Matichon reports that the PM Abhisit will visit Buriram on Saturday, and that the Blue Shirts are part of the security preparations, which includes 3,000 provincial police from Nakhon Ratchisima, Surin, and Buriram.
The Blue Shirts, as you may recall, first appeared in Pattaya during the ASEAN debacle in April, and also at the Suvarnabhumi airport. In Pattaya, the Blue Shirts faced off with the Red Shirts in the streets, and according to Red Shirt leaders, provoked the Reds into storming the Royal Cliff Hotel, resulting in the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit. It is still not clear whether this is exactly what happened, as both sides blame each other for starting the riot. It is also unclear who the rank-and-file members of the group are. Officially, the Blue Shirts are a pro-royalist group formed by the Ministry of the Interior to promote peace and protect the monarchy, though others see the group as nothing more than a state-sponsored militia under the control of Bhum Jai Thai party heads like Newin Chidchob and Chaovarat Chanvirakul (Straits Times, Sky News). The group's leaders say its members are "local people" who support the monarchy, but some observers say that many of its members are hired thugs, including plain-clothes soldiers and police officers (Bangkok Post, BP).
The real aim of the Blue Shirts is still open to question. Some say the group exists strictly for the purpose of opposing the Red Shirts and supporting the monarchy, others say they are a third line of support for outnumbered and ill-equipped police and military officers, while still some others say they were created by Newin as part of a secret strategy to stir unrest, thereby undermining the credibility of both the Red Shirts and Abhisit (Abhisit-NYT, The Nation). Whatever the case may be, the fact that the government has formed its own protest group, which is clearly politicized and allowed to operate armed with either official or tacit support from the government, police, and military, does not bode well for national reconciliation and future political stability. Even Abhisit said in a previous interview with the press, "No more colors". Deputy PM Suthep Thuagsuban has told The Nation, "The blue shirts have been distributed by the Interior Ministry all over the country. That is part of a campaign for social peace and unity." Yet, ironically and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Blue Shirts have shown to have the opposite effect, raising the level of political tension and widening divisions, as seen in Pattaya. Given what happened with the Blue Shirts in Pattaya, one has to wonder why Newin and his associates have have decided to mobilize the Blue Shirts for Abhisit's visit, shouldn't security be the exclusive domain of the police and military?
While things may not turn violent, mobilizing the Blue Shirts seems like a recipe for violence and chaos. Yes, the Red Shirts have announced that they too will appear in Buriram during the PM's visit. The same Matichon article above says that the Red Shirts will come to chase out the PM, "เพื่อขับไล่นายกรัฐมนตรี". Matichon says that Red Shirts will descend on Buriram from Northeast provinces like Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Sakon Nakhon, as well as some from Buriram and nearby areas. It seems like the wise thing to do would be for Abhisit to order Newin to call off the Blue Shirts, but this may prove hard given Abhisit's power vis-a-vis Newin and others. In fact, the Blue Shirts should be disbanded permanently, though allowed to operate privately as long as they follow the law. The state should not be in the business of creating and funding militias under the auspices of protecting the monarchy. This is a clear case of political elites using the monarchy for their own political ends. Likewise, Thaksin and leaders of the Red Shirts should make sure this time that Red Shirt protesters restrain themselves no matter what the circumstances, though this could prove impossible if they come under attack from another group. Thaksin still has the ace in his sleeve, elections, so there is no reason to provoke a riot, though based on past experience he has not made the best political judgements.
Videos of Newin and Suthep in Pattaya, Blue Shirts, and Matichon article below.
The Blue Shirts, as you may recall, first appeared in Pattaya during the ASEAN debacle in April, and also at the Suvarnabhumi airport. In Pattaya, the Blue Shirts faced off with the Red Shirts in the streets, and according to Red Shirt leaders, provoked the Reds into storming the Royal Cliff Hotel, resulting in the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit. It is still not clear whether this is exactly what happened, as both sides blame each other for starting the riot. It is also unclear who the rank-and-file members of the group are. Officially, the Blue Shirts are a pro-royalist group formed by the Ministry of the Interior to promote peace and protect the monarchy, though others see the group as nothing more than a state-sponsored militia under the control of Bhum Jai Thai party heads like Newin Chidchob and Chaovarat Chanvirakul (Straits Times, Sky News). The group's leaders say its members are "local people" who support the monarchy, but some observers say that many of its members are hired thugs, including plain-clothes soldiers and police officers (Bangkok Post, BP).
