GIVE ME A LANDSLIDE, AND I'LL SOLVE YOUR ILLS, SAYS THAKSIN

Red shirts urged to give their vote to Puea Thai

GIVE ME A LANDSLIDE, AND I'LL SOLVE YOUR ILLS, SAYS THAKSIN

• Published: 13/03/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship have told their supporters to vote for the Puea Thai Party in the coming election to strengthen the red shirt movement.

FLEET-FOOTED: About 50,000 red shirts converge on the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue to mark one year since their rally moved from the provinces to Bangkok.

"If you vote [for Puea Thai Party] to win by a landslide, I would come back to solve Thailand's economic problems and make the country boom again within six months," Thaksin told about 50,000 red shirt members who gathered at the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue last night.

The gathering was called to mark the first anniversary of the red shirt rallies which ended in a bloody crackdown in Bangkok on May 19 last year.

UDD chairwoman Thida Thavornseth told the crowd that the UDD would help the party move towards victory in the poll. She was apparently referring to the Puea Thai Party.
"We have two legs," she said. "One is for a fight in the House and the other a fight on streets."
Ms Thida called on red shirt supporters to create a political stronghold in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces to help the party's chances.

GIVE ME A C: Weng Tojirakarn, co-leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, plays guitar while waiting to speak on the stage at the red shirt rally. He was one of seven UDD leaders released on bail on Feb 22 after nine months in prison on terrorism allegations.

Ms Thida's husband Weng Tojirakarn and other key UDD leaders joined the rally for the first time in about nine months, since being jailed on terrorism charges in connection with their rally last year.
Their release on bail on Feb 22 could pave the way for fugitive leader Arisman Pongruengrong to surrender to police by March 26, said Jatuporn Prompan, a UDD co-leader.

Mr Arisman, a hardcore leader of the group, fled after the end of the rally last year.
Mr Jatuporn told the crowd that he has evidence to prove Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lobbied for the disbandment of Thai Rak Thai successor party the People Power Party, Chart Thai Party, and Matchimathipataya Party in 2008.

The UDD rally, held on the same avenue yesterday as a rally by the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was watched closely by police.
The seven released leaders were able to address rally-goers, but they were likely to face legal action if they provoked protesters against the government, said Prawut Thavornsiri, spokesman for the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order.
They were released by the court on condition that they must not instigate unrest or leave the country.
"Our officers were told to record what they do and what they say," said Pol Maj Gen Prawut, who vowed to petition the Department of Special Investigation to revoke their bail if they breached the terms.

Up to 1,200 officers were ordered to stand guard and patrol the Democracy Monument and nearby areas packed with red shirt supporters whose number peaked at night when Thaksin started his talk.
Police kept up their forces at Government House and Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue.
Police at Government House were told to keep order near the PAD site at the Makawan Rangsan bridge.
Mr Jatuporn said the group would carry on holding rallies to demand justice for red shirts killed in the crackdown last year.