BANGKOK – Looking stiff and nervous, Massana Kiwolkiput, a farmer who previously supported Thaksin, accompanied Sonthi Boonyaratglin to the polls today.Asked to describe his political transformation and new understanding of democracy, Massana looked nervously at Sonthi before explaining: “Previously I believed that Thaksin’s programs were simply a redistribution of wealth away from the rich in Bangkok, and that access to local sources of capital, universal health care and debt forgiveness would help alleviate poverty in the poorest region of Thailand as they have for other poor regions in Africa and India,” he said. “But in the past year I have come to realize that I was wrong and quite stupid. The state money would be much better spent on submarines and tanks to defend this nation against Communists, Muslim extremists, illegal Khmers and the Burmese… especially the Burmese.”
Sonthi said Massana was one of thousands of farmers who had reconsidered their previous views under the democracy education programs initiated by the CNS under martial law.
Sonthi had a message to rural Thais who had not switched sides yet. “Take your heads out of your provincial asses” and “vote for anyone but PPP. You know what’s coming if PPP gets elected. C’mon, let’s just do this right the first time.”
