Reds vow to protect PM, govt

"We will act as a bodyguard for the government and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra" : red shirt leader and Pheu Thai party-list MP Kokaew Pikulthong.

Red shirts will act as the bodyguard for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai government, red-shirt leader Kokaew Pikulthong vowed yesterday.

Critics have said the red shirts, as a political movement, should have dissolved after the victory of the Pheu Thai Party and would bring problems for the government if they continued their role in politics - but Kokaew disagrees.

"The red-shirt movement cannot stop its role. We have three or four goals to achieve and will never stop until the goals have been reached. We want real democracy, one standard judicial system and national reconciliation. We want Thai people to love each other as before, to turn our country back to the smiling Siam," Kokaew said during an exclusive interview with The Nation.

Kokaew is one of the red-shirt leaders jailed for nine months after the red rally was dispersed last year. He later became a Pheu Thai party-list MP.

"We also expect the Pheu Thai government to help us to achieve these goals - so we will encourage, support and protect the government to do the job. We could say we will be acting as the bodyguard for the government and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra," he added.

On the day the government delivered its policy last week, a group of red shirts assaulted two students who put a wreath in front of the Parliament. It was an event that hurt the image of the government.

Kokaew, is now a party-list MP of the Pheu Thai party, explained there were a number of reasons to keep the red shirts together with the government. He said most red shirts were worried about the situation.

"Although Pheu Thai won victory in the election, it is difficult to anticipate how long the government will last. We cannot trust the situation. It could be something like the government under late Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat,"

The Pheu Thai party-list MP said the existence and presence of the red-shirted group could [make] opponents [think again].

"Some factions in the military who dislike the government might seek opportunities to stage a coup d'etat or they might use extra power to topple the government. I never trust them in this situation. It's better to have a powerful mass like the red shirts. If the red shirts [remain] strong, the military cannot intervene in the government," he said.

Kokaew tried to insist that amnesty for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was not their aim. "Thaksin's opponents might not believe us, but time will give you an answer," he replied with an answer many might say was hard to believe.

Asked about how red shirts could be held responsible to the law, Kokaew said if there was anything in public opinion that could be deemed an improper act or against the law, it was the red-shirt leaders' duty to take control.

He said the leaders had to make red shirts understand that behaving would help reduce the burden on the government.

"We want Yingluck's government to last long, at least to complete its four year term. We will do our best to

protect the government and prevent opponents from using the red shirts as a pretext to attack the government,"

"I think we (the red shirts) all understand we have sacrificed even our lives to install this government, some of us are now still in the prison. We have the government, why don't we do our best to protect it?" he said.

Last week and again yesterday the Yingluck government appointed red-shirt leaders to political positions, including those of adviser and minister's secretary.

Kakaew said the appointments were expected as the red-shirt movement had helped Pheu Thai. The appointments were thus Yingluck's thanks to the red-shirt leaders, in a way.

He said he believed Yingluck wanted to appoint some red shirt leaders as ministers. But she baulked because of the tense political situation and moves to help the country achieve reconciliation.