Red shirts mimic village tactics used by rebels

It is nothing unusual to see politicians mobilising the mass of their supporters to help them realise their political goals, especially during the political campaign seasons. In the past, politicians might have seen their mass support as the base for providing them with votes only. But the idea of establishing a mass of supporters has been adapted to changing circumstances. Now, political supporters are not only being used to provide votes. On certain occasions we are now seeing these people being adapted into a force for fighting against or resisting opposition groups or even troops and police.
Thailand has seen movements of people from different political factions over the past few years, starting with the rise of the yellow shirts, formed to protest against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Later, the red shirts were formed to support Thaksin and oppose the yellow shirts. The red shirts say their movement was formed to protest against the 2006 coup, which ousted Thaksin and sent him into exile.
Now the red-shirt movement has evolved further. Red-shirt leaders have set up red-shirt villages. So far, over 4,000 villages around the country have declared themselves “red”.
Red-shirt leaders claim that the red-shirt villages were set up to promote the democratic system. This village strategy has reminded us of the communist strategy of besieging cities from without, a tactic that was used by the communists 30 or 40 years ago in Indochina. The red-shirt leaders have apparently wanted to use these villages to bolster their mass support and prepare their people to be ready to support their political causes.
The formation of these red villages may reflect an increasing political awareness among rural people over which side they prefer to identify themselves with. But it is unclear what is the ultimate goal of the leaders, especially from the perspective of those with opposing views from them.
The red-shirt leaders claim the formation of these villages is to support democracy. Nonetheless, this “army” of red-shirt villages can be seen as a threat once their forces have been mobilised. At times, these people have resorted to violence and used the excuse of upholding democracy, as a series of recent confrontations between people with opposing political views in Thailand has shown.
In the meantime, the red-shirt leaders keep on expanding the base of their mass support. Red-shirt villages have now been grouped into red-shirt districts. Earlier this month, red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan chaired the opening of the first red-shirt district in Udon Thani’s Prachak Silpakhom district. Red-shirt villages have been established long before the establishment of red-shirt districts.
Phetchasak Kittidussadeekul, president of Red-Shirt Villages of Thailand, said: “Red-shirt villages are the heart of the campaign to fight for the return of democracy for the people. We will increase the number of red-shirt villages from dozens to hundreds and to thousands, and eventually to hundreds of thousands. Each red-shirt village will have a sign with picture of [former prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra. Each sign will be painted red.”
Jatuporn said: “Now, the red-shirt villages for democracy are the main base of the people who fight to defend democracy.” He boasted that the establishment of red-shirt bases and the ambitious plan was blessed by leaders in Bangkok, while the government, which is on the same side as them, signalled the go-ahead.
This red-shirt mass support could be a valuable force for the country but only if these villages manage to turn their power into constructive energy. There could be positive benefits for the country if these villagers receive honest support from their leaders to enhance their capacity and improve their wellbeing through knowledge and skills, and if they can maximise the use of their farmland and their traditional wisdom. In addition, it would be a positive development if these villages are instilled with the desire to strengthen their communities in a sustainable, self-reliant manner.
But this could also be very dangerous for the country if the red-shirt leaders set up these villages simply to prepare their army of supporters to help them fulfil their political objectives. If they feed their supporters with misleading information in order to create division in society, without preparing to deal with the longer-term psychological impact on the masses, this could be perilous indeed.