KAO YAI THIANG – As many as 5,000 members of the pro-Thaksin, anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have been reported missing by Red Shirt leaders.
The protestors, who were scheduled to join the protest outside Privy Councillor Surayud Chulanont’s vacation residence in Nakhon Ratchasima, failed to show up Saturday night at the designated meeting point and were reported to police as missing late Sunday night.
“They had maps to Surayud’s house, but we forgot to indicate north and south on those maps, which may have caused them to wander off course,” admitted a visibly upset Red Shirt leader. “We’ve been calling them but none of them seem to be in range of a cell tower. There are tigers out there, you know.”
Police and concerned relatives have set out search parties into the forest, using megaphones to shout anti-government slogans, hoping to hear a reply.
It is believed that Red Shirts can survive up to five days in the forest if they can manage to build shelter out of their foot clappers and multiple copies of Truth Today.