Manipulation and resistance

A lesser-known red-shirt leader in the Northeast recently made an interesting observation about the chronic political dispute that has divided our country for more than a decade and shown no signs of ending, not even four years after the military coup imposed an uneasy ceasefire.
Sira Pimklang of Sakon Nakhon alleged that certain groups of people are seeking to prolong the conflict for their own benefit. He blamed other leaders of the red shirts and those of the rival yellow shirts, as well as the major political parties and the military, for there being no end in sight to the conflict. Sira said he and his followers planned to set up a new political party for red shirts who were committed to promoting political reconciliation. 
Setting up a political party for a particular group of people might not be the right way to go, and it is unclear whether it’s even possible to establish a party for rank-and-file red shirts. But the goal of achieving reconciliation in the long-lasting dispute deserves widespread support.
Sira’s idea of forming a party for the red shirts has failed to earn the backing of key leaders of the movement’s umbrella group, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). Core UDD leaders in Bangkok said they had no knowledge about a proposal to set up a party just for red shirts.
Regardless of his motive, there was truth to what Sira said, particularly in blaming all sides for the conflict that has gripped Thailand and impeded its development for so many years.
Whichever side we support, it is everyone’s common responsibility to redress the mistakes that brought us to this point.
This is not the first red-shirt party, in fact. A group of non-core leaders of the movement, disappointed with the Pheu Thai Party, registered their own political party in 2013.
The Election Commission wouldn’t approve their proposed name for it, “the Red Shirt Party”, so it was called the Democratic Force Party. Lacking support even among red-shirt voters, it failed to win a single seat in the general election of February 2014. Most red shirts remained loyal to Pheu Thai and its wealthy patriarch, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The poor showing of that torch-bearing effort should serve as a warning for minor leaders of the movement contemplating striking out on their own. The notion of a political party for ordinary people is praiseworthy, but unsustainable. It takes a lot of money to run a party. Without wealthy financiers, progress is all but impossible. 
Perhaps a groundswell of grass-roots fervour could carry an independent effort to victory, or at least to an influential place in the legislature. For now, though, the point is we should pay attention to people like Sira who might not be political bigwigs or opinion leaders, but have alternative viewpoints worth considering.
Regarding the effort to foster reconciliation, it is worth considering the view that certain groups could be pitting their followers against one another to maintain mutual animosity.
The atmosphere of hatred thus bred keeps the manipulators in power or promises to deliver it, but at the cost of the country’s best interests.
Regardless of political preferences, those who follow must not allow themselves to be led in such a way. By resisting, they help their compatriots steer away from conflict and closer to reconciliation.