The Return of the Reds

These are some of the fellows that caused the cancellation of the April 2009 ASEAN conference which was held in Pattaya. Having completed that mission, whilst putting another nail in the coffin of Thailand's tourism industry, the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) or the 'Red-shirts' as they are more commonly known moved their members to Bangkok where they rioted forcing the government to put in place a state of emergency.
Finally, after a much-criticised softly-softly approach Prime Minister Abbhisit sent in the troops to quell the troubles and, to the relief of most, the 'reds' quietly melted away.

The Red-shirts draw most of their members from the poor of the North and Northeast and generally support the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who they see as a friend of the poor. Thaksin, a vicious, wholly-corrupt man recently convicted in absentsia and sentenced to two years imprisonment for a dodgy land deal was removed from office in the 2006 coup. The 'Red's' believed that that coup was unjustified and nothing more than a grab-for-power by the military and the Thai elite. The UDD also believes that the current government came to power solely because of the coup and thus their claims to office are illegitimate.

Little has been heard of the Red-shirts recently but on Saturday they are intending to rally in Bangkok. They promise that it will peaceful; but the government is taking no chances, with 16 companies of troops on stand-by to support the police should things get ugly again. To add to the tension it is rumoured that Thaksin is pushing for the government to be removed by violent means. He denies that but it will be most interesting to see what numbers the UDD manage to muster and whether the power of Thaksn has waned during his exile.