Firstly, we’ve reached a point where some pro-Pheu Thai propagandists played down and suggested that the number of protesters was anything but close to 10,000 people, if not more. Basically, Thai social media saw many Pheu Thai cheerleaders saying the local press, myself included, willfully exaggerated the size of the crowd in an attempt to make the Shinawatra fandom feel at ease, assuring them that, “It’s nothing. It’s just a small protest; only a few thousand people showed up.”
This means these individuals only engage with information and interpretations of reality that they like and find comforting. This is a dangerous complacency for the Pheu Thai government itself, as these people are ready to say “yes” even if the sign says “NO.” (Even the magic mirror in Snow White dared to admit that the Queen was no longer the fairest one of all in the land.)
One leading Pheu Thai propagandist (known in Thai as “nai baek” or “bag carrier”, as they are more than willing to carry all the loads and defend their party of choice no matter what), who still possesses some sanity, came out to warn on Facebook this morning that: “We must accept that these protesters genuinely exist in society…”
Seriously, do these redshirt Pheu Thai supporters really need to be reminded to stay grounded in reality to this extent now? What have these people been consuming over the past two years? Cannabis? Meth?
I think it’s good that this particular influential Pheu Thai bag carrier reminded his audience, but the problem is it shows that many Pheu Thai fan clubs are consuming content from these “diligent but ignorant” bag carriers to the point where they are no longer in touch with the real world.
This doesn’t just mean they’re living in a fantasy world, wearing rose-tinted glasses (oh, should that be red-tinted glasses since they are redshirts?), but it also means that Pheu Thai and the Shinawatra family cannot rely on these people for constructive criticism, genuine feedback, or to be a true mirror. In reality, many of these people have chosen to reduce their status from being active citizens to political reality fans a long time ago.
Now, regarding the leaders of the June 28 protest, including former yellowshirt movement co-leader Sondhi Limthongkul, who are blatantly yet tacitly inviting the military to seize power and destroy the still struggling and immature democratic system once again: If anyone is still surprised by this, they must have lost their memories.
This isn’t the first time these people have beckoned and wished for the tanks to roll in again (though this time there’s a caveat, with Sondhi basically saying: “Hey, if you’re going to seize power, you guys need to let capable civilians manage the government, not the generals or losers.”)
Those who disagree with another potential military coup should voice their condemnation loudly and publicly. But that probably won’t suffice. It won’t be enough because the military probably knows deep down that if they risk staging another coup, the number of people willing and brave enough to resist would only be a few thousand – fewer than the protest at Bangkok’s Victory Monument yesterday.
That’s because most Thais “know how to live” (yoo pen), or will choose to lie low. Just a few days after the previous coup, the May 22, 2014, coup, there were protests against the coup makers, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and coup leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, but that failed resistance only drew a few thousand people, not even half or one third of the anti-government protest yesterday.
Where did all the Pheu Thai and supporters of Yingluck disappear to? The tens of thousands of protesters on Aksa Road, led by redshirt co-leader Weng Tojirakarn and his associates, quickly ended their rally as they dispersed on the evening of the coup 11 years ago. Most of the red leaders “knew how to live”, or yoo pen. Many “bag carriers” who have now mastered the art of carrying everything quickly in defence of the current Pheu Thai administration dropped their heavy bags and burdens, and some quickly fled to a foreign land to live quietly in self-imposed exile.
Pheu Thai politicians fled to Cambodia. Famous academics who now post from France countless times a day fled frantically and played zero role in trying to resist the 2014 coup, particularly in the first month, a crucial time when the military junta under Prayut had yet to fully take firm control and were sending army musicians to serenade the public at guess where – Victory Monument.
These people “knew how to live” instantly and played almost no role in resisting the coup in the first month, thus allowing the military dictatorship to take root and stay on for nine years.
And 11 years later, this is still missing from Thai society, even as the military is being openly invited back to seize power once again yesterday amidst political crisis and deepening bilateral conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
Simply put, as long as the rogue generals and the deep state believe that people won’t face monumental resistance in staging yet another military coup, if they believe that the majority of the Pheu Thai supporters will lie low, then the risk of yet another coup will be there.
What’s missing from the public and politicians is a deterrent, or public measures and pledges that, if any coup is attempted, people will come out to fight, resist, condemn, refuse to accept the illegitimate power of the usurpers, and will not take the easy way out and flee or ‘know how to live’ again. I think we can start with the Pheu Thai Party and the opposition People’s Party. They can announce, as a party and as individuals, publicly, that they will not flee, that they will fight. Just condemning Sondhi and co won’t cut it.
The “bag carriers” should do the same, as should prominent pro-democracy academics. Don’t prepare escape routes through “natural channels” through neighbouring countries.
And the redshirts too. Oh… I forgot to mention that the Shinawatra family should do the same: declare that if there is a coup, they would rather face detention at home here in Thailand in a fight, and not flee to “fight” from the comforts of their real estate properties in Dubai or London.
Let’s face the ugly real world and start taking responsibility for Thai society and for once try to protect the fragile democratic system.
However, if the voice of the people willing to fight is loud and clear, the military may think twice and realise that attempting yet another coup this time would be riskier than playing sic bo at a casino in Poipet, Cambodia.
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