May 24, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - In the wake of a bloodless military coup in Thailand that has quickly swept aside the crumbling proxy regime of US-backed billionaire, convicted criminal and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, most Thais have breathed a sigh of relief. However, those supporters of the ousted regime not currently detained for crimes ranging from corruption and nepotism, to organizing terrorism and possession of heavy weapons, are organizing diminutive street protests against the military take-over.
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| Image: April 10, 2010, the first blood spilled was by Thaksin Shinawatra's "black shirt" militants. Snipers targeted both security forces and their own protesters to create a horrific bloodbath that could be used by Shinawatra and his supporters across the Western media to undermine the government they sought to topple. A similar operation may be underway as the remnants of Shinawatra's support base stage increasingly confrontational protests in Bangkok in the wake of a military coup aimed at permanently uprooting his political influence in the country. |
Portraying themselves as "pro-peace," "pro-election," and "pro-democracy," the anti-coup mobs are becoming increasingly confrontational. Despite the small numbers, 100 or less, the Western media has focused on them and is attempting to leverage any and all photo opportunities to portray the coup as "draconian," "dictatorial," and most importantly, "burtal."
What many fear, based on previous political confrontations in Thailand, and in US-backed destabilization around the world, is the use of armed provocateurs in the creation of bloodbath to significantly undermine the new military-led government and justify a series of political maneuvers to extend the politically longevity of Thaksin Shinawatra. Already, Shinawatra's corporate-lobbyist Robert Amsterdam has attempted to float the idea of an internationally recognized "government in exile."
ABC of Australia reported in an article titled, "Thailand coup: Ex-PMs Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck Shinawatra to establish government in exile, says lawyer," that:
Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has revealed plans to set up a government in exile, in a direct challenge to the legitimacy of the military, following confirmation of a coup to remove the government-led by his presumed proxy and sister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The decision was relayed by Mr Thaksin's legal adviser, Robert Amsterdam, and revealed exclusively by the ABC.It should be noted that the ousted regime was in fact led by Shinawatra's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who after being removed for abuse of power and nepotism by Thailand's Constitutional Court, was replaced by Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, a former employee of Shinawatra. A government in exile headed by Thaksin Shianwatra would be yet another overt admission that he, a convicted criminal evading a 2-year jail term, multiple arrest warrants, and a growing list of pending legal cases - was running the country remotely, very illegally, and quite undemocratically - being neither on the ballot or even in the country during the last two general elections.
Shinawatra's "Mystery Gunmen"
Mystery gunmen are snipers deployed to carry out false flag attacks, particularly during demonstrations to incite bloodshed on both sides, expand the conflict, and undermine the government the demonstrations are targeting. The snipers will target and attempt to kill both security forces and demonstrators. With their identity a mystery, the foreign media can spin the attacks in whichever way benefits them and their political agenda.
In Thailand, the US State Department has come out adamantly opposed to the military coup - demanding that "civilian rule" be restored. This sentiment was echoed by a host of US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) funded Thai organizations, and is in fact the rallying cry verbatim of mobs now in the streets of Bangkok.
Thai PBS reports in their article, "Anti coup protest surfaces," that:
Several hundreds of anti coup protesters took to the streets of Bangkok today marching from Major Ratchayothin to the Victory Monument demanding the return of civilian rule to the country immediately.The fear now by many in Thailand is that the deployment of snipers will inflict casualties either today or during ongoing demonstrations to help expand chaos and a pretext for Shinawatra's planned "government in exile" and the support it will need internationally to do so. The Western media is on hand to spin the violence in direct support of this agenda.
While the concept of "mystery gunmen" is known by an increasingly aware general public, after "Euromaidan" leaders were caught deploying them in Kiev during their 2013-2014 riots, and similar examples have become well known in both Syria and Egypt, it should be noted that in 2010, "mystery gunmen" were employed in Bangkok by Thaksin Shinawatra during another attempt to violently claw his way back into power.
One protester in particular was even lured into a trap by Shinawatra's own mercenaries - brought into frame of a camera set up beforehand, carrying a conspicuous red flag to aid snipers in both identifying their target and to take wind-readings to ensure absolute accuracy, before being fatally shot through the head. Images and video would be used the very next day by Shinawatra's propagandists - as the images were captured by a media team prearranged well in advance.
A similar bloodbath is either already planned or in the making. For those lured into "anti-coup" demonstrations, they should be aware that their lives are more in danger by the regime they are marching in support of, than by the "anti-democratic" coup they are opposing.
Thailand-based, long-time expatriate and writer Harlan Wolff noted recently, upon seeing the pro-regime mobs organized for a second day and begin attempts to provoke soldiers, that:
There is an extreme danger of choreographed confrontation over the coming days. It is, sadly, the logical next move. Post coup strategy has been to get the troops to fire on protesters. It worked against the army in 1985 and 1991-92 although I'm not sure if in 85 they took much encouragement (they were trigger happy). Either way, that has been historically proven to bring a coup crashing down, and Thaksin will be pushing it for all its worth. These are intelligent generals and they have had a long time to observe Thaksin, so I am hoping they are a few steps ahead at all times.Wolff's comments are based on extensive experience studying the inner workings of Thai politics and an in-depth realist understanding of the current power plays being made in Thailand today. With Shinawatra and his Western backers already practiced in the art of premeditated provocations and terrorism, the next few days can be perhaps the most dangerous for "anti-coup" protesters - not because the army is eager to shed blood, but because the protesters' own leadership is.
