Thailand's anti-government red-shirt movement, in its last ditch effort to topple Abhisit Vejjajiva's government and its back-up forces, are mobilising a huge protest march from four regions to paralyse the capital on Friday (March 12).
With Maoist tactics of the "forest surrounding the town", protesters from the provinces will move from their home towns to the capital on pickup trucks and buses to put pressure on the government to step down.
Members of groups in many provinces - Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachin Buri, Angthong and Songkhla - were preparing for a long march to Bangkok on Monday (March 8).
They are due to gather at six sites in Bangkok and its outskirts before moving to Rajdamnoen Avenue Friday evening, said Jaran Dittapichai, a leader of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD), one of the anti-government red-shirt groups.
"The gathering at six centres will last until 4-5pm on March 12," Jaran said, adding that the decision to converge at one large site was a result of 20 hours of deliberation.
The red shirts are prepared to face the declaration of a state of emergency by the government or any special laws and will try to persevere through sheer weight of numbers. They are planning to bring in several hundred thousands of rural people to Bangkok.
"They won't succeed in stopping us from entering Bangkok even with special laws, unless they resort to violence," Jaran told The Nation (Thailand).
Jaran reckons the stretch along Rajdamnoen Ave from the Rattanakosin Hotel to the Rama V Equestrian Monument is about three kilometres long, and the road 40 metres wide, with an area of about 120,000 square metres. With three people per square metre, that could hold 360,000 protesters.
"The huge crowd will act as pressure against the government," he said.
Asked about the potential for violence, Jaran said 5,000 red-shirt guards were trained to ensure things proceed smoothly.
Nobody knows how long the demonstration will last and how serious the situation will be - but the government is prepared for a worst-case scenario of violence and riots.
Nattawut Saikua, another key DAAD member, said low-rank military officers from the lower class and grass-roots would work to help the red shirts topple the aristocrat-backed government.
"We call it the watermelon army - meaning they wear a green uniform but have a red heart inside. They will come out to help us," he said.
The red-shirts hope to deliver a knock-out punch to the government by Sunday, a source close to the group's inner circle said but declined to go into details. Hardcore members of the group aim to create chaos in Bangkok with violence and perhaps explosions in many locations, the source said.
They would use the farm trucks to block traffic and mass outside military bases and state offices to force them to stop functioning.
The red shirts did not rule out the possibility of copying the yellow-shirt group's tactics, including seizing government offices as well as Suvarnabhumi Airport, the source said.
The bottom line was to stir a chaotic situation until the government loses control, he said.
