Questions and Answers: United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) - Red in the Land

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Questions and Answers: United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)-Red in the Land

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship-Red in the Land has received many questions from people interested in the Red Movement. These are grouped under six points and answered in the following pages. Should there be any other inquiries, they will be attended to at a later date.

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Question 1: What does the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship mean and who is the United Front of People-Red in the Land? One must first understand h o w the anti-dictatorship movement came into being after the 2007 coup. From the middle of 2007 to the middle of 2009. an informal gathering of different groups occasionally banded together. These groups consisted of Peoples’ TV (PTV). Confederation for Democracy, September 1 9 Association. Revolutionary Peoples’ Group. Saturday People against Dictatorship, etc. Soon after, many more groups against dictatorship and in favor of democracy appeared on the Thai political scene such as Friends of the 1997 Constitution, June 24 Democracy Movement and Women’s League for Democracy. All of these groups worked in collaboration with the PTV group that acted de facto as the center. The movement grew into a national movement, the United Front for Democracy and against Dictatorship. After their members were rounded up when protesting in

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front of General Prem Tinsulanond’s the second

generation

of

UDD

residence, leaders

was

then transformed

into

born. The UDD movement

UDD-Red in the Land to become mass

movement.

movement means.

On

many

a nationwide

occasions,

the

fought on a large scale using peaceful Debates

were

heated

among

UDD

members on whether to use peaceful means or to resortto armed conflict. Someofthemembers.acting emotionally

and independently,

fine line of lese majeste. misunderstanding UDD-Red decided one

treaded

of the actual intentions

in the Land movement. that a proper

with

a

on the

This has led to a of the

It was then

organization

be created,

collective

leadership,

recognized

as well as a political guideline and clear policies to be disseminated through UDD political cadre schools. The UDD-Red

in the

Land

also printed

their

6 point policy on the backside of every UDD-Red in the Land identification tag. emphasizing their adherence to use of peaceful means in their fight for a democratic state with a constitutional monarchy in which the political power really belongs to the Thai people.

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Therefore, those who aim to bring down the oligarchy but do not act according to the UDD policies, are to be regarded as those outside of the UDD movement regardless of their shirt color. Even if the person thinks that he is a “Red Shirt", he may not be a member of the UDD-Red in the Land. He may. however, be considered a sympathizer of the UDD-Red in the Land movement. The answer to the first question is rather lengthy but it leads to answers to subsequent questions. Question 2:

What are

the

aims of the

UDD-Red in the Land?

The aims of the UDD-Red in the Land are very simple. Just read the 6 points. We want to fight for a democratic state with a constitutional monarchy in which the political power really belongs to the Thai people. - We want a fair and just state, a legal state with a fair judicial system and not one with double standards or. in fact, with no standards.

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- We want to reinstate the 1997 constitution, revise and amend it. in place of the present 2006 constitution that was established at gunpoint by the coup plotters on September 19, 2005. The 1997 constitution was established in the aftermath of the 1992 uprising by the Thai people. - We want to solve economic problems. We want a free capitalist state in which the gap between the rich and the poor is reduced. We want to create more opportunities for the poor. We want the country to move forward with economic progress and with a competitive economic edge on the world stage. We do not want to be a backward country that is totally controlled by conservative oligarchs as it is today. To put it simply, we want to free our country and its population from the hands of the oligarchy and transform it into a country of free people with national pride, freedom and equality. We are not going further than this, contrary to rampant false accusations.

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Question 3: What is the relationship between Thaksin Shinawatra and the UDD-Red in the Land movement? The question of the relationship between Thaksin Shinawatra and the UDD-Red in the Land movement is an interesting one. Yellow Shirts and the Democrat Party have always launched false accusations such as “Red Shirts are fighting for Thaksin only”, "Red Shirts receive money from Thaksin”, or “UDD leaders are making money from the political fight”. For the past three years, many people believed these false accusations. Both the foreign and local media representing the voice of the middle-class have chosen to believe the local press that was feeding the Thai population with false news. In the end, the truth is out. Thaksin’s personal assets were frozen. He is being pursued legally. He does not have freedom of movement. How then was the UDD-Red in the Land movement able to grow into such a large mass movement? If the Red Shirts were only working for Thaksin, receiving money from Thaksin, with 6

time,

should

the

movement

not

smaller and smaller? How much

be

getting

would Thaksin

have to pay for people to be ready to fight and die for their cause? In reality. Thaksin is a victim of the oligarchic state,

in the

society

same

way that

is also a victim.

the

entire

Thai

The legal case against

Thaksin and his personal story are issues that the judicial system must handle with the kind of fairness that

society

can accept.

