SONGKRAN HOLIDAYS
Red shirts plan 'Thaksin tour'
Published: 31/03/2012 at 12:59 AM Newspaper section: News 6
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Red Tour 999 will take you on a three-day road trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, staying at a four-star hotel for 6,500 baht each _ but there's a catch.
An ad on the Facebook page of a red shirt invites people to join an April 13-15 tour to Cambodia where they can visit Angkor Wat and meet ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
"You should be a red shirt," said the tour organiser who goes by the name of Ton7777.
"We have to be concerned about the safety of [former] prime minister Thaksin [Shinawatra]."
During the Songkran holidays, April 13-15, the tour will take you to cultural heritage sites such as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but the highlight will be on April 14, when tour participants will get a chance to meet the ousted premier and perform a rod nam dam hua ceremony, in which Songkran celebrants show respect to their elders by pouring holy water over their hands.
Ton7777 says he does not mean to bar non-red shirts from participating in the tour, but he is concerned about two issues _ the safety of Thaksin and also the fun factor of the tour itself.
"If you are a yellow shirt, what fun will you have? How will you get along with everyone? It will be uncomfortable for you and everyone else," he said.
So far, two callers interested in his tour are on his list of suspects.
The first question he always asks before making a reservation is: "Are you a red shirt?"
If the caller says yes, but is unable to name which red shirt group he belongs to, then Ton7777 knows something is fishy.
"If it is someone who is open and doesn't hate Thaksin, it should be fine," he said of interested vacationers, but he also cautioned that he has not yet decided on how strict the policy will be.
There are two purposes for the Red Tour, according to Ton7777.
The first is for people who love and admire Thaksin to meet him in person and offer him their respect at the auspicious Songkran ceremony. A pilgrimage, if you will.
The second is to gain knowledge in preparation for the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Ton7777 said the tour will educate them about the upcoming single economic community, focusing on issues such as the labour movement, vocational opportunities and the importance of learning English.
Ton7777 revealed he is an engineer with a multinational company. He has a master's degree and is working on his doctorate.
"I wasn't involved in politics before," he said. Like many others, he decided to don a red shirt after the 2006 coup.
On Saturday, during a phone-in to a red shirt rally in Surin, Thaksin invited supporters to meet him in Vientiane on April 12 and 13 and in Siem Reap on April 14 and 15.
Thus far, the red shirt "We Love Udon" and "We Love Isan" groups are also organising trips to meet the former prime minister. It is estimated that up to 10,000 supporters from Udon Thani alone will travel to the two neighbouring countries this Songkran holiday.
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