The real aim of the Blue Shirts is still open to question. Some say the group exists strictly for the purpose of opposing the Red Shirts and supporting the monarchy, others say they are a third line of support for outnumbered and ill-equipped police and military officers, while still some others say they were created by Newin as part of a secret strategy to stir unrest, thereby undermining the credibility of both the Red Shirts and Abhisit (Abhisit-NYT, The Nation). Whatever the case may be, the fact that the government has formed its own protest group, which is clearly politicized and allowed to operate armed with either official or tacit support from the government, police, and military, does not bode well for national reconciliation and future political stability. Even Abhisit said in a previous interview with the press, "No more colors". Deputy PM Suthep Thuagsuban has told The Nation, "The blue shirts have been distributed by the Interior Ministry all over the country. That is part of a campaign for social peace and unity." Yet, ironically and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Blue Shirts have shown to have the opposite effect, raising the level of political tension and widening divisions, as seen in Pattaya. Given what happened with the Blue Shirts in Pattaya, one has to wonder why Newin and his associates have have decided to mobilize the Blue Shirts for Abhisit's visit, shouldn't security be the exclusive domain of the police and military?
While things may not turn violent, mobilizing the Blue Shirts seems like a recipe for violence and chaos. Yes, the Red Shirts have announced that they too will appear in Buriram during the PM's visit. The same Matichon article above says that the Red Shirts will come to chase out the PM, "เพื่อขับไล่นายกรัฐมนตรี". Matichon says that Red Shirts will descend on Buriram from Northeast provinces like Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Sakon Nakhon, as well as some from Buriram and nearby areas. It seems like the wise thing to do would be for Abhisit to order Newin to call off the Blue Shirts, but this may prove hard given Abhisit's power vis-a-vis Newin and others. In fact, the Blue Shirts should be disbanded permanently, though allowed to operate privately as long as they follow the law. The state should not be in the business of creating and funding militias under the auspices of protecting the monarchy. This is a clear case of political elites using the monarchy for their own political ends. Likewise, Thaksin and leaders of the Red Shirts should make sure this time that Red Shirt protesters restrain themselves no matter what the circumstances, though this could prove impossible if they come under attack from another group. Thaksin still has the ace in his sleeve, elections, so there is no reason to provoke a riot, though based on past experience he has not made the best political judgements.
Videos of Newin and Suthep in Pattaya, Blue Shirts, and Matichon article below.
Matichon:"เนวิน"คุมความปลอดภัย"มาร์ค"เอง
เมื่อวันที่ 8 ก.ค. รายงานข่าวแจ้งว่า การลงพื้นที่ จ.บุรีรัมย์ ของนายอภิสิทธิ์ เวชาชีวะ นายกรัฐมนตรี ในวันที่ 11 กรกฎาคม ได้มีการเตรียมกำลังตำรวจจากกองบัญชาการตำรวจภูธร ภาค 3 ประมาณ 3,000 คน มารักษาความปลอดภัย โดยจะมีตำรวจบางส่วนสวมเสื้อน้ำเงินปกป้องสถาบันของ กระทรวงมหาดไทย เหมือนที่เคยทำมาแล้วที่สนามบินสุวรรณภูมิ และที่โรงแรมรอยัลคลีฟบีช พัทยา ชลบุรี ที่มีชายฉกรรจ์สวมเสื้อสีน้ำเงินดูแลพื้นที่จนเกิดการปะทะกับกลุ่มเสื้อแดง ที่นายเนวิน ชิดชอบ แกนนำกลุ่มเพื่อเนวิน พรรคภูมิใจไทย ลงพื้นที่สังเกตการณ์ เหตุการณ์เมื่อวันที่ 9-10 เมษายนที่ผ่านมาด้วยตัวเอง โดยตำรวจที่จะปฏิบัติการครั้งนี้เป็นชุดเดียวกับที่พัทยา ส่วนใหญ่เป็นตำรวจมาจาก จ.นครราชสีมา สุรินทร์ และบุรีรัมย์ ซึ่งนายเนวินจะเป็นผู้รับผิดชอบเรื่องความปลอดภัยของนายกรัฐมนตรี เนื่องจากว่าเป็นพื้นที่ของนายเนวิน นอกจากนี้มีรายงานว่ากลุ่มเสื้อแดงจะไปชุมนุมที่ จ.บุรีรัมย์ เพื่อขับไล่นายกรัฐมนตรี โดยกลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมส่วนใหญ่จะเดินทางมาจากพื้นที่ข้างเคียง โดยเฉพาะ จ.อุดรธานี ขอนแก่น และสกลนคร ซึ่งมีกลุ่มเสื้อแดงเพียงบางส่วนเท่านั้นที่เป็นคนในพื้นที่ จ.บุรีรัมย์
2 comments:
State sponsored militias are nothing new in times of extreme social polarization. Remember Oct 6, 1976?
Village Scouts and other similar right-wing pro-monarchist groups definitely come to mind when I think of the Blue Shirts. I should have made a point of that in the post, but didn't. Thanks for adding this and contributing.
Wrigley
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