http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8539305.stm Verdict on Thaksin billions unlikely to heal divide Thailand's Supreme Court has confiscated much of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family fortune, but, as the BBC's Vaudine England in Bangkok reports, the verdict is unlikely to end his appeal or heal the country's deep political schisms. Mr Thaksin still enjoys a loyal following in Thailand Back in 1976, Dr Weng Tojirakarn was a young student leader in protests that ended with the military opening fire and killing many of his fellow demonstrators. He fled to the hills, where Thailand's Communist Party offered a haven for many in the radical intelligentsia of the time. Not necessarily communist, several of those activists have since become leaders of the red shirts, like Dr Weng. Some, such as Chaturon Chaisang, were even members of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's cabinets. Equal rights For men such as these, the Supreme Court verdict against Mr Thaksin's private wealth is of no importance whatsoever to the struggle. I'm not fighting for Mr Thaksin. I'm fighting for my country to be a genuine democratic system Dr Weng "Mr Thaksin is just only one person in this country," says Dr Weng. "He may be an ex-prime minister but he is nothing to do with what I'm fighting for, because I'm fighting for the genuine democratic system in Thailand." Dr Weng wants a system where "real political power must be in the hands of the people and all man is created equal, every citizen must have an equal political right and also economic chance". "But that never happened in Thailand," he says, adding that he looks to Britain or Japan for states where the monarch is supreme and democracy thrives. "I'm not fighting for Mr Thaksin. I'm fighting for my country to be a genuine democratic system," says Dr Weng. To that end, Dr Weng shuts up his small, poorly decorated doctor's clinic off a frantic highway in northern Bangkok every weekend and drives back to communities of the rural poor he once ministered to as a radical young student. There he and other leaders of the red-shirted United Front for Democracy (UDD) hold what they calls schools, to raise the political consciousness of the people. The arguments put across and discussed with varied communities focus on the injustice of the coup in 2006 that deposed a freely elected leader. Genie released These lessons have added pungency as they are delivered to communities that voted for Mr Thaksin, once they realised he was going to fund small businesses, provide cheap healthcare, and generally support his voter base beyond the urban centres. To many in Thailand, that style of governance - where a shirt-sleeved Mr Thaksin, without pomp, would tour rural areas and listen to people's problems - was new. THAKSIN TIMELINE 2001: Elected prime minister 19 Sept 2006: Ousted in military coup 25 Sept 2006: Corruption investigation begins 11 June 2007: Thaksin family assets frozen 25 Aug 2008: Prosecutors ask Supreme Court to seize frozen assets 21 Oct 2008: Sentenced in absentia to two years for conflict of interest in land deal 26 Feb 2010: Supreme Court seizes $1.4bn (£910m) of Thaksin family's contested assets But to some Thais - who cannot imagine that their servants should have a vote equal in power to their own - it was threatening. Their preferred exercise of power has been through a strong military, monarchist bureaucracy - a system Mr Thaksin cut through. The anti-Thaksin yellow shirt protesters who helped usher in the current government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiva openly spoke of wanting a new system where some people's votes counted for more than others. This is why a billionaire businessman and his cronies can be in the same alliance as men such as Dr Weng, all of them convinced they are fighting for genuine democracy. "This is a united front - meaning we have to co-operate where we can co-operate. What we can't co-operate on, we put aside," says Dr Weng. Analysts are agreed that many Thais are more politically aware these days. They call it the genie that cannot be put back in the bottle, or the toothpaste that cannot be squeezed back into the tube. They also note that the wellsprings of anger and the sense of disenfranchisement engendered by the 2006 coup are only growing deeper and more bitter with each setback to the man they regard as the only one who cared for them. For this reason, any hope Mr Abhisit's government might have that the latest court ruling against Mr Thaksin will fatally weaken his support base, could be in vain. 'No rabble' Some argue that a possible lack of money to fund further red shirt demonstrations could lose it numbers and damage its ability to stage massive protests capable of bringing down the current government. Coup rumours as ruling looms Profile: Thaksin Shinawatra Others argue the anger will only grow and fester, becoming more dangerous over time, with or without the money. So far the red shirts are holding to their line that they are not the violent rabble the government calls them, and their decision to hold off on any protests until the middle of March is a principled one to reinforce their point that they are not lackeys of one rich man and his wealth. Others say they have postponed the protests because they could not be sure of getting adequate numbers to the capital - an ability likely to be diminished