BANGKOK — As upwards of one million rank-and-file members of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship converge on the nation’s capital for what their leaders have declared as the final showdown against the Democrat-led coalition government, organizers optimistically report high levels of both enthusiasm for the protest and delusion that it makes any difference.
“We’re going to bring down Abhisit with an undeniable show of force,” said one elderly woman who was traveling in a caravan of rusted-out pickup trucks from Udon Thani. “People power will bring democracy to this kingdom,” she continued, unaware that the same claim had been made in 1932, 1946, 1957, 1973, 1976 and 1992 with no discernible success.
The DAAD, a loose coalition of supporters of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, socialists, progressives, and the rural poor, has rallied against the army-installed coalition government for over a year, demanding new elections in the misbegotten hope that Thailand will be a functioning democracy in their lifetime, and that equitable distribution of wealth and development is a remote possibility under Thai culture.
Wearing red shirts and headbands and carrying banners and foot clappers, the multitudes appear ready for a prolonged rally of chanting, speeches, and demands to be ignored by the actual power brokers of Thailand who will soon decide the fate of the government in a series of hidden back-room meetings.
DAAD leader Jatuporn Prompan did his best to support the illusion of importance, stating on People Channel TV that, “No amount of vested interest, no number of army guns can stop the will of the Thai people,” while not mentioning Thaksin’s courting of Newin Chidchob and Barnhard Silapa-archa to abandon the Democrat coalition in exchange for more lucrative cabinet posts.
Meanwhile, members of the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance For Democracy vowed to not provoke violence this weekend in counter-protests, enjoying a similarly inflated view of their own importance.
“We brought down Thaksin in 2006, and we’re going to keep him out, for the good of the nation and the monarchy,” said PAD spokesperson Sonthi Limthongkul, extending the myth that the 2006 coup was triggered by anything other than Thaksin’s attempt to control the army through new appointments. “However, we will not be the first to resort to violence.”
According to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University, such delusion of the masses is not unique to Thailand. “It’s a common feature of democratic states, where people think that just because they vote, they’re in charge,” he said. “Ironically real people power is more genuine in places like China, where the rulers live in constant fear of an actual revolution.”
The illusion of power is not useless, however, according to Thitinan. “It provides a blueprint to the power brokers of what buttons to push to keep people distracted,” he said. “And for this generation of Thais, colored shirts seems to be the answer.”