Thaksin

Shinawatra

is just a Red Shirt, just another member UDD-Red in the Land. Thaksin to express his opinion,

has the right

give his advice in the

same way that other UDD members to do.

Opinions

of the

are gathered

within the Executive Committee. within the general policy

are allowed

and discussed They must be

guidelines

of the UDD

movement. Question 4: What is the notion of “A New Thai State” according to the UDD? The terminology, not appear

“A New Thai State”, does

anywhere

is an expression

in UDD publications

used

by

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but

Veera Musikapong

to designate a democratic state with a constitutional monarchy in which the political power really belongs to the Thai people, in accordance with UDD political guidelines. It also designates a state that will adhere to judicial fairness and equality, void of double standards and oligarchic power, a Thai state that is very different from the present one. Question 5: What is the UDD stand on the monarchy as an institution? If one reads the six-point policy guideline of the UDD movement, it is absolutely clear that the UDD wants a democratic state with a constitutional monarchy in which the political power really belongs to the Thai people. Nevertheless, the present government, the Yellow Shirts and the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) have taken it upon themselves to distribute printed defamatory accusations that the UDD and certain important personalities vow to abolish the monarchy. The latest documents produced by the CRES represent some of the most abject moves and

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only reflect authors

the pervading

and distributors

cretinism

among

the

themselves.

To accuse people

who are not involved

in

aiming to abolish the monarchy as an institution, to reproach those who are producing printed media, to stigmatize those who are university professors, to denounce those who are former Thai Rak Thai parliamentarians and to

implicate

Chavalit

is

Yongchaiyudh

to

even General make

false accusations. If one is accusing of acting,

speaking

or

writing

to

blanket someone

abolish

the

monarchy as an institution, one must have precise and concrete information. Such accusations must not be levelled recklessly without proof. The CRES is becoming the laughingstock of everyone, even of the other color shirts. Question 6:

Why must the Parliament

be

dissolved immediately? First

of

all, the

present

government

was

established by the oligarchic system. Questionable political and judicial maneuvers as well as the gun barrels of the

of the army had derailed people

to put

into

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the intentions

power

a Palang

Prachachon (Peua Thai Party) government. Secondly, the present government is the epitome of total mismanagement, extensive corruption and utter incompetence when dealing with socio-economic and political questions. The longer it stays in power, the bigger the disaster for the nation. Thirdly, we are acting on behalf of the people who had had their political rights taken away. Therefore, it is important to restore these rights to them immediately. In addition, the government recently took actions that have already resulted in the death of more than a score of people and have wounded more than 800. A government that is in any way conscious of the evil that it has done, would have already stepped down and dissolved the parliament, returning political power to the people by paving the way for new elections. On the contrary, the present government has persistently refused to admit to its own evil doings and went even further by accusing the protesters, who are fighting with their bare hands, of being terrorists. A total of 70 M79 grenades have already been used over a certain period of time.

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the very first ones before the Red Shirts even started demonstrating. The government had never been able to root out the culprits. However, when the M79 grenades were again used during the Red Shirt protest, instead of looking for the culprits, the government ordered the dispersion of the protesters in the night of April 10 and blamed the use of grenades on the demonstrators. Abhisit Vejjajiva. Suthep Thuagsuban and the Democrat Party are playing a satanic, not an angelic, role. They are demons that occasionally transform themselves into “gods” in order to deceive the population. To remain in power is to lead the nation to disaster. Abhisit himself and the government are also imprisoned in the barracks of the 11th Regiment, unable to administer their governmental duties. It is a failed State. It is a State of disaster. A solution is. therefore, urgent. The UDD has never refused negotiations as can be seen in our call for dissolution of the parliament within one month and an interim governmentduring two monthsthereafter. However, the Abhisit government refused the proposal

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because

he believes that the military is backing

him. In conclusion, the present government prefers to use military means rather than to resort to political solutions.

By so doing, the present

is transforming war.”

the current

The people

situation

are determined

government into a “civil to fight. They

will not back down. Tolerance of the oligarchic system over the years has now reached saturation point. The people will not surrender to the barrels of guns anymore. Abhisit

Vejjajiva, how many people

going to kill? We want to propose of

the

people

are you

the following

fighting

slogan

as

food

for

thought:

“You cannot kill the population. You

cannot eradicate them all.” 28 April 2010

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