Thaksin supporters turn the villages red

The bumpy approach to Napo village in north-east Thailand speaks volumes about the political currents sweeping the area: among a flurry of national and royal flags along the highway are a cluster of red ones.

Proclaiming "Red Shirt Villages for Democracy", the flags mark the turn-off into another land. In the dusty village square, a vast backdrop above a stage festooned with red streamers displays the face of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, with the slogan: "Red Shirts for Ubon Ratchathani".

The square is packed with Mr Thaksin's red-clad supporters - many in T-shirts printed with the face of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister and poster girl for the extensive Thaksin support base.

Missing from this scene is Mr Thaksin himself. He has lived in self-imposed exile since being convicted in absentia in 2008 on corruption-related charges that he claims were politically motivated.

But seven months after Ms Yingluck swept to power in July elections, red shirt organisers are hoping to capitalise on her victory and expand their grassroots support base, perhaps partly in anticipation of Mr Thaksin's return. The message to communities such as Napo, is clear "red villages" can expect greater government attention.

The red shirt movement, which is officially known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, was born out of the events following the 2006 military coup that toppled Mr Thaksin.

In 2010, protests erupted in violent clashes between red shirt supporters - many of them from the north-east heartland of the movement - and security forces in Bangkok which left 91 people dead and hundreds injured. Protesters accused the then ruling Democrat party, and its so-called "yellow shirt" supporters, of an illegitimate power grab.

The battle for control of Thai politics is now being played out in places like Napo which, along with 16 other communities in the area, is formally declaring itself a "red shirt village". The status, which must be approved by more than 70 per cent of a village council, brings the entire community into the fold of the red shirt movement, explains Preedee Pantiwa, a co-ordinator of the programme.

Almost 80 per cent of people in the northeastern region of Isan are farmers, the soil is poor and output of rice and other crops is relatively low. Red shirt organisers claim to have 300,000 members in the region of 1.8m people.

"This is a happy day, our lives will improve now we are a red shirt village," said a woman who gave her name only as Nok.

The rewards are not explicit. But in Napo, the notion of a "better life" brought by red village status is as modest as the hope of subsidised food or medicine, or as one local organiser put it, "a hotline to government".

More than 400 villages in Isan declared themselves red before the national elections last July. The new push by red shirt organisers to build on Mr Thaksin's populist legacy is taking the "red village" concept to another level, as they aim to join the dots to create "red districts".

In recent months, 360 villages in the provinces of Udon Thani and Khon Khaen in Isan have declared themselves red. And, in early February, 68 Khon Khaen communities inaugurated the province's first "red district".

"We've only just really started in Ubon, people have seen from the nearby provinces that red shirt villages are in a better situation - maybe with better welfare funding or better prices for produce ... it's all connected," said Songkol, a local organiser.

But some local red shirt leaders argue there are more pressing priorities. Phichet Tarbootda, a popular radio DJ who has about 50,000 registered red shirt listeners, said the village scheme has giving people unrealistic expectations, adding that the idea of favourable treatment was "wrong".

"We are using double standards, we criticised the yellows [opposition Democrats] for their tactics. Now we are doing it ourselves," said Mr Phichet.

More vocal critics include the army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is blamed by some for the 2010 crackdown in Bangkok. He has publicly criticised the red village movement as "potentially destabilising", adding that "even though it is not illegal, it has raised questions about the social implications of assigning colours to villages".

On the contrary, says a local MP for the ruling Puea Thai party, Jintana Panyaarvudh. Taking the stage in Napo, he tells the excited crowd: "The prime minister wishes she was here … We seek democracy, we are against drugs, we oppose military coups - we must organise, because many suffered for the cause".

Behind all of this is the spectre of Mr Thaksin. The speculation that this deeply divisive figure could return under an amnesty has grown since Ms Yingluck's election - and that, more than anything, appears to be adding impetus to the red village campaign.

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