Few showed up to a rally that has now fully exposed the "student protests," their real sponsors, and their real agenda.
September 20, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - Anti-government protests organized by Thailand's corrupt billionaire-led opposition and the US government sought to create yesterday a "historical" event.
Instead, barely 20,000 people showed up at the event's peak - a fraction of the "hundreds of thousands" promised - and most of the crowd consisted of fugitive billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra's "red shirts," a violent street front highly unpopular across the country.
READ MORE: US-backed Billionaire's Violent Supporters Show Up at "Student" Protest
The red shirts were paid and bused in from rural communities in the nation's northeast.
"Pro-Democracy" Protest Trampled Public Consent
The "big surprise" promised by the rally's organizers turned out to be the public vandalism of the historical Sanam Luang park by placing a plaque commemorating the failed rally. According to the organizers it meant to announce the "restoration of the people's power." Lost apparently among the protesters was the irony of a "people's power" plaque being placed by an unpopular, poorly attended protest backed by criminal billionaires and foreign sponsors.
Nothing could be a more inappropriate representation of "the people."
For a "pro-democracy" movement, there was no public discussion about whether or not the plaque should be placed in both a public space and a historical landmark. The protesters simply did it, just like a dictator would.
The protest leaders now face a wide variety of legitimate criminal charges including vandalism and trespassing as both venues they picked were clearly declared off-limits to them well ahead of time.
Protest leaders brought in thugs with bolt cutters to break and enter the gates of Thammasat University. They also physically pushed back a police line in Sanam Luang in order to take over the historical park before defacing it.
A Foreign-funded Protest Movement has Zero Legitimacy
The poor turn out and the very public reveal that these "student" protests are in reality Thaksin Shinawatra's red shirts merely hiding behind "students," will do very little to improve their already tainted public image and growing unpopularity.
At a time when the vast majority of Thais are focused on economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 scare, political protests backed by dishonest, criminal, and even foreign elements is simply another threat to people's daily livelihood.
Despite claiming the current government is an "unbearable dictatorship," the government has allowed these protesters - despite their foreign funding and link to convicted criminals - to repeatedly disrupt public peace and threaten social, political, and economic stability up to and including yesterday's failed "major" rally.
Almost as if the flaunt in the face of the Thai public that the "student" protesters deceived the people and were red shirts all along, "student leader" Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak blared his political speeches from a truck flying Thaksin Shinawatra's red shirt flags.
Parit has also been recently exposed as having visited the US Embassy on multiple occasions to discuss Thailand's internal political affairs with the US ambassador.
READ MORE: The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests"
It has also been revealed that virtually every core organization involved in leading the protests is also funded by the US government with their funding listed on the US National Endowment for Democracy's own official website.
This includes the Union for Civil Liberty member "Thai Lawyers for Human Rights" (TLHR) whose staff member Anon Nampa is a core leader of the protests and took to the stage at yesterday's rally. It also includes media platforms like Prachatai - listed as the Foundation for Community Educational Media - and Isaan Record promoting the protests. It even includes iLaw listed as "Internet Law Reform Dialogue" who is organizing a petition to rewrite Thailand's constitution.
No other nation on Earth would tolerate another nation funding opposition groups within their borders to oppose the government or attempt to rewrite laws and even constitutions. Why should Thailand? A protest movement confirmed to be funded by foreign interests - especially one hiding behind notions of "democracy" - has zero legitimacy. The foreign interference is not only in a very basic and general sense wrong, it is also in violation of the UN Charter and international law and norms.
The Thai government must continue patiently wearing down the dishonest interests leading this protests while attempting to protect the vulnerable people drawn into it by well-funded propaganda both foreign and domestic. Eventually, the leaders can be held accountable and its followers freed to pursue activities that might actually, tangibly improve their lives.
