The video clip of two People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) co-leaders, Nataphol Teepsuwan and his wife Taya, blowing whistles at and chasing after Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, the former wife of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, at an upscale Bangkok shopping mall, has gone viral on the internet.
Taya and Nathapol: At the Asok stage
The Information and Communication Technology Ministry is having a hard time trying to remove copies of the clip from the world wide web.
Mr Nathapol, a former Democrat MP, reasons that Thaksin is behind the political morass as well as wielding influence over the government of Yingluck Shinawatra and the red shirts. But Mr Nathapol believes it is Khunying Potjaman who has influence over Thaksin.
Mr Nathapol argues that blowing whistles at Khunying Potjaman was an attempt to send her the message that not everyone is pleased with the way the country is being run by the government.
Shortly after the whistle incident, a pipe bomb was thrown at Mr Nataphol’s house in Sukhumvit Soi 18, although the device turned out to be a dud. No one was hurt.
Panthongtae Shinawatra, Thaksin and Khunying Potjaman’s son, also wrote on Facebook that Khunying Sasima Srivikorn, Mrs Taya’s mother, had called his mother to offer an apology.
Mrs Taya also made out a case for the couple’s daring act on her Facebook page and said her mother had rebuked her and asked her: “If someone did the same to you or me, how would you feel?”
Mrs Taya said she explained to her mother that “we need to look at ourselves and see if we have done anything wrong, which causes others to react sternly to us”.
After Mr Panthongtae’s Facebook message was posted, a source close to the Teepsuwan family said a close aide to Khunying Potjaman called Mr Nataphol and they had a heated argument over the phone.
“No hard feelings, eh?” the voice on the line was heard to say. Mr Nataphol was said to be displeased as the bomb, which could have killed someone, was an uncalled for, tit-for-tat reaction to the simple blowing of a whistle.
Khunying Sasima is the wife of the late businessman Chalermphan Srivikorn, a prominent businessman and former Democrat Party MP. He owned a number of successful businesses in the prime Ratchaprasong and Pratunam areas and was the founder of Srivikorn School.
Chalermphan also held ministerial posts in past governments. He later defected from the Democrats and founded the Prachachon Party. Their son, Pimol Srivikorn, entered politics and became a member of the Thai Rak Thai Party.
In the meantime, the Srivikorns have had a taste of the political violence, right on their doorstep.
In the early hours of March 1, bullets were sprayed into the holiday home of Khunying Sasima in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district. Khunying Sasima and others in the house were sleeping when the attack occurred. No one was injured.
The attack came three days after the whistle-blowing incident. The home owner and police believe the attack was politically motivated. Police said the attack was apparently a threat and not meant to kill.
Even though he is wanted on an arrest warrant for defying the emergency decree, Mr Nathapol is single-minded in his aim and is firm with his slogan which he is often heard uttering: “There is not a single day when I wake up and I don’t want to go out and fight against the Thaksin regime.”
His wife, Mrs Taya, a former deputy Bangkok governor, is just as tough-minded. She once led anti-government protesters to Channel 3 and demanded the station link to a signal from BlueSky, the satellite TV mouthpiece of the protest movement, to broadcast PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban’s speeches.
With the presence of the protesters, news-talk-show host Sorrayuth Suthassanajinda, who looked nervous, had to come down to meet them and blow a whistle as a friendly gesture to them.
In the latest development, Mrs Taya announced she has ceased her role as the PDRC co-leader to take responsibility for the attacks and threats of violence against her mother and her family as well as the school the Srivikorn family runs.
Offering no compromise
Anti-government leader Luang Pu Buddha Issara has entered into talks with the authorities in recent times and has shown himself to be rather skilled in the art of negotiation.
The leader of the protest venue at Chaeng Watthana Road, the monk refuses to take “yes” for an answer. When the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee dissolved its protest sites at Pathumwan, Asok, Ratchaprasong and Silom and moved to Lumpini Park, it was widely expected the Chaeng Watthana venue would shut down.
Luang Pu: Continues to show defiance
However, Luang Pu announced he would not budge from the Chaeng Wattana site, which is half way across town from Lumpini Park. The site, being adjacent to the vast, open road and easily accessible from many directions, has made it vulnerable to attacks.
