Newly appointed chairman of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) Jatuporn Prompan is deeply fearful of the the possibility of civil war, while insisting the red-shirt movement is focused on peaceful means.
“It [civil war] is my top concern. As soon as there is a change [of administration] without respecting the majority, it is possible there could be chaos which could lead to civil war,” he told the Bangkok Post.
Mr Jatuporn has taken the helm of the red-shirt movement, replacing Tida Tawornseth who stepped down citing the need for new leadership in the current “special situation”.
Mr Jatuporn, who led the red shirts during protests to oust the Democrat-led government in 2010 which ended in bloodshed, insisted the UDD movement will avoid confrontation with anti-government groups.
“Many people think I am a hardline leader and will lead the UDD toward violence, but those who are close to me know well I am very calm, particularly in critical situations like this,” he said.
Mr Jatuporn, however, conceded that some hard-core red shirts want to adopt more aggressive strategies which would carry the risk of violence.
“I’m trying to convince them to come back to our train of thought, which focuses on peaceful means,” he said, noting that any eruption of violence would allow rivals to blame it on the UDD.
“This time, no one can win with violence, no matter how many weapons and how much force they have. The key to victory is legitimacy and justification, and any moves by the UDD will be based strictly on that.”
Mr Jatuporn said he and UDD secretary-general Nattawut Saikuar had talked to red-shirt members in a bid to convince them to remain peaceful.
“We will not resort to other means. We have a high chance of winning and our victory will be clean. The only way to achieve our victory is to strictly adhere to non-violence.”
However, the red-shirt leader said the UDD would not bow to any move to destroy democracy, vowing to fight to the end.
He slammed the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), led by former Democrat executive Suthep Thaugsuban, for destroying democracy with its proposal to install an interim government to implement political reform based on its own demands.
Still, he accepted the fight is an uphill task.
“We’re not sure whether we can protect democracy in this fight,” Mr Jatuporn said.
“It is harder than in 2010.”
He accused Mr Suthep and the PDRC of conspiring with the ammart, or the old elite network of political patronage, to topple the elected government.
The UDD believes the ammart wield influence over independent organisations under the 2007 constitution and has close ties to the military.
Mr Jataporn also labelled Mr Suthep’s push for a so-called people’s council or people’s revolution a total failure, saying the PDRC leader was losing public support.
As Mr Suthep’s supporter numbers dwindle, Mr Jatuporn said the ammart will use its influence over independent organisations to apply pressure on the government.
The red-shirt leader said the situation has changed rapidly and the ammart have a clear “calendar” to oust the caretaker government.
The Constitution Court will rule on the validity of the Feb 2 election either today or on Friday.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will then rule on whether the 308 MPs and senators who supported charter amendment to make the Senate fully elected violated the law. If found guilty, they may face impeachment.
In early April, the NACC will also rule on whether caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra was negligent in failing to address allegations of corruption in the rice-pledging scheme. If the anti-graft agency finds the allegations have grounds, Ms Yingluck will be suspended from duty.
“We will never win in the ammart’s arena so we will not fight on their field but in our arena, the people’s field,” Mr Jatuporn said.
He said the UDD will propose reforms to rival those of the PDRC.
The reform proposals will focus on changes to independent agencies, he said. For example, those appointed to top positions in those agencies would have to be impartial and the process to select them must involve public participation.
Mr Jatuporn also accused some senior military officers of conspiring with the ammart.
He said his informants in the armed forces told him about such relationships, why is he distrusts army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha despite the general’s assurances of neutrality.