with the prospect of less funding in the future. Dr Weng and his colleagues say they have been developing a red shirt movement without the benefit of any of these frozen funds. Mr Thaksin will not be alone in seeing the judicial actions as "very political". He insists he is innocent, and a fighter, and will not be deterred. The latest court verdict against him appears unlikely to change the political balance much either way. Nor will it heal the divisions in this country. Brought to the boil by Mr Thaksin, many of those divisions long predate his emergence, and are likely to outlast him. ... http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-46527320100227?sp=true INTERVIEW - Thai "red shirts" say ruling won't derail protests Sat Feb 27, 2010 4:13pm IST   Email | Print | Share | Single Page [-] Text [+] 1 of 1Full Size By Ambika Ahuja BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government supporters of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra vowed on Saturday to press ahead with a mass street rally demanding fresh elections despite a court ruling many saw as a compromise bid to defuse the crisis. In a marathon seven-hour verdict on Friday, Thailand's Supreme Court said the fugitive politician had enriched himself at the expense of the state while in power from 2001 to 2006, seizing $1.4 billion of his family's $2.3 billion in frozen assets. The court released the remaining $900 million to the family of the twice-elected Thaksin, who now lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai after being convicted in absentia of graft in 2008 and sentenced to two years in prison. While some analysts expect the ruling to appease pro- and anti-Thaksin forces at the heart of Thailand's five-year political crisis, a leader of the protest movement allied with Thaksin said on Saturday the verdict would not end the impasse. It fails to alter a fundamental breach of democratic legitimacy haunting Thailand since a 2006 military coup, he said. His comments suggest no end to a polarising political crisis pitting the military, the urban elites and royalists, who identify themselves with the king's traditional colour of yellow, against the mainly rural supporters of Thaksin, who say they were disenfranchised by the coup and wear red. "A monster was released the day the coup was launched," said the leader, Weng Tojirakan, a 58-year-old senior member of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). "You can't stuff it back into the lamp by demonising everyone who disagrees with the elite. While we respect the court ruling, it does not erase the fact that the investigation was launched and sanctioned by the coup makers." The UDD, better known as the "red shirts", plan to hold a mass rally next month, beginning with gatherings in the provinces on March 12 before merging in the historic heart of Bangkok on March 14 at Sanam Luang, a public square near the Grand Palace. "We still expect a million people to join us. This is not about the verdict. This is not about Thaksin although he is the number one victim. It's about the lack of political legitimacy of those who have been trying to consolidate power by ridding Thaksin from the equation," Weng said. MASSIVE STREET PROTEST "Red shirt" leaders have urged supporters to bring 100,000 pick-ups and farmers' trucks into the city as symbols of "politically marginalised people", Weng said, adding the group would peacefully protest for at least seven days to press Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call polls. The group said Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the aid of the military, which helped cobble together a weak coalition after a court ousted two Thaksin-allied premiers. Analysts doubt the "red shirts" can mobilise a million people, which is almost unprecedented in Bangkok. But Weng, a medical doctor, exudes confidence and says if they fail to topple the government, they will retool their strategy and try again. Weng himself is a colourful figure. Once on the run in the northeastern hills of Thailand after a 1976 crackdown on left-wing university students, he rose to prominence again in 1992 after the military toppled an elected government in a coup. Once a critic of Thaksin, he joined the UDD in 2006 to oppose intervention in politics by what he sees as the undemocratic ruling elite: the military, the judiciary and some bureaucrats. "Do I have criticism of Thaksin? Yes. Did he have a mandate of the Thai public? Yes," Weng said, denying the movement and its leaders are funded by Thaksin as its critics allege. Analysts see turbulence ahead after violent riots, airport blockades and three changes in government in the past 17 months. Economists say the volatile political situation dampens confidence in Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy. "Looking ahead, the question of how to heal Thailand's deep social divide still has no answer," said Usara Wilaipich, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank. Weng said the government vilifies "red shirts" as "uneducated, violence-prone, reactionary rural folks" bought by Thaksin. The failure to acknowledge they have legitimate grievances could set up a stage for chaos, he added. "It could be a breeding ground for a darker future. I don't want Thailand to become a nation of violence but I don't know how much people can put up with," he said. (Editing by Jason Szep and Alex Richardson)