Those who wear red today have the following reasons. First, it’s a fashion trend. Second, it’s Sunday and the colour of the day is red. Third, they have several red shirts at home and happen to wear one. And fourth, those, who share the same opinion as me and who are red-shirt people, want to see justice and democracy return to the country.”
Thaksin added: “Anyone who would like to win the hearts of red-shirt people can do it easily without having to use guns and laws. It needs only justice and mercy to win the hearts of red-shirt people and it will save a lot of budget”.
On the same day, Thaksin’s son, Panthongtae, posted his picture on his Instagram wall wearing a white shirt. The photo showed Panthongtae’s back with the inscription: “this shirt is red”.
He posted: “Today, I’ll lend you, Aung Poo [former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra], moral support without wearing red.”
He also used the hashtag of “obeying by 99.99 per cent” in the post.
Meanwhile, Siriwat Jupamadta, leader of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) in Phayao province, said he made a personal decision to wear red in support of Yingluck and it had nothing to do with the UDD.
He said he posted on his personal Facebook page that he would wear red yesterday but his intentions were misinterpreted by the media as an attempt to mobilise the red shirts to wear red. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the red shirts must act within the frame of the law and he believed the junta can keep the situation under control.
Suriyasai Katasila, director of Rangsit University’s Thailand Reform Institute, criticised the red-shirt campaign. He said wearing red would only widen the national division and damage the reconciliation atmosphere and effort.
Suriyasai said wearing red would not help to change the fact that Yingluck is facing a civil action for damages from the rice-pledging scheme.
“It depends on facts and evidence. The red shirts must not create sentiment that pressure or intimidate judges,’’ he said.
UDD leader Jatuporn Prompan said during a TV programme on Friday that the only way the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) can stay longer in power is to have the red shirts fall in the “trap”.
He cited the example of when the government accused the red shirts of being involved in the Erawan Shrine bombing.
“The people in power blame it on red-shirt people. They even made up an actor named Odd as a prime suspect,’’ he said.
“I’m not stopping anyone from wearing [red shirts], but I want to stop people who stir things up and blame the red-shirts.”
Kokaew Pikulthong, another UDD figure, said both supporters and opponents of the red-shirt campaign should be united despite different opinions.
“The campaign supporters want to display support for Yingluck while opponents believe the campaign will disrupt the country’s situation,” Kokaew said “They both have their own reasons. It’s a pity that they appear to blame each other only.”
Kokaew added: “Red-shirt people are all free… You can wear whatever colour shirt on whatever day. Wearing red shirts is not against any law, but a rally is.”
Journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk, who was summoned twice by the NCPO, also commented on the campaign in a caption of his Facebook photo of a red jacket. “The right to choose whatever shirt colour is a fundamental right of every human being.”