The senior monk earlier negotiated with the police through teleconferencing, which was broadcast on television, and agreed to allow traffic through some of the areas the protesters had occupied in exchange for police promises that the protest site would be secure from attacks. The police agreed.
Elsewhere, Luang Pu led protesters to SC Park Hotel on Praditmanutham Road in a campaign to boycott the commercial interests of the Shinawatra family.
At SC Park Hotel, believed to be owned by the Shinawatras, Luang Pu tried to check in, saying he had booked and had paid a deposit of 4,200 baht for 10 rooms. The hotel manager told Luang Pu he could not allow protesters to use the reserved rooms because guests were scared.
Luang Pu then demanded cash compensation of 120,000 baht - 40,000 baht for fuel for 40 vehicles and 80,000 baht for eight buses. SC Park Hotel agreed to pay 120,000 baht in compensation for cancelling the booking.
On Wednesday, the monk threw down the gauntlet, challenging one of two key government figures to spend three nights with protesters as a condition for ending his blockade of Chaeng Watthana Road.
The challenge was issued to defence permanent secretary Nipat Thonglek and Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) director Chalerm Yubamrung.
Gen Nipat immediately responded that he would accept the terms, but said he could spend only one night with the protesters.
Luang Pu, however, insisted he spend three nights in a row to get to know the life of the protesters and what they must endure.
A source in the Defence Ministry said part of the reason Gen Nipat agreed to spend a night at the rally stage was because Luang Pu was a conscript in the 21st Infantry Division in Chon Buri where Gen Nipat had been a junior officer.
A tenuous position
Since his appointment as the Pheu Thai Party leader and the interior minister in October 2012, Charupong Ruangsuwan has left no room for doubt as to where his loyalties lie.
His opponents have lambasted Mr Charupong for trying to prolong caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s stay in power. They also claim the former civil servant has got on the nerves of the security authorities.
At a rally organised by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in Nakhon Ratchasima last month, the interior minister talked about the creation of an army of volunteers to protect the caretaker government and endorsed the establishment of a government in exile if the Yingluck administration could not resolve the political crisis and was shown the door.
Charupong: Risks finding himself in trouble
He talked about guns and warned about the possibility of blood being spilled. He pointed out that 10 million guns were legally owned by Thai people and the power of the people should not be underestimated.
“In today’s fight, lives are at stake. It is not the kind of fight we watch in cinemas. In this fight when people die, it is for real. But I am confident we won’t die and we will win,” he told red-shirt supporters at the Nakhon Ratchasima gathering.
Not long after that, banners some believe called for a “Lanna republic” sprang up in northern provinces and Mr Charupong’s speech was seen as a declaration of support for the alleged separatist movement.
Mr Charupong was appointed the Pheu Thai leader in October 2012 after his predecessor, Yongyuth Wichaidit, was implicated in a graft scandal. He also replaced Mr Yongyuth as the interior minister around that time.
According to a political source, Mr Charupong works under the close watch of Phadung Limcharoenrat, a close aide to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to make sure he is not “influenced” by any red-shirt leaders. Mr Charupong and Mr Phadung do not quite see eye-to-eye, said the source.
Even though Mr Charupong may not always live up to the big boss’s expectations, his loyalty, especially to defending caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck and her government, keeps him where he is.
As the interior minister, he gives the orders and, because several agencies under the ministry work closely with people on the ground, they have what it takes to mobilise people to attend mass rallies. Mr Charupong himself is a regular speaker at red-shirt protests.
Despite his dedication to the red-shirt cause and contributions to Pheu Thai, Mr Charupong is not finding it easy to command influence in the ruling party – or even to holding on to the Pheu Thai leadership after the political crisis ends. The prime minister is now busy rejecting claims about the separatist connection and the military is not shy about flexing its muscles when it comes to dealing with acts of secession.
Mr Charupong may find himself in trouble with the law if the alleged secession attempt is traced back to the party. As the party leader, he will have to face the music. Anti-government supporters have filed a complaint with the police against the caretaker minister for allegedly violating Section 1 of the charter and Section 113 of the Criminal Code over the alleged treason.
